The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on May 1 …
The West Coast produced 33 percent of the top 15 picks in the NFL Draft last week and nine first-rounders in all.
Of those nine, seven played in the Pac-12 for at least two seasons; the others played for national programs and participated in at least one College Football Playoff.
Two left the Pac-12 for the SEC: Jayden Daniels and Ricky Pearsall, who began their careers at Arizona State.
Three more Pac-12 players were drafted after transferring into the conference: quarterbacks Caleb Williams (USC), Michael Penix (Washington) and Bo Nix (Oregon).
Now, let’s imagine it’s April 2027, when next season’s freshmen will be eligible for the draft.
While the 2023-24 recruiting cycle wasn’t great for quarterback prospects out west, here is a mock draft of 10 players who signed with the outbound Pac-12 schools and where they may get drafted.
1. Colorado OT Jordan Seaton
Comment: The first offensive lineman taken last week was Notre Dame’s Joe Alt (No. 5), while Alabama’s JC Latham went two picks later. Moral of the story? Elite tackles go early. And Seaton is elite: He’s the No. 1 tackle in the country in the 2024 class, a rare high school recruiting win for Deion Sanders. He should slide into the starting spot immediately in Boulder.
2. Oregon edge Elijah Rushing
Comment: On the flip side, a deep quarterback class made that position a premium and kept defensive players from being drafted until No. 15 (UCLA edge Laiatu Latu). The best defensive recruit this year heading to an outbound Pac-12 school? Rushing, who’s a gifted pass rusher from Tucson and the crown jewel of a ridiculous defensive line haul for Dan Lanning.
3. USC edge Kameryn Fountain
Comment: That said, the defensive coordinator largely responsible for Latu’s success last season in Westwood, D’Anton Lynn, is now across town at USC. He takes over a situation in which the Trojans have bolstered efforts up front — and none are bigger from the prep ranks than Fountain. The Georgia native was a top-10 defensive lineman in the class and had an eye-opening spring while still being young enough to go to his school prom.
4. Oregon CB Ify Obidegwu
Comment: Three cornerbacks were selected on Day One last week, and one of the best prep prospects to sign anywhere was the top player in Maryland, Obidegwu. He’s a long, lanky defender who’s reminiscent of some of the cornerbacks Lanning coached when he was with Georgia and even a few at Oregon.
5. Stanford QB Elijah Brown
Comment: Brown heads to Stanford just as Stanford heads into the ACC. As a four-year starter at the powerful Mater Dei High School program, Brown is used to playing under pressure: He took over at Mater Dei for the No. 1 player in the country, and a future No. 1 pick, in Bryce Young. Brown also won two state titles in the largest classification in California, had an unbeaten season as a freshman in a COVID-shortened year and lost only two starts in his career. Now Troy Taylor has an answer to the Cardinal’s quarterback issues.
6. Oregon WR Gatlin Bair
Comment: While Bair can technically be drafted in 2027, he would be three years out of high school and would likely have just one year of college experience under his belt. The five-star prospect signed with Oregon but left for his church mission and will enroll in Eugene in 2026. The NFL covets speed, and Bair has plenty of it with a 10.15-second time for the 100 meters. That alone will open up eyes when it comes to the draft.
7. USC CB Marcelles Williams
Comment: One brother, Max, played for USC; another, Mason, played for Arizona State. Now comes Marcelles, the most talented of the three. He was St. John Bosco High School’s lockdown corner the past two seasons and made an instant impact this spring at USC. He could not only see playing time early but potentially earn a starting nod.
8. Utah OT Isaiah Garcia
Comment: Utah has done a tremendous job with offensive linemen in the past decade, and Garcia was the No. 1 player in the Beehive State. He kept quarterback Isaac Wilson, his high school teammate and fellow Utah signee, clean in the pocket. Garcia has the athleticism and size to be an early-round pick while developing under well-respected offensive line coach Jim Harding.
9. Oregon WR Jeremiah McClellan
Comment: It’s a pass-happy era for the NFL, and receivers who can run and catch at a high level are at a premium. That describes McClellan perfectly. A former Ohio State pledge — and the Buckeyes know a thing or 10 about elite receivers — McClellan had a tremendous spring and should flourish with Oregon quarterback Dante Moore in future years. Next season, he could be a key target for Dillon Gabriel.
10. Oregon OT JacQawn McRoy
Comment: See a theme here? Oregon had a great recruiting class, and McRoy is a mammoth lineman with NFL size already. He’s a top-10 tackle in the class and, while there isn’t a lot of room left to grow, he could blossom into an early-round pick, especially for a program that’s churning out high-level linemen.
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