kirklandduck

Well that would explain the arrest. But no details on the circumstances, I'm going to wait for those to come out before forming an opinion.

Coach Lock making the news again and not in a good way. Sounds like something in his brain just snapped. https://footballscoop.com/news/veteran-rbs-coach-responds-to-carlos-locklyns-comments-who-exactly-is-he-talking-about-curtis-luper-missouri

If Mario's still running that Pistol then Damian should avoid Miami. I don't think any RB would love running into a solid wall of defensive linemen every down, no matter how big they are.

Dillingham leaving for the ASU gig was the primary (and most obvious) reason. He's just confirming it now. Dante Moore said only one school stood out when he elected to transfer from UCLA and it was Oregon 247SPORTS.COM Oregon sophomore QB Dante Moore spoke about his decision to come to Oregon via a transfer.

Evidently the reason for the abrupt about-face was NIL (he says it's not but we all know it is). Oregon State’s Damien Martinez claims NIL collective ‘lied,’ Dam Nation says it has ‘1000 percent’ delivered on commitments WWW.OREGONLIVE.COM Martinez, a two-time all-conference running back, plans to put his name in the NCAA transfer portal when the spring football window opens Tuesday

Interesting. If Oregon's RB room wasn't so packed I'd say go for it but there's no need to. I wonder if he's making the right decision...he could've taken the 400k, played 1 more season where he demolished G5 opponents to pad his stats, then declared for the NFL. His bonefides wouldn't be in question since he spent his first 2 seasons against P5 competition averaging 1k+ rushing between them.

This should be really interesting to see how things shake out by the time Fall practices start, there's so much talent that it's hard to predict what will happen. The pragmatic side of me believes the returning players have the advantage since they know the playbook already. Tez and Traeshon will be WR1/WR2 (interchangeable) and Gary Bryant upgrading himself to WR3. That being said, Evan Stewart is likely to disrupt this order and possibly Jurrion Dickey and Kyler Kasper as well. I see Gary having the highest odds of being the odd man out and if it happens, may transfer. I'm not saying it's likely but out of the 3 current top returning WRs, he's the most susceptible to get bumped down.

I mostly agree with that except on one point. I surmise that if Stein moves on in the next couple years, Junior Adams would be the logical choice to bump up to OC. Samples would then could move into Adams spot as WR coach/passing game coordinator (same titles he had at ASU) plus retain the assistant HC title as the next step in his career.

I think this is a sneaky good hire, not only from the aspect of getting an elite recruiter and a good RB coach. Given his recent experience with receivers, DL could be using Samples as a hedge against either Stein or Adams leaving in the next couple years...if Stein leaves then Adams could move up to OC and Samples could dovetail into the WR coach spot and get the passing game coordinator title granted as well...same thing if Adams leaves, Samples just takes over his position with the extra title.

Definitely a strange response when Locklyn should know as well as anyone that DL has always preached a culture of improvement in every aspect. Superficially it looks like Lock's taking it as an insult since he's the best RB coach and can't possibly be improved on Ultimately there are going to be details that will never see the light of day. But he did accept and sign the contract extension which gave him a raise and so it seems the intent was there to stay at Oregon originally.

While I certainly don't love Lock leaving, I can understand the probable reason why ($$$). I think if OBD can hold onto what I can the "core" coaches (HC/OC/DC) for an extended period then things are fine if a position coach or two changes each season. Talented up-and-comer coaches are always looking for the next step after all... Based on the article NJDuck posted, this would be my initial top 3 preferred coaches to fill in: 1. Former Michigan RB Coach Mike Hart. The Wolverines' rush offense was pretty decent, certainly good enough to help win a national title. Would seem appropriate to bring him in as he's got a lot of experience against B10 competition. Little bit weird that he hasn't snagged another gig by now but maybe he's just taking time to decompress. 2. UTSA RB Coach Julian Griffin. He worked in Will Stein's offense for 2 years at UTSA, producing a pretty darn good rush offense. That familiarity with Stein's offensive philosophy and schemes would make him the easiest candidate to hit the ground running quickly if he were hired. Plus he'd probably bring some good Texas recruiting connections. 3. Georgia Offensive Analyst Darrell Dickey. This one's a little left field given DL's preference for younger coaches. But given the relative inexperience at HC and OC, bringing in an old hand with 35 years of coaching experience to balance things out for a couple seasons makes sense (at least to me). High IQ is not the same as wisdom afterall.

