DEAL DONE: Oregon football confirm another 5-star commitment over 5 teams
The Oregon Ducks football program has landed a verbal commitment from one of the top specialists in the Pacific Northwest for the class of 2025. On Friday, August 16th, Rocco Graziano announced via social media that he would be committing to the Ducks.
The 6-foot-2 kicker earned a scholarship offer after participating in Oregon’s Saturday Night Live football camp in late July. Less than a month later, he announced his verbal commitment to the Ducks.
Graziano, who plays high school football at Sheldon in Eugene, serves as a wide receiver, defensive back, kicker, and punter for his team. In his junior season, he recorded 28 touchbacks on 43 kickoffs and pinned 10 of his 18 punts inside the 20-yard line. He also made five out of six field goal attempts, with a long of 46 yards, and successfully converted 20 of his 21 PATs.
Graziano will join Oregon to compete for special teams duties as a kicker.
Earlier in fall camp, Oregon special teams coordinator Joe Lorig discussed the upcoming scholarship increases for the 2025 season and how they might affect specialists.
“I’ve actually lost sleep worrying that our numbers might decrease,” Lorig said. “Right now, we have nine specialists, but I imagine we’ll probably only have about six. There’s a perception that it’s going to benefit specialists, but I don’t think it necessarily will. Those spots will be incredibly hard to secure, and you have to be very specific and detailed in your recruiting. Mistakes in specialist recruiting can be costly, and if you make an error on a kicker, punter, or snapper, you might find yourself out of a job because you’re stuck with that decision for a while.”