RatherBe

Dennis Dixon, narrows it down to two years. Not a bad time to start if I do say so. First game ever attended the QB was Akili.

The joke of the day is that this is why the SEC recruits better than the Pac-12, a fast food bag has room for more cash than a coffee cup. Everyone in major college football offers extra incentives. Not to every recruit, but to some. Including Oregon. It’s just a matter of how brazen they are, and it sounds like Tennessee broke the unwritten rules. The question now is whether the university decided to use this as a reason to cut ties with Jeremy Pruitt or if the rumor of Georgia getting fed up and dropping the dime is true. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. If anyone is curious about a well known case, the recruitment of Albert Means in 1999 is a fascinating look behind the curtain. It led to Alabama receiving a two year bowl ban, five years of probation, and a loss of 21 scholarships. Half of the SEC was involved, and Tennessee’s Phil Fulmer was the one who helped provide evidence. There were criminal consequences, which means public records. An interesting read: No Virgins in this Whorehouse

I can’t pick just one. There are a few that I feel are criminally underrated. Aidan Schneider: he made 3rd team All America one season, ended his career as the Pac-12’s most accurate field goal kicker at 85% (since passed and is now #2) which was good enough for top-10 in NCAA history at the time, and still holds the conference record for PATs. Yet when Henry Kattleman emerged as a surprising alternative many Duck fans were acting like we’d never had a good kicker before. I partially understand. Camden Lewis reminded us of Maldonado, and we’re all still traumatized. Schneider was so recent that it makes me think people didn’t realize how good he really was. Charles Nelson was such a jack of all trades that it’s easy to just think of him as a WR. In addition to his use as a runner he’s also one of the few guys to have multiple punt and kick return TDs, and in general was a special teams stud. Chuck even threw a 20 yard TD pass against Utah when the team was struggling with Burmeister, acrobatic play to escape pressure. What really makes me appreciate him is when 2015 tire fire defense needed him, and this 5’8” 175 speedster played safety for a while, had games with 14 and 12 tackles, grabbed two INTs, and was the hardest hitter in that secondary. Nelson finished his career with 1800+ yards from scrimmage at almost 12 yards per touch, 2700+ return yards, 66 tackles, and 22 total TDs. A lot of names to pick from, everyone on that graphic is a correct answer. Those two just jumped out at me as ones who are recent enough for the vast majority of Duck fans to remember but seemingly forgotten by the casual fans.

The defensive line ranking is wayyy off to me. Other than KT I have them down with the QBs and special teams. I was very disappointed with Jordon Scott. Austin Faoliu for most of the season was also sub par. KT: some people are focusing on the sack numbers but his game was much better this year. More well rounded, monster against the run, got lots of pressure and QB hits, and a few of the team’s rare sacks were his doing. Jordon: might as well have not shown up. Lost 20 pounds, 100 pounds of strength, and looked as slow as ever. Austin Faoliu: never seen a guy get easier to block as a senior. Brandon Dorlus: A bright spot and I have great hopes for him. Who would have thought the Ge’Mon Eaford recruitment would yield Dorlus becoming good instead? Had some whiffs on tackles, but the potential is there. Kristian Williams: potential there, excited for him and think he should have been used more by the coaches. Keyon Ware-Hudson: have you ever read The Invisible Man? Very good book. KWH is on the other hand is not a good DT thus far and he is pretty much invisible. Best position group? WRs. Not enough touches to go around. Compared to the poverty at the position just a few years ago this was quite the surprise. Redd, JJIII, Williams, and Pittman were all good. Delgado and Hutson have potential. Shough was bailed out a lot by the group making great catches. Extremely excited for year 2 of Devon Williams.

Very underwhelming new names. Josh Conklin, Wofford HC: He was not a good DC at Pitt, had a season allowing 38 PPG. At FIU it was 37 PPG. Game over for me, the 2015 Pillows Pellum defense gave up 37 PPG and before Brady Hoke I thought that was rock bottom. Patrick Toney: 2020 was his first year as a DC, before that he was Louisiana Lafayette’s (I refuse to acknowledge their rebranding to Louisiana) safeties coach. Has also been a position coach at UTEP, FCS Sam Houston, Multi-directional Louisiana State. His defense was good his one season, and beat Iowa State. But the Ragin’ Cajuns defense was also good before he took over play calling duties. Small sample size, no P-5 experience at all. Frankly, I don’t think this is a DC candidate - maybe a DB position coach if Heyward leaves? I’m still holding out hope for one of Schumann, Derrick Ansley, or Tosh Lupoi.

The same for me. I was in the student section in those days, so I was easily distracted. I remember Jaison Williams, Garren Strong, Derick Jones, even Pflu making catches - but not Colvin. I know he did, but that metal plate might as well have been camouflage for him. I definitely remember the end zone fumble. It felt devastating. Little did I know that was just preparing me for future disappointment. What a roller coaster of a season. I remember my girlfriend at the time trying to calm me down after the Arizona loss, and me on the verge of tears saying “you don’t understand! We’ll never have another chance like this!” Very happy to be so wrong.

