EUGENE — Oregon solidified its best recruiting class in program history on Wednesday, signing a pair of four star prospects in running back Byron Cardwell and cornerback Avante Dickerson to a 23-member class of 2021 ranked No. 3 nationally by Rivals and No. 6 by 247Sports and ESPN, and the Ducks may not be done yet.

Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said UO is “still saving a spot for a special talent” during his appearance on the program’s in-house radio show, referring to five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, though not by name. Tuimoloau is not expected to sign until April, hopefully following on-campus visits, if they’re allowed at that time, to Oregon, Ohio State and Alabama among others.

“Still a little bit of room,” Cristobal said. “We have a little bit of room and we’re going to keep recruiting and we’ll polish off this class here in the very near future.”

The Ducks once again have the best class in the Pac-12, with seven players ranked as the best from their respective states (Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, New York and Nebraska) and the best offensive player from California.

“It’s widely regarded as the best class in our history,” Cristobal said. “We’ll find out on the field when it all plays out. But in terms of players in the country and some of the best players at every position, widely regarded as the best class in our history. For the third consecutive year having a top class in the Pac-12 conference, which is great because we like to have those consecutive type of accomplishments like having a back-to-back Pac-12 championship. This is directly related to that; talent acquisition.”

The Ducks added 12 players on offense and 11 on defense, with 13 signees (Ty Thompson, Terrance Ferguson, Moliki Matavao, Troy Franklin, Dont’e Thornton, Jackson Light, Kingsley Suamataia, Bram Walden, Keanu Williams, Keith Brown, Jaylin Davies, Jeffrey Bassa and Daymon David) already on campus and another (Jonah Miller) expected to arrive on March 26.

The additions on Wednesday won’t join the program until the summer, but Cardwell and Dickerson each are at important positions for Oregon, which addressed its areas of need in both the immediate and short-term.

Cristobal said the 6-foot, 193-pound Cardwell, who committed last week, is “a very large special talent and adds a dimension to that backfield” with a combination of speed and power.

“We were late to the party in the sense of when we offered him, but he knew the entire time that he was somebody that I wanted for over a year,” running backs coach Jim Mastro said on UO’s signing day radio show. “He brings size. We’re looking to get bigger every year and we’ve done that. He’s as dynamic as they come and we’re looking at a special skill set.”

The top-rated running back on the West Coast, the 6-foot, 193-pound Cardwell rushed for 1,968 yards and 34 touchdowns during his two all-league seasons at St. Augustine High in San Diego.

“Hard to see a talent like that anywhere in the country, let alone out on the West Coast,” Cristobal said. “When you’re big, that powerful and that explosive, you can make people miss subtly or you can run through them, you can run around them, you can stretch the field from the backfield and be involved in the passing game and you can block like he does. He’s a home run hitter. He does it between the tackles, does it outside, does it in the screen game.”

A MaxPreps All-American and consensus No. 1 player from Nebraska, Dickerson helped lead Westside High (Omaha) to a state championship last season by posting 19 tackles (16 solo), one for loss, four interceptions, nine pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

Dickerson is the No. 8 cornerback in the 247Sports Composite and chose Oregon over Minnesota, where he was previously committed, and nearby Nebraska.

“Tremendous athlete, just tremendous talent,” Cristobal said. “Has a lot of special team value as well. Explosive, long, fast, great academic guy. An explosive, tough, physical football player. He wants to play a physical brand of football. He wants to be challenged and wants to be on the big stage. To be able to pry him away from some of the powers that be in that area, it speaks volumes about his desire to be great, not to mention the great job by (cornerbacks) coach Rod Chance and the rest of the staff.”

Chance, who recruited Dickerson previously while at Minnesota, said the newest Duck runs the 100 meters in the 10.5-10.6 second range.

“He has some really smooth running mechanics, really knows how to get from point A, to point B,” Chance said. “He has position flexibility. He’ll create immediate special teams value for our football team whether that’s in the return game or in the coverage units by having the speed that he does have.”

The addition of Dickerson also gives UO five defensive backs, including two top 10 corners, in this year’s class.

Combined with a trio of top-30 receivers, two of whom are in the top 10, two top-10 tight ends, a top-10 running back, top-5 quarterback and another vaunted quartet of offensive linemen, it’s easy to see why this group of Ducks is the best ever assembled, at least on paper.

“Everything that we’re saying is being validated by the actual outcome and the performances,” Cristobal said. “It makes us hungrier. We’re more motivated than ever to take that next step and this class is an excellent step in that direction.”