After receiving 20 full-ride scholarship opportunities from division one football programs all around the country throughout his high school career, Brayden Platt, Washington’s top football recruit in the class of 2024, answered prep-football fans’ question of where the All-American linebacker would commit.
After narrowing down his top two schools to the University of Oregon and the University of Oklahoma, Platt, surrounded by his teammates, friends, family and coaches, committed to the Oregon Ducks, where he will play football and throw on the track team, on Sept. 4 inside Yelm High School’s Performing Arts Center (PAC).
The top in-state recruit in 2024, according to 247Sports, spoke in front of a packed PAC on what led to his commitment to the Ducks. During the ceremony, Platt was flanked by his dad, Cy, and mom, Rachel, who celebrated her birthday on Sept. 4.
“First, I’d like to thank God for putting me in this situation and being where I’m able to be at today. Also, I’d like to thank my mom and dad for making me the person I am today, and my brothers for pushing me and making me the best version of myself, and also my previous coaches that have pushed me and made me the athlete I am today,” Platt said during the ceremony. “What I was looking for in a school was a family, and also a school that can develop me at the next level.”
Following his comments, the 6-foot-2-inch, 240-pound linebacker cut into a cake and eventually revealed a green and yellow cake, representing the colors of the Oregon Ducks.
“I’ll be going to Oregon,” Platt exclaimed to thunderous applause from a packed audience as he held up the Duck-colored cake. “What excites me the most is the winning culture [the Ducks] bring with [head coach Dan] Lanning coming from Georgia and winning a natty there. I think they can do really good this year with their first recruiting class. Coach [Tosh] Lupoi is a really nice coach. He has great energy. [Scouting director] Tyler [Dean] definitely played a huge part. He showed us how Oregon is a family.”
Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports’ director of recruiting, spoke before Platt’s commitment about his characteristics as a football player. In addition to the top in-state ranking for the Class of 2024, 247Sports has Platt ranked as the eighth-best linebacker in the country and the 72nd prospect overall.
“[He’s] a hard-hitting, fluid and explosive football player that can play sideline to sideline and also be physical at the line of scrimmage. Platt helped his team win a state title as a junior,” Wiltfong said during the ceremony. “He’s also one of the top track and field athletes in the land, excelling at an elite level in the shot put, where he’s a two-time state champ, [in] the javelin, where he’s a national champ, and the hammer throw.”
Platt will pursue his Olympic and NFL dreams as a multi-sport athlete at the University of Oregon. Oregon’s men’s indoor track team sports five national championships and seven outdoor national championships. The men’s track program also has 25 conference championships.
Oregon’s football program has won 14 conference titles and was a national finalist in 2010 and 2014.
Recent big wins for the program include in 2020 when the Ducks defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, 28-27, in the annual Rose Bowl game. The next season, Oregon, ranked 12th in the country at that time, stunned Ohio State, ranked third in the country at that time, 35-28.
Currently, the Ducks are ranked 13th in the Associated Press top 25 football poll. They’ll battle throughout the 2023 football season for a chance to win what could be the final PAC-12 championship as they’ll join Washington, USC and UCLA in the BIG10 conference in 2024.
With the addition of Platt, Oregon’s 2024 recruiting class is brought to 11th overall in the country, with time to improve. He’s currently set to join JacQawn McRoy, four-star offensive tackle from Pinson, Alabama; Aaron Flowers, a four-star safety from Forney, Texas; Dakoda Fields, a four-star cornerback from Gardena, California; and 18 other Eugene-bound commits.
He also joins four-star offensive tackle Fox Crader, Evergreen High School, as an Oregon commit from the Evergreen State.
Brandon Huffman, 247Sports national recruiting editor, said Platt is his favorite high school football player in Washington. He said the Ducks commit is an athlete that loves football and loves contact, adding “physicality is part of his game.”
“I just love the competitiveness of Brayden. He does not want to shy away from contact whether he’s playing linebacker and he’s knocking you over … or if he’s a running back who wants to run through you, rather than around you or away from you,” Huffman said. “He’s a throwback. He’s a guy who would’ve really thrived in football in the ’90s and early 2000s, but he’s been able to evolve as a player. [He’s] a guy that I think Oregon is going to be jacked to get to campus in a few months.”
Huffman highlighted Platt’s strength, physicality, football IQ, pass rushing and coverage ability as strengths in his game.
At the conclusion of Platt’s commitment ceremony, the Oregon-bound linebacker displayed his new Oregon Ducks pendant and took photos with those in attendance.
Platt said his commitment to the Ducks’ football program came down to two big reasons.
“To me, it was the development I could get with Coach[es] Lanning, Lupoi and Coach Big Mike. I also really like the culture there,” Platt said after his ceremony. “Sco’ Ducks, we’re going to win a natty.”
Platt is arguably the most decorated athlete in Thurston County since Jonathan Stewart graduated from Timberline High School-Lacey in 2005. Like Stewart, Platt has received All-American honors, Washington Gatorade Player of the Year honors and a strong reputation among coaches and athletes in the county and statewide.