Thanks, Fishduck! And thank you for providing the venue.

As a long suffering Chargers fan, ever since September 2020 when I was in the grocery store and my friend texted me that Herbert is playing, I’m not sure how to feel. KC’s Eric Bienimy seemed like the obvious choice, Andy Reid’s right hand man, exciting offense like what Mahomes has. Maybe it’s true what they say about the Chargers franchise being poorly managed and wasting talent. I don’t want to see Herbie wind up having his prodigious talents wasted like Tennessee did to Marcus or Joey and his lesser talents with Matt Millen avoiding drafting future Hall of Fame inductees. I don’t know anything about the Rams DC, although I watched a few games and liked seeing Troy Hill and Justin Hollins. Four years ago he was a DIII defensive coordinator and now he’s an NFL head coach, crazy.

Glenn Schumann or Tosh seem like the best candidates at the moment. Both of them can recruit, have experience at a position group, and have top notch pedigrees. No proven play calling abilities, as supposedly Tosh didn’t have DC success at Alabama and at Georgia I believe that Lanning is the play caller and not Schumann. I’m on the record as valuing scheme over play-to-play calls on defense. Recruiting is where both of them could make their mark. While we have obviously improved that area significantly there are still needs, and we know in the long term that’s the name of the game. If we could have added another elite DL and DB from the past two cycles that would make an enormous difference.

Good summary. I don’t think this game will be happening. I have some very strong opinions on the matter, but to be brief: no return trip, no game. As you outlined, the ridiculous practice of scheduling games a decade in advance is making the home-and-home appear to be impossible. Even a “back in three” scenario like we’ve seen with Michigan, Tennessee, and UVA is not happening. My concern is that Rob Mullens caves and allows tOSU to make a return trip in 2037 or some equivalent. I would consider that to be unacceptable.

It’s a fairly significant upgrade to go from the Mountain West to the AAC. Both financially and in terms of national perception. Football, and other sports, quality of competition is debatable. The Mountain West’s new TV deal means that each school will receive $4 million per year from the conference. In comparison AAC schools will get $7 million. For context and to show the enormous gulf between the P-5 and G-5: Pac-12 $32.2 million per school ACC $27-34 million Big-12 $38-42 million SEC $45.3 million Big Ten $56 million The AAC gets a lot more positive press, and has been pushing the narrative that they should join the five big conferences. Wishful thinking on their part, but they do have some good programs and a few good years from UCF, Houston, and Cincinnati are certainly helping them.

Expansion of the playoff is almost certain. Eight teams, or six with byes for the top two seeds, seem like the two most likely options. The decision will be driven by revenue, as always. Interest in the playoff is waning. As is interest in the regular season and other bowl games. Getting all P-5 champs in, along with the best G-5 and two at-large teams will restore some excitement.

Thanks. I’ve always been into following the careers of dual sport stars, and Gates was one of the few that could have been elite in both football and basketball. Terrelle Pryor, Nate Robinson, and Allen Iverson also come to mind. Interesting one degree of separation with JTT and Gates: Antonio Gates originally went to Michigan State to play football for Nick Saban. Saban wanted him to give up basketball, Gates transferred but still credits Saban for convincing him he could be great at football.

I think the number one thing with JTT is having a chance to play on the biggest stage - in football. That’s why Tracy Ford and the FSP people were calling the CFP championship “The JTT Bowl.” Ohio State and Bama can basically guarantee that opportunity, while Oregon can only promise that it will be a possibility. The young man loves basketball as well. He counts Paolo Banchero, the five star basketball recruit from Seattle heading to Duke, as a close friend. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say JTT loves both sports equally. I do think he and his family understand where the bread will be buttered, and it’s football. Look at the successful football players who were contributors on the hardwood, such as: Tony Gonzalez, Julius Peppers, Jimmy Graham, our own Jordan Kent, and others - they were all more successful on the turf. None of those guys had a real chance at the NBA unless they devoted themselves to that, and they were better high school players than JTT. Antonio Gates was a fantastic basketball player who never played in a college football game, averaged 21/8/4 and was and honorable mention All-American, and he wasn’t NBA material. Julius Thomas, who I got to play some pickup games with before he switched to football for his last year, was another good college player who realized his athletic future was in football. The question is how does Oregon appeal to that love of basketball? Letting JTT talk with Dana Altman and giving him the same chance as Arik had is a no brainer. There is one basketball advantage we have over Ohio State and Alabama, and it’s pretty obvious. Mario has never been shy to play up the Nike angle. The new recruiting graphics for the 2022 kids are Nike ads. At most JTT will probably have the same basketball career as Armstead; a uniform with his name on it and a few minutes of garbage time. But connections with Nike and all the cool basketball stuff, that might appeal to him. I won’t ever count out Mario in a recruiting battle after the last three cycles brought in Penei, KT, and Flowe out of recruiting battles that the Ducks seemed like underdogs in. Here it seems that they are the underdogs and then some. Time to pull out all the stops. Location close to family, the history of Polynesian football success at Oregon and the appreciation of the culture, and the pride he takes in the success of both local PNW and Poly athletes. I have little doubt those are the sales pitches along with the chance to play right away with KT, Noah, Flowe, etc. If JTT comes to Eugene it will be the things other than national title promises. Might as well be the school that can offer it all. The Tuimoloau family knows Joe Salave’a from American Samoa. His dad and Big Joe are from the same village. American Samoa is tiny, 60k people. If you can’t recruit the son of someone you’ve known for so long to YOUR position group, to a successful program with an immediate need at that position, and they’d rather send their kid 2,000 miles away ... That would be a very bad look for Big Joe, no way to spin that. Let’s hope we can beat the odds here, because this defense could be out of this world amazing with another piece like JTT.

