After struggling on the defensive side of the ball last season, the Oregon Ducks brought in a new defensive coordinator in Brady Hoke, whose primary change was a switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3 defensive front.

In the hopes of bolstering that new defensive front, Oregon has hit the ground running in the class of 2017, landing commitments from four-star defensive end/linebacker Langi Tuifua and U.S. Army All-American defensive tackle Rutger Reitmaier.

On Wednesday morning, Hoke and Co. again added a crucial piece to the heart of the defense, as Rivals four-star linebacker Sampson Niu committed to Oregon on "Good Morning San Diego" on KUSI.

The 6-foot-1, 217-pound 'backer, out of Madison High School (San Diego, California), chose the Ducks over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Louisville, Michigan, Mississippi, Notre Dame, Oregon State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Utah, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin and others.

For some time, it looked as though USC had the inside track for Niu's services, but after landing Oregon high school talent Daniel Green, the Trojans filled up their allotted slots at the position.

Shortly thereafter, Niu visited Oregon and indicated he was blown away by the experience, leading to widespread belief that he would choose the Ducks.

The pledge marks Oregon's sixth football commitment in the month of June, joining Reitmaier, Rivals four-star offensive lineman Alex Forsyth, junior college offensive lineman John Vaka, as well as class of 2018 duo Colson Yankoff, a 247Sports four-star quarterback, and emerging 6-foot-5 wide receiver Devin Culp.

-- Andrew Nemec

anemec@oregonian.com

@AndrewNemec