The Oregon Ducks coaching staff has spent months assembling what is expected to officially become the highest-rated recruiting class in the history of the football program Wednesday.

But it was Saturday’s nationally-televised ceremony, wedged into halftime of the New Mexico Bowl between Utah State and North Texas, that delivered the biggest splash of the 2019 recruiting cycle.

Consensus five-star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, ESPN’s No. 1 overall prospect, ended his recruitment, announcing his commitment to Oregon over fellow finalists Alabama, Florida and Florida State.

The 6-foot-5, 234-pound superstar, out of Oaks Christian High School (Westlake Village, California), eclipses notable names Haloti Ngata, De’Anthony Thomas and Jonathan Stewart as the highest-rated commit for the Ducks in the history of modern recruiting rankings.

Ranked the No. 1 prospect in the country by ESPN since his junior season, Thibodeaux has had his recruitment written about and speculated upon for years.