David Marsh

None that aren't name Gronk... And he's retired now.

We are quickly approaching the time where Oregon needs to get more aggressive with the NIL. I get their strategy.. or what seems to be their strategy but it's approaching go time for Oregon to take some of these recruits.

Unless they're winning! In which attendance might be good because winning is still fun. And if they're winning they can dream of making the playoff... only to be outraged when they're snubbed.

I could see them getting 12 million if they embrace that 7pm time slot and play hardball with it. I could see ESPN and Fox being ok with that kind of payout if they get that time slot filled regularly. But I DOUBT the Scrap-12 will consider embracing the 7pm time slot and they will probably all see themselves worth 20mil and prime time slots. They are still pushing this notion that they are a Power Conference but they are G6. If they were smart they'd leverage their west coast time slot to their advantage. But if they were smart they would have used that Pac-12 war-chest they stole and bought their way into the Big 12.

... With a victory over the Beavers!!!! Assuming we play them again.

And my family thanks you... Because for each article I have written, and commented on, they haven't had to listen to the ramblings of a mad (in the British sense) Ducks fan... You all get those instead. And 166 is right around the corner.

Fun Titanic fact.... if the Titanic just hit the ice berg head on it would have been absolutely fine. The second in command would have lost his job if he hit the ice berg head on which is why he tried to dodge it and we all know how that turned out.

Just another layer of depth. I don't think they were counting on him for some time but knowing they had someone as another layer of depth was worth recruiting I suppose. There is also something to be said for just having more mature players. But I always found it highly unlikely Oregon was going to win this recruiting battle once BYU seemed to throw more money at him.

It comes down to the coordinators, the HC, and locker room chemistry and player leadership. FSU threw a ton of money at the portal for last year's team. Everyone (pundits) was raving how in 2024-5 FSU was in contention to win it all in rather dominant fashion. Fast-forward to the season and it turns out they didn't have a team and the wheels came off in week zero and it never recovered. Ohio State has been throwing money but has been losing to Michigan quite consistently. They had 2 losses last year! They lucked out with an expanded playoff and had a chance of redemption and credit to them they seized it. But in any previous year they wouldn't have made the playoff. Watching Ohio State this year is going to be an interesting tell as to how productive this practice is year after year.

I do believe this recruiting cycle is indicative of many programs NIL programs waking up and realizing they have money they can throw at players. Washington has loads of alumni with money and the same goes for USC. Both seem to be throwing money at recruits because they discovered they could do that. So they are really working with a 2022 framework of NIL and it is disrupting the whole system. Additionally this is year 4 of NIL and all these recruits in the 2026 cycle have been watching NIL pay out since 8th grade and they all want their turn at the big paycheck. And many believe they are worth more than they are... But right now there are plenty of programs happy to pay them out for the recruiting win. And interesting convergence of circumstance.

I saw a few comments on another site saying he was reclassifying as well. But I haven't been able to follow that up anywhere. But this one feels like it's a closer to home and a bigger payout was at play. It feels like Oregon never really had either parent fully recruited and both were wanting either more money (dad presumably) or closer to home (mom). This recruiting cycle has really become a bidding war. Yes, previous cycles had this aspect about it but this one really feels like players are going wherever the largest payout is coming from. I think Oregon will bring in a fine class but less flashy than it could have been with some of this crazy spending.

Not a great spot for a conference when your best team is in the 30s and your second best is in the 70s. Boise should be happy with this arrangement.

I guess that's different. I mean if Penn State did this the fan base would lose their freaking minds. But beige isn't a color that sparks any sort of inspiration.

UNC has a football team???

This had to come at some point for sure. This case I think is one of the more blant instances of roster tampering. The article was unclear but kinda implied by "able to compete" is Lucas a preferred walk on or is he on scholarship at Miami. It doesn't really matter in truth because walk ons can be paid enough that they are effectively on scholarship these days anyways. I could see that getting thrown into the case though if that is what happened. He left Wisconsin and went to Miami and became a walk on for their football team... Who could have seen that coming???

The whole system of Oregon athletics is working great right now. I'd say basketball might need some coaching changes in the near-ish future if things don't improve for men's and women's basketball. But hard to argue with results when Oregon led the B1G in conference championships in year one by a wide margin.

Much needed after the string of losses.

If you're desperate for some football still and on the west coast. You by default meet one of those criteria Charles!

The new Pac is the best of the old mountain West which absolutely means they will all consume each other regularly. Probably fun for viewers (if you actually want to watch those teams) but not great for their playoff prospects for sure.

It sounded like the NIL offer was greater from TAMU than Oregon on this one. He apparently is a life long Ducks fan but Oregon wasn't going to match the offer from what I've read. But this might be one we wait and see on come December.

I think it might be a short term strategy as well ... But for an additional reason. I think it might be a better use of resources until NIL deals for prep recruits calm down. This cycle some of the "sleeping giants" have woken up and discovered they do have money and can buy recruits and as a result we are seeing some outrageous prices. And the recruits themselves are all big shots in their relatively small fish ponds and many think they are worth more than they actually are. All this makes for a highly unstable recruiting environment at the high school level. Whereas, the portal is relatively more stable ... In an odd way because there are some rules and regulations around the portal and the portal window is so short. The bidding wars are short, intense and resolved in about a month. Whereas the high school recruits get YEARS to haggle. But I also agree that a portal heavy recruitment strategy has so far failed which is why Oregon has always done a hybrid but this year it feels like there is a greater need to rely on the portal than years past.

What does that even mean? Boise State had some shocking major bowl wins but they were never a contender for a national championship and will probably never be.

Only to those who don't understand how to maintain a stable roster. Oregon rarely loses any players to the portal they want. The NIL money is going to the roster and to the players who stay and produce. Much of the Oregon model seems to be come to Oregon and you'll get a fair deal. You'll develop and if you're good enough you'll get paid more and be ready for the NFL. Not a great pitch for those who want to be paid NOW. Which is what USC and others are using. However, USC did lose by far their best offensive lineman to the portal (to Oregon). So they obviously aren't doing a good job maintaining their roster. They lost other prices of their production as well. One thing has remained true even in the portal and NIL era. The rosters with the oldest players who have developed in the program the longest are still the ones winning the national titles. Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Georgia are the last four... All had senior heavy rosters who were in the program for a long time. Sure there were some important transfers but they supplemented the team and were often veterans themselves. USC can bring in all the No. 1 classes they want but they won't win anything if they can't develop and hold onto them.

Oregon State can be a feeder program for the Ducks. I'm cool with that. I'm not saying Stars are everything, but Oregon is really recruiting at the absolute top end of things right now. Wheaton the younger just isn't on that list. And frankly I'm not sure Wheaton the elder would have made the cut for this staff. But without Wheaton the elder we wouldn't have this staff today.

Yes... He who shall not be named does use the portal in a way that differs greatly from Oregon. The portal in bulk approach that Kiffin at Ole Miss kinda uses as well. I would say the portal bulk approach is there because they are searching for overlooked diamonds in the portal. There are some absolutely... Benson was fantastic at FSU but didn't emerge at Oregon. But Lanning has something that few teams do... The ability to pick the top talent from the portal and land them consistently. Often taking the BEST players from other teams and treating them like feeder schools. We don't know how all this NIL stuff is going to playout in the near future as the House Settlement is still proceeding. But what's clear is that Oregon isn't going to overspend on high school recruits when they can dominate the portal.