The Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers have both publicly proclaimed in-state recruiting to be a top priority for their football programs.

But after U.S. Army All-American defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu's April pledge to the Washington Huskies and Madison three-star linebacker Daniel Green's commitment to the USC Trojans on Thursday, they find themselves in the unenviable position of losing ground to conference foes in their home state.

Oregon and Oregon State should be disappointed by their precarious start to the 2017 recruiting cycle, as they are ranked 10th and 11th, respectively, in the 247Sports Pac-12 class rankings, but it's the Ducks and Mark Helfrich who need to re-evaluate their in-state recruiting effort.

After all, the Beavers seem to know they have work to do to change their image, and coach Gary Andersen isn't hiding from the fight.

Upon arriving in Corvallis, Oregon State coaches visited Oregon high schools, drawing praise from top-tier prep coaches, quickly amassed a department to produce new, eye-popping custom photo edits and turned Junior Day and their own spring game into a celebration of in-state talent, inviting dozens of local prospects.

Too proud to beg? Maybe, but after a winless Pac-12 season the Beavers aren't under an illusion about their place in college football.

Oregon may be another story.

After a disappointing 9-4 showing last year, culminating with a disastrous Alamo Bowl finish that could literally become a scene in a Disney movie, and the replacement of both its offensive and defensive coordinator, the Ducks needed to make a splash early in the 2017 recruiting cycle.

Instead, it's been business as usual.

For years, Oregon could sell winning and championship seasons to wide-eyed recruits desperately hoping to become the next Dennis Dixon, LaMichael James, De'Anthony Thomas, Marcus Mariota or Royce Freeman.

They didn't need extra flash. It already came stitched on their seemingly limitless uniform combinations, transcribed in the offensive playbook and glimmering in a suddenly-crowded trophy case.

But with the sour taste of utter collapse on a national stage as the lasting impression of the program for many 2017 prospects, Oregon needed a little more.

And the Ducks appear to be ignoring the signs.

During the homestretch of the 2016 recruiting cycle, Oregon missed on a handful of bluechip prospects in which it was considered a finalist and watched helplessly as U.S. Army All-American running back Vavae Malepeai flipped from the Ducks to USC at the 11th hour.

For the spring game, the Ducks failed to get even half of the top 10 in-state 2017 prospects (or the top two 2018 talents) to attend, slow-playing several of those recruits only to offer after Oregon State.

ESPN four-star quarterback Ryan Kelley de-committed and potential signal-caller targets have had less-than-enthusiastic first impressions of new quarterback coach David Yost.

So what's the pitch when recruits start to doubt your championship prowess?

Nike shoes, according to several recruits.

Oregon has elected to stay out of the photo edit game for some time, but has been regularly sending photos of custom Nike shoes to recruits with messages such as "Walk like a Duck" and "Stack'em like a Duck."

For a program that prides itself on thoroughly investigating recruits and pitching them substance over more obvious flash, Oregon suddenly finds itself torn between selling wins and marketing swag.

No wonder kids aren't sure about the program's new identity.

The Ducks need to right the ship on the recruiting trail and change the current perception of the program, because when it comes to recruiting, Oregon's past championships and individual accolades don't seem to amount to... well, a pile of shoes.

-- Andrew Nemec

anemec@oregonian.com

@AndrewNemec