USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school football recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2022 to ’23 and beyond.
Five-star Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. announced his commitment to the Oregon Ducks on Friday night, an interesting development to what many thought would be a USC nod.
The 6-foot-5, 283-pound Conerly Jr. had plenty of powerhouse options to choose from, too, with Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Washington in the running along with the Trojans and Ducks. And as the last highly coveted 2022 recruit on the board after Lebbeus Overton committed to Texas A&M on the first day of April, the focus officially shifts to the class of 2023.
With that in mind, let’s take a deeper dive into Conerly Jr.’s recruitment and look at where some elite 2023 recruits are trending in this week’s edition of Friday Night Notes.
From the FNN drawer
Beyond Arch Manning? from 4/1
Recruiting notes from 3/25
Notes on the NIL from 3/18
What happened with USC—the heavy favorite to land Josh Conerly Jr.?
Photo: Andrew Ivins, 247Sports
There was a very good chance that Conerly Jr. would decide to play his college football relatively close to home and commit to USC on Friday night. The Trojans received Conerly Jr.’s final official visit on March 25. Lincoln Riley and his coaching staff seemingly knocked it out of the park with Conerly Jr. while he was on campus, placing themselves head and shoulders above the competition.
But…
Oregon pulled off a stunner!
Photo via Josh Conerly Jr./247Sports
Oregon wasn’t on Conerly Jr.’s mind until Dan Lanning took over as head coach. He took an official visit to Eugene in the middle of March and, according to 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman, quietly made a return trip for an unofficial…
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