As the confetti still fell to the floor inside the AT&T Stadium on December 31st, 2015, Alabama offensive line coach Mario Cristobal sent a text message.

Cristobal was texting a then-freshman Da'Ron Payne's mother Kemberley Smith and Payne's high school football coach Bill Smith. The message was the finishing touches of a conversation Cristobal, Payne, Kemberley, and Bill Smith had three years prior when Cristobal recruited him to Alabama when Payne was a sophomore high school football player.

That message served as a reminder of what the quartet talked about three years prior.

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Last weekend the Oregon Ducks held the largest collection of talent ever assembled for a recruiting weekend at Oregon. Over 45 prospects came to Eugene for a weekend to see what new head coach Mario Cristobal and the Duck program could offer from a football, academic, and personal development perspective.

Cristobal had one main goal this past weekend and it was a clear one.

"I want to make sure parents leave here with a high sense of trust that if their sons choose to come to Oregon that they can put their heads down at night and sleep well knowing they're going to be in great hands with people who not only have a high level of expertise but with people who really care," Cristobal told DuckTerritory last week.

The Ducks landed four verbal commitments that weekend from prospects who made the visit to Eugene. Three were high school prep football players who will enroll at Oregon for the 2019 season, and the four being a grad transfer from South Florida who will enroll into school this summer and play his final year of eligibility.

How did the Ducks get the four commitments from four players at important positions of need? How did Oregon position themselves as the leader in the clubhouse for countless other prospects on campus that weekend? What's made Cristobal so successful as a recruiter wherever he's gone, and now at Oregon why is it working with the Ducks?

Cristobal and the Ducks did it by opening the doors to their home and presenting a sense of family for any and all prospects that came to the program that weekend for a visit, whether the prospect was a five-star prospect or a prospect without an offer.

"The Oregon coaching staff was amazing," said Roshawn Dollars, the father of the nation's No. 1 ranked all-purpose running back in 2019. "Everything was first class. It didn't matter if it was the strength coach or the defensive back coach, or the special team's coach, everyone knew my son's name. It didn't end there. They knew my wife and I's name. It wasn't just us, you could see it with every recruit and their family that was there."

Oregon held a Friday meeting, photo shoot, and chance to meet and speak with Oregon's entire coaching staff Friday night. Saturday was the exact same as more recruits arrived at campus ahead of the spring game, and it was an instant hit. Not because of the sweet facilities or the photo shoot the Ducks held for recruits, but according to the parents, it was because of the attention to details.

"What made this visit extra special was being invited to come early Saturday morning to what became an extra special visit," Anthony Jordan, the father of 2020 in-state prospect CJ Jordan told DuckTerritory. "From the photo shoot, tour, interactions with players and coaches was first class. But as a father and coach, what spoke most to me was the intentionality the coaching staff who knew CJ's name and welcomed him as if he was a top-tier recruit."

Cristobal's recruiting approach has been an honest and upfront recruiting pitch, and it's paid off with Oregon holding the nation's 25th best recruiting class in 2019 and keeping commitments in the 2020 and 2021 classes already. Over the weekend the approach landed commitments from the program's highest-rated linebacker commit in program history in Mase Funa. Four-star athletes Jayvaun Wilson and Cameron Williams also followed suit with commitments. Sunday afternoon, USF grad-transfer Kano Dillon became the fourth prospect to verbaly commit from the weekend.

"They make you feel like family while some seem full of themselves," Chance Hudson, the father of Oregon commit Keyon Ware-Hudson said. "Don’t get me wrong there are some teams who have wonderful coaches and did everything right. Coaches have contacted us and had great conversations, but Oregon has done the most by far. It’s not just the position coach who we talk to. We will FaceTime the whole staff during or after meetings. It already feels like family and Keyon has another year of high school left."

While the recruits loved the spring game and gave rave reviews of the environment, the visit wasn't over when the game ended. Shortly after the Ducks wrapped up the spring game the Ducks held a recruits and family banquet inside Autzen, just another opportunity for Cristobal's plan of a full-staff recruiting effort to be put into effect.

"We got to enjoy dinner with Coach Marcus Arroyo, his wife and daughter and recruiting director Coach Stephen Field," said Jordan. "CJ was able to get a few moments of one-on-one with Arroyo to get some insight on where he stands and where he needs to improve to earn an opportunity with the Ducks."

Recruits said they felt no pressure to commit to the Ducks or that they'd lose a spot if they left without giving assurances to Oregon. Oregon's staff was also honest and upfront about areas each prospect needed to improve upon, which only enhanced the recruiting visit fo the parents. There was no negative recruiting about other programs, but a focus on what Oregon can provide to the potential student-athlete.

"There was no sugar-coating," Dollars said of Oregon's recruiting pitch over the weekend. "There wasn't any kind of smoke screens or mixed signals about things. They were just straight up honest and welcoming. It was kind of like we were cousins that hadn't seen each other in awhile and we went to a family reunion. After some time of getting to know each other, it was like we knew each other for years and were like family. They talked about how Sean could help the program at Oregon and how they could help him turn into the player and person he wanted to be.

"If it was my choice, but it's not, but I told him Oregon is the choice."

Less than a month after Dollars made the unofficial visit to Oregon, he committed to the Oregon Ducks with high school teammate and close friend Jeremiah Criddell.

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When Smith noticed his phone buzz he opened his phone to a surprise message from Cristobal back in 2015. The text was simple, just a photo from Cristobal with Da'Ron Payne and one of Cristobal's sons 30 minutes after the Crimson Tide beat Michigan State 38-0 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl to advance to the championship game.

"It was a message to his Mom and to me to let me know he is a man of his word and that he and Da'Ron accomplished one of the many goals they set out to reach when Da'Ron decided to sign with Alabama out of high school.

Da'Ron Payne, Mario Cristobal, and his son after Alabama's 38-0 victory in the 2015 Cotton Bowl.

"He's a very good talent evaluator and he doesn't lie or tell you what you want to hear. He truly cares about the kids and helping them reach their dreams and become good men. Now he's just at Oregon doing what he did at Alabama," Bill Smith said a day before Da'Ron Payne's NFL Draft party on Thursday.

Just another check mark for Payne and Cristobal to mark off in the goals they've set together.