The Oregon Ducks brought in former South Florida Willie Taggart on Dec. 7, 2016 to replace the fired Mark Helfrich. With that, Taggart had less than two months to ensure the Ducks would pull in a strong recruiting class.
Despite, the drama that came with players being hospitalized because of workouts, hiring a new coaching staff along with the pressure that now accompanies being the Oregon head coach, Taggart succeeded in reeling in a solid class. In fact, Taggart delivered such a strong class, that it finished ranked nationally as high as No. 17 by Scout. However, his class was met with scrutiny.