Amidst a football season that was, to put it mildly, disappointing, November 12, 2016 carried a particular sting for the Oregon Ducks. The team suffered a crushing home loss to Stanford, and four-star legacy recruit Elijah Molden committed to Washington, the team that hung 70 points on the Ducks.

Many were left wondering what future Oregon, a school which has never recruited a top-10 class even when they dominated the Pac-12, could secure after such a disaster of a season.

Enter Taggart. He brings charisma, and connections to Florida, but is that enough?

It seems the answer is a resounding yes. Per 247sports, The Ducks hold the fifth-ranked class nationally and the best class in the Pac-12 with 15 total commitments. Nine of those 15 are four-star players, including coveted All-American safety Steve Stephens from Fresno, California.

When Taggart arrived in Eugene, the task that lay ahead of him was daunting. Recruits had pulled commitments after the firing of previous head coach Mark Helfrich, and others seemed deterred by a program with little stability.

Now the Ducks show no sign of slowing down, and it would be no surprise to see the team climb even higher in the national rankings. On June 27, Taggart secured the commitment of Tre’Shaun Harrison, a four-star athlete from Garfield High School in Seattle, right in the Huskies’ backyard.

While the true test of the Ducks’ recruiting prowess will come when they open their season in September, Taggart has provided the spark the team needed. In his brief tenure in Eugene, he has managed to pull the Ducks out of a tailspin, giving the program a newfound sense of confidence for the upcoming season. The question is no longer can Taggart recruit on a national level. Instead, the country is wondering just how high this man’s ceiling is.

Follow Aaron Alter on Twitter @aaronalter95

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