Brayden Platt's college football decision? It's a piece of cake for Oregon Ducks
YELM, Wash, - As the moment of truth arrived - Oklahoma or Oregon - Brayden Platt delicately sliced through his college-reveal 'O'-shaped cake, making sure he had a big enough piece to make a clear statement.
Once he had a hold of it, he lifted it up. It sprinkled green and yellow.
He gave the University of Oregon a big recruiting victory in the class of 2024.
Platt announced he would be joining the Ducks over the Sooners, giving the to-be-Big-Ten program a 12th four-star pledge in this recruiting class.
The all-state 6-foot-2, 245-pound linebacker from Yelm High School is the No. 1 recruit in the state of Washington - and became the Ducks' second-highest national recruit in the country (No. 72) behind Alabama teenager JacQawn McRoy (No. 56), according to 247Sports.com.
"It’s a good fit for me because they are going to the Big Ten, so they are going to need big linebackers," Platt said. "I can fit that role with still being able to play sideline to sideline."
Oregon was always squarely in the picture, rising when coach Dan Lanning attended Yelm's state-championship parade in January and maintaining under the watchful eye and communicative voice of defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi.
And yet, Platt said he still wasn't sure when he narrowed his finalists to Oregon and Oklahoma, especially after he made an official visit to Norman in June.
A couple weeks later, he went to Eugene - and that sealed the deal on where he was going.
"That is when I knew," he said.
By deciding to announce his choice Monday - on his mother's birthday - that mean he had to keep it secret for more than two months.
"That's very hard," Yelm football coach Jason Ronquillo said. "He's a kid.
"I haven't known for very long. He let me know and his family was hinting toward what was going to happen. But they wanted to keep it quiet, too."
It all came out Monday in the school's packed auditorium. Once he revealed his decision, celebrating teammates began pelting the stage with miniature rubber ducks.
Ronquillo said the Ducks played their recruiting hand perfectly.
"In today’s day and age, how do you impress a kid who’s got offers from all over the country?" Ronquillo said. "Give him a sense of family. Give him a senes of home. Give him a sense of allowing him to take ownership of what is going on in the program."
Platt was named SBLive WA's all-state two-way player of the year in 2022, rushing 132 times for 1,242 yards and 24 touchdowns while anchoring arguably the best defense at inside linebacker for the first-time Class 3A champions.
He also is a two-time WIAA champion in the boys' shot put - and two-time All-American finisher as well.
And with the Ducks, he arrives at two of the best dual-sport venues in college athletics - Autzen Stadium (football) and Hayward Field (track and field), home of "TrackTown USA."
"He is a once-in-a generation level of kid, just the level of talent that he is," Ronquillo said.
