Dillard grabs his first BCS offer

Canton, Mich., offensive lineman Cameron Dillard has been adding offers from Mid-American Conference schools at a pretty regular clip over the last few months, but earlier this week the 6-3, 285-pound prospect picked up his first BCS offer from Pac-12 program Oregon.

"Coach [Steve] Greatwood was at my school today visiting," Dillard said Wednesday night. "I had a chance to bump into him and then the offer came through my coach.

"It was kind of out of the blue, but I had been building a relationship with Coach Greatwood for about two years now. We've been emailing back and forth and had phone calls. I think we built a real good relationship and I think that also led to the offer."

Dillard does not have any immediate plans to travel to Eugene, but he already has a pretty decent feel for the Oregon campus and knows his interest is high.

"I was actually out there in April and that's when Coach Greatwood told me Oregon wants guys who want to be at Oregon," Dillard said. "It would be great to go out there and play ball.

Wednesday's offer has not prompted any immediate changes to Dillard's recruiting game plan. He still expects to see how the process develops in the coming months.

"I'm just going to take everything in right now," Dillard said. "I feel very fortunate for what I have and can't thank Coach Greatwood and the Oregon staff enough for having the faith in me, as well as the other schools that have offered me."

Next month, Dillard plans to attend junior days at Michigan State (Feb. 5) and West Virginia (Feb. 11), but his next trip will bring him back to where things began for the junior offensive guard.

"I'll be at Clemson this weekend," Dillard said. "I'm pretty excited from what Coach [Robbie] Caldwell has told me about the program down there. Getting back down south - where I'm from - will be great and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm from Greensboro, N.C., but my dad and his parents are from Beaufort, S.C., which is about four hours away from Clemson."

Dillard's grandparents still reside in South Carolina, so his connections in the south still run deep. The offer from Oregon, though, has Dillard considering what it may be like moving to the West Coast. He also holds offers from Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.