EUGENE -- Adding a commitment at quarterback remains one of Oregon's top priorities for its 2015 recruiting class, but after UO was snubbed by another high-profile recruit Wednesday "there are still good options out there but the number is shrinking," said recruiting analyst A.J. Jacobson.

After consensus four-star QB Blake Barnett of Corona, Calif., announced he would attend Alabama over Oregon -- after he'd called the Ducks his leader just last week -- Oregon moved quickly to offer a scholarship to Sam Darnold of San Clemente, Calif. He is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound dual-threat prospect who is rated a three-star recruit by the major services.

A quarterback commitment for the 2015 class is important because of the possibility All-American candidate Marcus Mariota -- who was considered a three-star recruit out of high school -- will forgo his senior year and leave for the NFL after the upcoming season. Offseason attrition has seen backups Jake Rodrigues and Damion Hobbs each transfer in the last month, projecting UO to be thin at the position in 2015. Before Barnett the Ducks were also finalists for Kyler Murray (a Texas A&M commit) and Brady White (Arizona State).

"It's easy to second guess when you see (Oregon) in second repeatedly but there is still enough talent to land a top quarterback in their system -- but it's getting very important that they do so," said Jacobson, who runs Duck Sports Authority of the Rivals network.

Wednesday also brought more quarterback news for the Ducks, and of the more promising variety, when UO made the cut of four-star Deondre Francois' top three schools alongside Auburn and Florida State.

Francois plays at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where his coach is former Florida State and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Chris Weinke. Oregon offered a scholarship to Francois on April 16 and he will attend the prestigious "The Opening" camp on the Nike campus near Beaverton in July, where he has said he will announce his college commitment.

All commitments are non-binding until National Letters of Intent are signed in February.

Jacobson spoke with Francois on Wednesday about his decision to include the Ducks.

"What I heard from him is that the Duck coaches may have had their eggs in the Barnett basket and that he hasn't heard from the Ducks' coaches for a while," Jacobson said. "He was just getting in the car from an unofficial visit from Auburn and then after this he's heading to Florida State for his other unofficial."

Francois recently won the quarterback MVP at the "Rivals Challenge" camp on June 8 in Baltimore, a competition that included Barnett.

"I think he's one of the best chances they've got right now," Jacobson said of Francois. "They just offered Sam Darnold today and they're obviously responding to Barnett committing to Alabama."

Four-star Anaheim, Calif., QB Travis Waller has not been offered a scholarship by Oregon but was considered a player UO was keeping in contact with regardless as other signal-callers made their decisions. On June 9 he announced via Twitter that Alabama, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Ohio State were his "top four" schools. He, like Barnett, took an unofficial visit to Alabama last week.

-- Andrew Greif | @andrewgreif