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Urban Meyer is coming after Oregon’s top recruits after Chip Kelly left

If you told Urban Meyer that you just lost your job, he would probably immediately wonder if there was a foreclosure sale that he needed to keep an eye out for.

Meyer is an opportunist. In college football, that can pay off big. And when Chip Kelly left Oregon to take the head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles, he apparently found a chance to pounce.

The Ducks recruit very well, with the sparkling facilities, recent success and the shine from all that Nike gear. If a coaching change was going to cause those top recruits to have second thoughts before signing day, Meyer was going to exploit it.

The Oregonian's John Canzano reported that as National Signing Day approaches Ohio State has descended upon "UO's recruiting harvest, salivating like Pavlov's dog," and is actively pursuing at least four of the Ducks' top recruits.

The Big Lead pointed out that the four listed by The Oregonian - running back Dontre Wilson, receiver Darren Carrington, and athlete twins Tyree and Tyrell Robinson - is every four-star recruit Oregon has on its commitment list from outside the state of Oregon. Not only is Meyer going after Oregon, he's not being subtle about it. The Oregonian said that after Kelly announced he was going to the NFL, the Buckeyes "rushed" offensive coordinator Tom Herman to San Diego to talk to Carrington. All's fair, it seems.

New Oregon coach Mark Helfrich had his seven-man coaching staff travel as one unit to see the Ducks' recruits face to face to keep the recruits, The Oregonian reported.

Last year, then-Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema publicly ripped Meyer for his recruiting practices. But Meyer obviously doesn't care and isn't going to change his methods. Some might think what Ohio State is doing is classless. Others will think it's just part of the cutthroat world of college football recruiting, and point to Meyer's success as proof that what he does pays off.

Either way, Oregon can't get caught up in a moral argument. It has to fight to keep some important recruits.

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