David Marsh

UCLA is one of those schools who need a new stadium badly. The rose bowl is a wonderful venue for a bowl game but UCLA can't fill it with fans every week and it makes them look even worse. Also... The Rose Bowl is just lacking those modern touches that most stadiums have which probably hurts the fan experience. I mean Oregon State is giving Riser a facelift and trying to up their stadium game. UCLA needs a new stadium... And probably a smaller one too. But that all will cost loads of money which they don't have and so the cycle continues where they don't have enough money for new facilities while the old ones are hurting fan turn out ... Along with the on field product. Most of that could be solved if they just were better. I'm sure they are filling seats in their basketball arena right now.

Hmm I didn't know the current NIL stuff didn't cover jerseys... That feels like a no brainer.

And as of the first game next year, Kelly will have been the head coach at UCLA longer than he was the head coach at Oregon. Kinda crazy to think about really.

He has been a good Tight End for Oregon but as we have a good grasp on that position now and some depth, I really see him becoming a dominant force on defense under Lanning. I think it is a really smart move on his part to return for one more year to show case his ceiling and talents with a top tier defensive scheme.

Biggest difference between the two programs though is that Oregon has some pretty good alternative options. Cardwell has tons of potential and may have actually pushed Dye out of a sure-fire starting spot with a full off-season. Dollars and McGee are both more in the mold of Dye than an every down back anyways so Cardwell is absolutely the future of the program. Now, I don't want to see Dye go because of how dynamic and passionate of a player he is... but Oregon is in a far better situation than Colorado.

I think this is probably the biggest reason for Dye. I think he has heard some NFL feedback in some way, shape or form and has basically heard you are on the smaller side for the league. You may be a late round draft pick but may be relegated to a practice squad and struggle to get on the field. Trying to leverage his last year in college and get some NIL money could be the most reliable way he gets paid for his football career. If that is the reasoning... then Oregon donors get this kid some NIL money.

This one makes my head hurt... Granted I don't feel like Oregon will be gutted from this. I think we were all expecting the end of the Verdell-Dye era this year so I feel we have some good options in Cardwell, Dollars and McGee... however, if Oregon is only down to those three players then we REALLY need another running back because there is no depth.

It is interesting you bring this up... I feel Mullens was faced with similar circumstances when Cristobal bolted for Miami. Someone who the administration was highly invested in and felt they had "their guy" locked in leaves effectively for their "dream school" of sorts. Colorado went with someone safe with some more local ties and has some head coaching experience. Oregon took a significant risk hiring someone who didn't have local ties and beyond that didn't have any head coaching experience. We will just have to wait and see how it all turns out... I think the Ducks chose the better route.

I am really ready for the spring game right now... How long do we have to wait? I can't wait to get a first look at what all these coaches can do.

Stanford has been hit the hardest of anyone by the transfer portal. They only lose talent to it and never pick any up. Their academic requirements require players to be able to enroll by their grades alone. Follow up with no guarantee that they can take a master's program as they have to apply and be accepted on their non football merits. That in itself shuts down any grad transfers and anyone else who may be interested if they don't have their grades high enough. The result is they lose talent to the portal but can't really gain any talent from it.

No... Most lose their scholarship and don't find a new home. So for many it is the end of the line for their scholarships entirely.

Sad reality is that it might be a good thing ... Allows Lanning to get some more players he wants. But if we suffer anywhere near the injuries we did this year... The lack of depth is a major cause for concern.

this is really starting to smell like the return of at least one of Dye and Verdell. Bronson and Dollars in the portal ... That leaves Cardwell and McGee for sure ... But I'd bet we have either Dye or Verdell or both next year. Otherwise that is 0 depth with no additional running backs coming in as recruits this year.

It has less to do about Bo Nix and his talent... as I do think Thompson or Butterfield will probably win out and if they don't I will be concerned for the program. I think the bigger question comes around scholarship count and whether or not the new staff wants to allocate another scholarship for a quarterback. It is certainly possible... but I don't think it will be likely.

