Recruiting: Former Rhode Island Offensive Tackle A.J Cornelius commits to Oregon

Posted By on December 23, 2022

Former Rhode Island guard A.J Cornelius has found a new home. Cornelius committed to the University of Oregon last night. The 6-4 305 Cornelius is out of White Plains, New York and committed to the Rams in February of 2020. He started 22 games for the Rams the past two seasons and he earned All-CAA honors this past season.

Cornelius entered the transfer portal in November and immediately became one of the hottest names in the portal. Some were even calling him the best player available in the portal. Cornelius visited several high profile programs over the course of the past few weeks but ultimately settled on Dan Lanning and the Ducks over Ohio State, Tennessee and Nebraska.

Cornelius will step in and start immediately for an Oregon team that returns several skill players including quarterback Bo Nix. Protecting Nix is priority number one. That is where Cornelius comes in. He is a terrific pass blocker at guard. He can anchor down versus power rushers and he has the athleticism to handle speed rushers and wide techniques on passing downs.

Cornelius also offers scheme versatility. He can play both guard and tackle something that made an appealing prospect when he decided to transfer. Cornelius still has two years of eligibility which is another reason why he was such an attractive option in the portal.

Losing Cornelius obviously hurts URI. He was one of the top offensive lineman in the country at the FCS level. The Rams do have some depth and they did dip into the portal themselves adding former Boston College Offensive Tackle Kevin Pyne and Tennessee-Chattanooga Offensive Tackle Brock Bethea. Both should step in compete right away but replacing Cornelius will be difficult.

Cornelius recent recruitment reiterates what football coaches have thought for years. Players slip through the cracks but they get second chances with the transfer portal and as we have seen, they have taken advantage of them. Cornelius certainly has and now it could lead him to the NFL eventually.