Top RB in the state, Byron Cardwell, commits to Oregon

Photo: Courtesy of St. Augustine athletics

Michael Huntley January 25, 2021 @ 11:26 PM

The top running back in the state and the second best previously uncommitted player in the state announced his commitment to Oregon on Monday. [player_tooltip player_id="25033" first="Byron" last="Cardwell"] of Morse (San Diego) was offered by Oregon late in the game. He didn’t receive an offer until November after [player_tooltip player_id="25051" first="Kyron" last="Ware-Hudson"] withdrew his commitment from Oregon in favor of USC. He is the No. 11 overall prospect in the state <a href="https://prepredzone.com/california/rankings/2021-rankings/">according to Prep Redzone</a> and the No. 8 running back in the nation according to 247Sports. https://twitter.com/Rivals/status/1353830882973528065?s=20 Cardwell is a good mix of size and speed. He has the speed to make explosive plays in the open field and in the passing game and the size to run between the tackles and pick up tough yardage. He had a final four of Auburn, California, Oregon and Texas A&M. Auburn made a late push an <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/01/weekly-recruiting-report-6/">offered Cardwell just two weeks ago</a>. Boise State had been recruiting Cardwell from the beginning so when <a href="https://auburntigers.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/bryan-harsin/3400">Bryan Harsin</a> landed the head coaching job at Auburn, one of his first missions was to offer Cardwell. According to Brendan Huffman of 247Sports, <a href="https://goducks.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jim-mastro/3265">Jim Mastro</a> (running game coordinator), <a href="https://goducks.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/don-johnson/3304">Don Johnson</a> (director of high schoo relations) and <a href="https://goducks.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/mario-cristobal/3253">Mario Cristobal</a> (head coach) were heavily involved in Cardwell’s recruitment. https://twitter.com/sdfootball/status/1167647154392879104?s=20 Cardwell is the sixth player from California in Oregon’s recruiting class, joining elite prospects like [player_tooltip player_id="25039" first="Jaylin" last="Davies"], [player_tooltip player_id="25024" first="Troy" last="Franklin"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25043" first="Jonathan" last="Flowe"]. He is the second player from the San Diego region in the class with [player_tooltip player_id="25091" first="Darren" last="Barkins"] of Mater Dei (Chula Vista). Some recruiting experts also expect Oregon to be the favorite to land Cardwell’s former teammate at St. Augustine (San Diego) and one of the top 2022 prospects, [player_tooltip player_id="25239" first="Gracen" last="Halton"].