EUGENE -- The future of Oregon football arrives Wednesday, the first day high school seniors can sign binding National Letters of Intent.

As 14 Ducks have shown by playing as true freshmen the past two seasons, the future impact of some Oregon commitments will arrive sooner than others, however.

With 10 of the 11 offensive starters from Oregon’s Alamo Bowl victory returning next season, it figures to be more difficult for new offensives signees to find a role among the offensive two-deep than their defensive counterparts. There, Oregon lost four defensive linemen and three of the four starters in the secondary to either graduation or early declarations for the NFL.

Still, on the eve of National Signing Day, recruiting analysts believe the latest Oregon class includes players who could join Thomas Tyner, Torrodney Prevot and Cameron Hunt as some of the valuable freshman contributors from last season’s team on each side.

"I think Jalen Brown is definitely one I identify as having a great chance," 247 Sports analyst Justin Hopkins said of the receiver from Arizona. "He was very polished and very smooth, I think he's one of the most complete receivers Oregon has brought in in a while. It doesn't mean they haven't brought in great players but Jalen Brown presents that."

Brown has a head start on making the adjustment to college football as the only high school senior commit who enrolled for Oregon’s academic quarter. (Joining him is junior college transfer cornerback Dominique Harrison and Cal transfer Johnny Ragin, who isn’t counted as a member of this recruiting class.)

As a senior last fall at Mountain Pointe High in Phoenix, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound target caught 52 passes for 1,229 yards and 19 touchdowns. Brown also caught 67 passes with 18 touchdowns as a junior.

If there was a position where a signee would figure to have the most obstacles to playing it is running back. Both Byron Marshall and Tyner return after combining for 1,749 rushing yards, yet five-star back Royce Freeman is another recruit that analysts from Scout, Rivals and 247 Sports each mentioned as a candidate to play early.

“In terms of pure talent, I’d be very surprised if Freeman didn’t see a lot of playing time next season,” said Tony DiFrancisco, an analyst for Duck Sports Authority. “At close to 230 pounds, he’s more of a power back that Oregon could use between the tackles, ideally in short-yardage situations.”

Brandon Huffman, a national analyst from Scout, was even more bullish on Freeman’s potential next season.

“This is a ridiculously talented running back class, not just in the west but nationally and he’s one of the premier guys,” Huffman said. “I would be stunned if Freeman doesn’t make an impact early in his career.”

Defensively, any list of freshman candidates begins with the defensive linemen the Ducks sign. Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner will return experience and rare height along the defensive line, but won’t make up for the loss of defensive tackles Taylor Hart, Wade Keliikipi and Ricky Havili-Heimuli alone.

Lineman Austin Maloata, at 6-3, 250 pounds, committed verbally to Oregon last week and his high school coach from Corona, Calif., Matt Logan says he believes Maloata could contribute immediately because of his size. There are also known commitments from defensively linemen Jalen Jelks and junior college transfer Tui Talia, though neither is the space-eating tackle the Ducks have sought in the final weeks of recruiting.

“(Oregon) going after these big, huge defensive tackles is a different strategy than those long, tall, lean athletic-types Chip Kelly went after,” said A.J. Jacobson of Duck Sports Authority.

With the attrition in Oregon’s secondary, only returning senior starter Ifo Ekpre-Olomu remains. Returning backups include steady veterans such as Dior Mathis, Erick Dargan and Troy Hill, but the talent of safety Mattrell McGraw and defensive back/receiver John “Juju” Smith, -- both of whom have not given Oregon verbal commitments but have UO among their finalists – could be too much to ignore.

Signing day will end that uncertainty but also usher in the long seven months until the season opener, when it will become apparent which freshmen could make an impact.