Dandy Dozen: FRA wide receiver Lance Wilhoite sold on Oregon even before offer

It may have come as a surprise to some that prized wide receiver prospect Lance Wilhoite chose to travel across the country to play college football.

His coach at Franklin Road Academy wasn’t among them.  

“I remember him coming in eighth-grade year and he’d have Oregon stuff on, so they had been on his radar for a while,” Bill Whittemore said. “They actually came in late. We got a call in the spring, and his reaction to that offer was priceless. I knew when I saw that that it was a big one.”

Whittemore was right.

Wilhoite, a 6-foot-3, 186-pound senior who's listed as the state's top-ranked prospect (No. 114 nationally) according to the 247Sports Composite, took Oregon up on its offer  78 days after it was extended. He committed to the Ducks over offers from close to two-dozen FBS schools, including finalists Louisville, Miami and Ohio State.

What drew Lance Wilhoite to Oregon

“Not a lot of kids like to go to out West,” said Wilhoite, who is No. 3 on this year’s Tennessean Dandy Dozen — a collection of the Nashville area’s top college football prospects. “I just wanted to get away and experience some stuff on my own, and I feel like Oregon was a great opportunity for that. The people they have there, I think it’s a place I can develop into a young man, a father, a coach or anything really.”

The school’s affiliation with Nike didn’t hurt, either.

“They’ve got a pretty good recruiting pitch when they can throw Phil Knight in the mix,” Whittemore said “They can talk about the former players that are currently working for him or interning at Nike and everything in between, it’s hard to beat.”

“That was a bonus,” Wilhoite said. 

There was also a Middle Tennessee connection.

Wilhoite, who has 125 career receptions for 1,959 yards and 20 touchdowns at FRA, may have officially been recruited by Oregon wide receivers coach Michael Johnson. However, former Overton star and Ducks senior Ugo Amadi did his fair share as well.

“When I went on my official visit I stayed with (Amadi) and was with him the whole time,” Wilhoite said. “We were chopping it up, and that’s one of the reasons I felt so comfortable. He’s from Nashville, and another guy from Tennessee — Dillon Mitchell — is at Oregon, too.

“They’ve said nothing but good things about it, and me seeing it for myself just sort of sealed the deal.”

Reach Michael Murphy at mfmurphy@tennessean.com, 615-259-8026, and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.

The Dandy Dozen

The Dandy Dozen is a collection of the top 12 college football prospects in the Nashville area as selected by The Tennessean high school sports staff. The Tennessean began to release The Dandy Dozen on Wednesday.

July 11: No. 12, Jackson Hannah, MBA linebacker

July 12: No. 11, Jashon Watkins, East Nashville athlete

July 13: No. 10, Joseph Anderson, Siegel defensive end

Saturday: No. 9, Tymon Mitchell, FRA defensive lineman

Sunday: No. 8, Jayden Harrison, Pearl-Cohn receiver

Monday: No. 7, Zion Logue, Lebanon defensive lineman

Tuesday: No. 6, T.J. Sheffield, Independence receiver

Wednesday: No. 5, Jackson Lampley, MBA offensive lineman

Thursday: No. 4, Trey Knox, Blackman wide receiver

Friday: No. 3, Lance Wilhoite, FRA receiver