Sometimes you recruit the guy who matches the prototype and wins in the star system, and other times you offer the guy who has the football drive and desire to bust the star system all to hell.
Edge Rusher Dutch Horisk of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California committed to the Ducks yesterday, and he's the second type of player.
Horisk started for the Braves as a freshman on the 2022 team that won a National Championship, alongside 5-star defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei. A junior now, he's already a three-year starter at Bosco, one of the perennial powers of Southern California prep football, state champions in 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022, National Champions in 2013, 2019 and 2022.
Coached by Jason Negro, St. John Bosco churns out 10-15 Division One prospects a year. They are Trinity League rivals to Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran, Junipero Serra and Servite; their annual showdown with the Mater Dei Monarchs is one of the most scouted high school football games of the year.
As a sophomore Horisk was Defensive Lineman of the Year in the Trinity after racking up 11.5 sacks, 85 tackles, 5 PBUs (as a defensive end,) and 10 TFLs. The TFL number must be in addition to sacks; otherwise it doesn't make statistical sense.
He's a 4-star on Rivals but a 3-star on the 247 Sports Composite, partly because his 6-1.5, 230-pound frame doesn't fit the edge rusher stereotype: he's not built like Uiagalelei or Kayvon Thibodeaux.
But what screams out of his highlight tape is a motor that will remind you of Oregon all-time sack king Nick Reed. Not saying he's Reed, not yet, but the drive and desire to get to the quarterback or pull down the runner is right out of a Nick Reed highlight tape. He's relentless and he loves to play football. That's what the Oregon coaches saw in him, I'm certain.
Reed starred for the Ducks at defensive end from 2005-2008. He still owns the UO career record for sacks with 29.5, 13 of which came in his senior season in 2008. The standout quarterback smasher played four seasons in the NFL before becoming a colonel in the United States Air Force flying jet planes.
Horisk has a lot of work to do to catch Reed's accomplishments in Autzen Stadium or in life, but he shares two vital attributes: work ethic and attitude.
Speaking to John Davis of the Long Beach Press-Telegram this spring he said, “I just want to bring leadership that involves everybody, A lot of times, people don’t get to play in the games, I want to be able to let everybody play. I want to be able to do my job so I can let my brother get on the field and fill a part of this team, so when they leave Bosco and they leave this, they have relationships with the other players.”
That's a mindset right in line with the connection and commitment Dan Lanning demands from his players. Horisk had offers from Oklahoma, Tennessee, Oregon, USC, Miami and Hawaii among many others.
Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times, the longtime dean of prep football writers in Southern California, wrote this summer: "Dutch Horisk of St. John Bosco is a junior who keeps getting stronger and more difficult to block."
Film don't lie. See for yourself:
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