This is a bit of a monumental year for Saban... and not in a good way. Entering the season Saban had never lost to one of his previous assistant coaches. By year's end he has lost to former assistants of his twice, Jimbo Fisher and Kirby Smart. Not a knock on Saban but an interesting shift in power...

Avalos' defense was pretty bend but don't break as well. It was a very good defense in 2019 but in 2020 it was pretty bad and played what felt like at the same level as the 2021 defense. I am very much looking forward to the Lanning defense.

Ashford left pretty much because he didn't see the prospect of moving up on the depth chart, in part because he was already behind Thompson and Butterfield but adding Nix to the mix only cements him at the bottom of the depth chart for scholarship qbs. Nix took the new addition for a qb this year as it is highly unlikely that Oregon would be adding a prep prospect. Technically with Ashford leaving there may be "an open spot" but I think that scholarship spot is just going to be used for a position of need. Oregon doesn't have that many open scholarships and filling one with a quarterback that would likely result in netting only an additional player on the bench. It is possible Oregon goes after another QB.. it all depends on whether the staff feels there is more value in adding another quarterback, especially from the portal, or to keep who they have at QB.

I'm actually baffled in part as to why last year's defense was on the whole so bad. There were some flashes of greatness we all saw but only flashes. Yes, there were loads of injuries and youth played a role at least early on in the season... But as the season wore on they really didn't get any better. It's also not like DeRuyter doesn't have a good defensive coordinator reputation. He has coached some good defenses in the past. Oregon just kept giving up all the underneath routes that led to loads of yards.

Competition is all well and good but with the transfer portal there is a balancing act that needs to happen. Taking another QB will probably result in the loss of most of the QB room. Which means there is no competition and no depth because Thompson and Butterfield leave. Also... No scholarship spots really left for another QB at this time. There are far greater needs to be filled than another QB, even one with some good potential.

I've been saying it all this last season.. Jed Fisch is going to make Arizona scary. They are winning some big recruiting battles. At this rate they are going bowling next year.

I feel the Chargers are held back more from the management side of things than the the coaching side at this point. I will be honest, my knowledge for NFL football is rather limited. However, Herbert needs an offensive line and a defense that can give him more opportunities to play with a lead rather than struggling to gain control of the game. NFL coaches don't have full control of their rosters so they make do with what they have... what they need are some players to protect Herbert better and a defense that gets Herbert the ball back.

In terms of a loose ranking... California (as you mentioned) Utah Arizona Nevada (not technically in the Pac-12 footprint as it has no member schools but close enough) Oregon / Colorado (these two are relitively equal for us I feel) Washington

This is why Oregon has failed to break into the State of Washington recruiting wise. Keep in mind during the Cristobal era that MC managed to pull top talent if not THE top recruit out of every single state in the Pac-12 footprint (and some outside of it) EXCEPT for Washington. This is the first HUGE recruiting win for Lanning. Breaking into the State of Washington has been impossible for Oregon to do over the years but pulling a Husky right out of the transfer portal to Oregon is a big start.

Another random thought ... I know TAMU has their plethora of NIL money to their recruits but the other side of things built into that contract is that those players are locked into TAMU if they actually want the money. The downside is that if a player finds themselves unhappy and stuck on the depth chart transferring comes at a huge expense.... But then again ... They are getting paid so that feels like a decision that is purely on them. I guess I would like to see NIL contracts to not come into play until those players have made it to campus and have actually engaged with the team. Beyond that... Talk about locker room dynamics right now. Money is flowing to those who haven't even registered for classes yet over those established on the roster. Money is going to recruits over the roster it feels like at this time and it will continue that way because the acquisition of talent is where donors are more interested in spending the money than on the existing players.

Just out of curiosity... Does anyone know the salary cap for NFL teams? Or at least how much money is paid out on average for an NFL team? My gut says that it won't take like for college football NIL to become more expensive to run than the pros.