I certainly hope he doesn't leave. He's got a great thing going in Eugene and it's not necessarily better at tOSU.

Back when the Pac12 was in discussion with the CW I thought it was a good idea. Tons of exposure on a channel available on both cable TV and OTA. Oregon State, Washington State reportedly nearing TV deal with The CW AMP.AWFULANNOUNCING.COM

I wonder what the the fans on that SC board are saying right about now

Yikes. In a year they've lost 2 ADs, DeBoer leaving (along with 20 out of 22 starters), and their men's BB coach fired. A quote from an article from a well-known Fuskies site about this subject: Perhaps some of those puppy homers are starting to realize that UW isn't quite the destination they thought it was.

USC hasn't recruited and developed well in the trenches for years, I don't see that changing in 2024. The new DC there will need 2-3 years of hardcore recruiting and coaching to get up to snuff. Until then they're a 7-8 win team assuming the new QB pans out.

Great article Duckster. True college football fans who really scrutinize the details appreciate the in depth analysis of what made those recruiting classes truly succeed or not. I was in a debate on a YouTube video regarding what Cam Ward's upcoming season would potentially look like and oh boy, those Miami fans are a special kind of delirious. You'd think Mario was some kind of deity to them. Despite tons of proof that QBs regularly regress under his regimes they put their heads in the sand. Poor Cam, unless some miraculous change happens he has probably cost himself a lot of NFL money when he finally goes to the draft.

I know the focus on QBs throwing the deep ball is because it's the "sexy" skill to look at. But I'd argue that the more important traits to look for if you're searching for a starting QB are maturity, high IQ, and quick decision making (all three Bo has in spades). Bo has shown us that he can throw the long ball decently well, his arm strength isn't elite like Justin Herbert's but it's adequate. I think I read an article somewhere recently (I can't find it at the moment) where the the NFL scout states that the vast majority of passes in the NFL are short/mid length anyway. So having elite arm strength is certainly a plus but not a dealbreaker. I think if Bo continues to show he can hit those 20-40 yard range passes with deadly accuracy like he has been the last couple seasons, he'll be in a good place in the draft.

I don't know if he's underrated so much as he's underestimated. College football fans that don't pay close attention to the Oregon program generally only focus on his losses to DeBoer and neglect to notice what he's done overall in his 2 years as a HC. Not only that, they usually don't notice the constant, gradual cycle of improvement we see DL and his staff going through from game to game. DeBoer is an excellent game coach but you can definitely argue he was in the right situation at the right time and lightning struck. If he stayed another year at UW you'd see them as a shell of themselves, similar to TCU after they made their CFP run.

I bet it's Cam Ward given Mario's pristine history of QB development and powerful passing offense...

The Las Vegas GM may have accidentally tipped his hand... https://atozsports.com/las-vegas/raiders-general-manager-tom-telesco-accidentally-reveals-the-quarterback-he-may-prefer-at-nfl-combine/

The FTC is now proposing to ban non-compete clauses entirely from all workplaces. FTC Proposes Rule to Ban Noncompete Clauses, Which Hurt Workers and Harm Competition WWW.FTC.GOV The Federal Trade Commission

I like the 16 team expansion, I don't like the automatic bids. Leaving out the bids makes it a truer playoff.

Some of that was growing pains as a true freshman. But I think most of that was a terrible offensive line and an offensive scheme not designed around his strengths. I think Will Stein will do a better job tweaking his offense fit Moore's skill set if he becomes the starter in the future.

Reading through the article, it sounds very much like when Mario took over and had Justin as QB. He designed the wrong kind of offense that emphasized the run game and not the elite passer he had right in front of him. The one difference is that Mario was able to recruit and develop a competent OL, Chip could not even do that.