Max Torres discusses the recruitment of 2024 Arizona State tight end commit Jayden Fortier after landing an Oregon Ducks offer.
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00:00 Another guy I want to talk about on today's Oregon recruiting
00:03 hour is a new offer that the Ducks extended here in the 2024
00:08 class that is to Tualatin, Oregon, tight end Jaden Fortier.
00:13 This is an interesting one because what was I just telling
00:17 you guys Oregon is still looking to add some offensive playmakers
00:21 here in the 2024 recruiting class and we have seen Dan
00:26 Lanning put an emphasis on recruiting the best players in
00:29 the state of Oregon.
00:30 Just look at this class in 2024.
00:32 You have Devin Brooks and offensive lineman committed out
00:35 of Clackamas.
00:36 You have Trent Ferguson, another offensive lineman out of West
00:41 Salem.
00:41 You have AJ Pugliano, a tight end out of North Medford.
00:45 So there's already a lot of guys from the state of Oregon that
00:49 have committed to play their college football for Dan Lanning
00:52 and the Ducks in their home state.
00:54 And it kind of feels like a little bit of what you see or
00:58 hear about in the SEC.
01:00 It just means more.
01:01 I think when you can kind of apply a similar mantra to Oregon
01:06 players, Oregon natives, Oregonians playing for the Ducks,
01:10 it just means more being able to go out and represent the
01:14 Ducks and play for your home state.
01:16 And this is incredibly interesting, maybe extra interesting
01:21 this offer because Jaden Fortier, the number one player in
01:24 the state of Oregon, according to 247 Sports, is verbally
01:28 committed to Arizona State and Kenny Dillingham.
01:31 And we all know about that connection with the Ducks, seeing
01:35 that Dillingham was the former OC in 2022.
01:39 And Tualatin, I'll be honest, I don't know a whole lot about
01:43 Tualatin, but when I did live in Oregon, I did make it out
01:46 to cover one high school football game and Tualatin happened
01:49 to be playing.
01:50 That was Tualatin against Westview, which was home to 2022
01:56 wide receiver Darius Clemens, who I believe is still at
02:00 Michigan.
02:00 And Tualatin, from what I knew and still know, still holds
02:05 to be true.
02:06 They're one of the best programs in the state of Oregon.
02:08 Oregon doesn't typically produce a ton of college football
02:12 talent, certainly not at the clip of some of the larger
02:15 states. The competition isn't as great in the state of Oregon.
02:18 I think most people know that, but they produce some studs
02:21 here and there.
02:22 Right.
02:22 I mean, look at Chase Cota.
02:23 He was at Oregon last year and transferred over from UCLA.
02:28 And there's been a lot of great Oregonians that have suited
02:33 up for the Ducks.
02:34 Obviously, Marion Winston is another one right now that's
02:37 from the Portland area.
02:38 So this is one to watch.
02:40 I think I haven't been able to interview Jaden, but I think
02:44 when you look at the situation in Tempe, rough first season
02:48 for the Sun Devils under Kenny Dillingham, just obviously
02:52 a tough situation, totally different deal recruiting to
02:56 Oregon versus recruiting to Arizona State.
02:58 But we know that he is an alum and that's home for him.
03:01 So if I'm Jaden Fortier, I'm looking at this and really,
03:06 it's just, do you want to be a part of a rebuild at Arizona
03:10 State?
03:11 Granted, I think Kenny Dillingham is a really, really
03:14 good coach, and I'm excited to see what he can do this year,
03:16 but next year.
03:17 But he was obviously pretty limited offensively with the
03:20 personnel that he had this year.
03:22 Just look at what the offense looked like against Oregon.
03:25 Do you want to be part of a rebuild or do you want to be
03:28 a part of your home state's program that has tremendous
03:33 stability?
03:33 I would say right now after Dan Lanning shut down those
03:36 Texas A&M rumors.
03:37 Do you want to be play for the Ducks, play for your home
03:41 state and play for a program that is killing it?
03:45 Just playing some really, really good football and is
03:48 among the best teams in the entire sport.