No. 1 Thibodeaux commits to Oregon over Alabama
No. 1 Chosen 25 football player Kayvon Thibodeaux is headed to Eugene, Oregon.
He announced Saturday that he has committed to the Oregon Ducks.
In Thibodeaux, Oregon gets a 6-5, 230-pound beast at defensive end whose quickness and agility allow him to move around and power through double- and tripleteams.
Thibodeaux helped lead Oaks Christian High School (Westlake Village, California) to a 12-1 record behind stifling defense.
He was perhaps at his best statistically as a junior, posting 99 total tackles, 28 tackles for loss and 20 sacks. This year, Oaks Christian would often pull him when the score got out of hand and Thibodeaux recorded 54 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 18 sacks.
Meanwhile, he got his body into college shape working out with elite trainer Travelle Gaines.
Prior to his commitment, Oregon’s 2019 recruiting class already ranked first in the
Pac-12 and was No. 7 nationally behind a group largely made up of California kids.
Thibodeaux is the shining medal to show the success the program has in recruiting to the state just south. He is the program’s first five-star recruit since Canton Kaumatule in
2015, a player who later transferred to Central Florida.
The Ducks hope Thibodeaux can bring more.
After posting seven consec- utive 10-plus win seasons from 2008 through 2014, the Ducks haven’t hit the double-digit mark since. Despite that, they have largely remained competitive, missing only one bowl trip since 2005.
The team went 8-4 this season and is looking for the piece to get it back to the premier bowls former head coaches Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich and quarterback Marcus Mariota led them to several years ago.
Thibodeaux could be key to that mix.