Mastro is listed as the primary recruiter for Troy Franklin and Moliki Matavao, which makes sense since Nevada and NorCal are territories he’s familiar with and those recruitments began before we had hired Moorhead or McClendon. Mastro is also listed as the primary for Seven McGee, although he’s been committed since the last ice age Mastro took over. The 247 recruiter rankings aren’t great. For one, they don’t list head coaches. While the assistants do the bulk of the recruiting, we know Mario does the OL and swoops in for the higher profile guys or as needed. For Mastro, I’m as unhappy as anyone with the lack of star power at RB but we have to remember that we’ve yet to see any of his backs - Benson is the first, and he wound up with a leg injury. It has also been lean times for RB recruits west of Texas. How lean? This year Byron Cardwell is the only composite 4-star RB, I’m excluding all purpose backs/scatbacks like McGee since we’ve gotten those. For the 2020 class by here was one 5-star and one 4-star RB, Trey Benson would have been the next highest ranked RB. It is Oregon, and we do go national in recruiting so that isn’t a perfect excuse but it does show how difficult it’s been to find those elite backs. It’s cyclical, and 2021 is looking better than the past three years. On Mastro’s coaching, both Dye and Verdell have surpassed what could be expected of them. I’m tired of watching CJ run into the backs of linemen, but Travis was really good this year. Fun fact about Baby Dye: in his class he was the 50th ranked RB, and the last time I checked, out of the 49 ranked ahead of him only OSU’s Jermar Jefferson has rushed for more yards thus far.

Muschamp would be great, but as others have said it’s difficult to imagine him wanting to be Oregon’s DC when he has no shortage of opportunities and supposedly turned down Texas‘ DC job. At FIU and Oregon Mario has hired a combined four DCs, and three of them were home run hires: Geoff Collins, Todd Orlando, and Andy Avalos. Mario’s coaching connections are as good as anyone’s and this is a word-of-mouth profession for both the candidate and the employer. As for internal candidates, if they go that route, Keith Heyward is the clear choice from my perspective. He’s never called plays, but he’s also been around some great defensive coordinators. I also think individual play calling on the defensive side is secondary to scheme and execution of that scheme. Heyward has a track record as both a developer of talent and recruiter. Worrying about him eventually leaving for a head coaching position seems like a bad reason to not consider Heyward, it would mean he was overwhelmingly successful, and expecting more than a few years service from a coordinator is something that doesn’t happen too often anymore. I don’t understand bringing up Joe Salave’a, he is the most disappointing of Oregon’s coaches. Big Joe’s recruiting has been pedestrian, relying on players recruited by other coaches and inability to recruit players that aren’t of Polynesian descent. The performance of his defensive tackles has left much to be desired. Ken Wilson has called plays in the past, but he’s been around long enough to where one must question why no one else has given him a shot at DC. Tosh Lupoi makes a lot of sense to me. The obvious connection to Cristobal, ties to the West Coast and nationally, and his noted recruiting prowess. There are the scandals, but he managed to have the giant Alabama target on his back and come away unscathed, he wasn’t the mastermind of faking injuries as a young assistant, and I doubt that coffee cup had his own personal cash in it. As for his play calling, if Saban was willing to give him a chance and it didn’t work out it doesn’t mean he’s never going to be great at it. A current G-5 DC I haven’t seen mentioned that I’ve been plugging for a while is David Reeves from UAB. Unlikely candidate, but bear with me. His UAB team finished 9th in total defense in 2018, 9th in 2019, and 11th this past season. Here are UAB’s yards per play allowed national rankings over the last three seasons: 17, 12, 11. PPG allowed ranks: 12, 25, 18. Over that time span his defense has played to the strength of their personnel: one year they’re third in the country in sacks, another they’re sixth in yards per pass attempt allowed, and in another year they were 12th in yards per rush. It’s great overall consistency, and as someone who is into statistics and analytics that defense always jumped out at me before I even knew if it was the same DC or what his name was.