The news came out on Wednesday afternoon that former Rhode Island offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius would be signing with the Oregon Ducks and heading to Eugene for the remainder of his college career.
If you’re a Duck fan who isn’t currently celebrating, you had better start jumping for joy.
Cornelius was one of the most highly-coveted players in the transfer portal this offseason, garnering offers from some of the biggest schools in the Power 5 conferences, including the Miami Hurricanes, Ohio State Buckeyes, Tennessee Volunteers, and many, many others.
Standing at 6-foot-5 and over 300 pounds, Cornelius comes to Eugene with a chance to be a Day 1 starter on the Oregon offensive line, acting as an instant impact player who can help retool the Ducks’ front after losing four of five starters from the 2022 season. He brings 22 games of starting experience with him, as well as some character traits that will make him a veteran presence in the locker room.
“Maturity, power, intelligence,” a source told me of Cornelius on Tuesday. “He steps on campus ready to make an immediate impact.”
Here’s a closer look at who the Ducks are getting with the latest addition to their roster:
Was a 0-star Recruit in High School
Cornelius is an awesome example of how the transfer portal can be hugely impactful for lesser-known players in college football. Cornelius was under-recruited in high school and ended up signing with the Rhode Island Rams after receiving zero Power 5 offers. He went unrated as a recruit, per 247Sporst.
Over the next couple of years, Cornelius was able to work hard and develop his skills, eventually turning into one of the top-graded FCS pass-blockers in the nation this year.
Holds Endless Power 5 Offers
Once Cornelius entered the transfer portal this offseason, the offers came flooding in. It started with Missouri, and then Virginia, and then the big boys started to take notice. Here is a list of offers that Cornelius had to choose from before deciding on the Ducks:
- Oregon Ducks
- Miami Hurricanes
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Auburn Tigers
- Florida Gators
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Missouri Tigers
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- Washington State Cougars
You could say that he had his choice in where to go this season, and he chose to team up with Dan Lanning, Adrian Klemm and the Ducks in Eugene.
Has 2 Years of Eligibility Remaining
One of the biggest selling points for Cornelius in the portal was the fact that he still has two years of eligibility. He technically played three seasons at Rhode Island, but in the first year he only saw one game of action, so he was able to utilize his redshirt. He started all 11 games in both his redshirt freshman and redshirt sophomore seasons, giving him a lot of experience to build from, and a lot of runway left to work with.
Rhode Island Didn’t Want to Give Him Up
One of the more interesting notes from Bruce Feldman’s piece on Cornelius was the fact that his coaches at Rhode Island admitted that they tried to talk him out of entering the transfer portal, hoping that he would instead remain a Ram for the future. Here is an excerpt from that piece:
Wheeler and the URI coaches tried to talk Cornelius out of leaving — “Be where your feet are.” But ultimately, his mind was made up.
“He wanted to prove himself that he can be a dude at that level,” Wheeler said. “He’s taking a chance on himself and I understand that.”
Cornelius did a great job of working hard and developing his craft at the FCS level, and now he has a chance to prove himself in a Power 5 conference and potentially build up his NFL Draft stock over the next two years.
Projects as a Day-One Starter for Oregon
The Oregon Ducks had one of the very best offensive lines in the nation this past season, but they are in rebuild mode after losing four of their five starters. The addition of Cornelius is looking like it will make that rebuild go quickly and smoothly.
On one side of the line, we can confidently project that former 5-star OT Josh Conerly Jr. will likely anchor a tackle spot, while it seems likely that Cornelius will fit in on the other side. With Marcus Harper returning at the LG, and potentially Jackson Powers-Johnson at center, the Ducks have several candidates to step into the RG spot, including incoming transfer Junior Angilau, who just committed to Oregon from the Texas Longhorns on Tuesady night.
A Big Win for Oregon
The Ducks had an impressive closing week of the early recruiting cycle, making themselves a player for a number of high-profile 5-star prospects down the stretch. Guys like OT Kadyn Proctor, DL David Hicks, and S Peyton Bowen didn’t end up choosing Oregon, but the Ducks were still able to land a massive commit from Cornelius, which should go down as one of the biggest wins of the day in the recruiting world.
The Ducks have been highly active in the transfer portal this offseason, looking to add instant-impact players who can help the team right away in 2023. They got Alabama WR Traeshon Holden, Alabama CB Khyree Jackson, Iowa LB Jestin Jacobs, and now Rhode Island OT Ajani Cornelius. We may not have spend the past several months of the recruiting cycle talking about those players, but they come to Eugene with a load of experience and will be pivotal to the Ducks’ chances to succeed right away next season.
from Salem – Salem Local News https://bit.ly/3YIT78H
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