David Marsh

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.

A little bit of both probably. NIL is concerning because there really aren't any rules with it. I can see rules being put on NIL but it will come at a cost of a universal salary for every player in college football, just focusing on scholarship players at the moment and not even diving into the potential walk-on mess. With a salary that is the same for every player that means players are getting paid which means the NCAA, or whatever the institution that manages college sports is these days, can realistically come to law makers and say players are bring paid and we need a way to stop the insanity of NIL to restore some integrity to the sport. This salary would have to be universal across all schools, or at least division 1, or else there is the problem of a bidding war continuing which doesn't solve any problem. Or... We just go straight down the route of making this a true feeder league to the NFL in which case... Salaries for players anyways. I have no answer just random ideas. But I also know that Saban doesn't like being out recruited.

It is a crazy age with the transfer portal where players can now follow coaches... To a degree.

I am sure Lanning will be dipping into Florida and the south east on the whole to pull a few recruits every year. But the bread and butter for Oregon is the West... Basically every state effectively in the Pac-12 footprint. Oregon will be able to pull some talent from the south east but never enough to put together a whole class. Probably 5-7 players at most from the south east in any given year, I am not including Texas as part of the south east by the way.

If it makes anyone feel better ... This is probably the only year that Cristobal and Miami really dip out west for recruiting purposes. The Miami boosters who got him his job want him to own the state for Florida and the south east has plenty of talent close at hand. This year MC is pulling on recruits he has a relationship with already which just so happen to be out our way. Sucks on the short term but long term we will probably hear his name less and less.... Unless of course Lanning and co. dig right at the heart of Florida recruiting wise... Which is possible but on the whole Oregon needs to own the west coast and only pick up a few recruits from Florida.

LaGarret Blount... I know at Oregon he had that whole punch a Bronco in the head deal which is probably what he is best remembered for as a Duck... But he has a few super bowl rings to his name. The biggest problem with articles is that they have a limit of length due to readability. Realistically this should be a five.. or ten part series. Go Ducks!

Tuesday is the big day next week for ducks fans because that's the day he is full time at Oregon. Next week we get to really see what Lanning has in store for us. So far we have really just seen the set up for the Lanning era... Some initial hires some small recruiting and roster preservation and a couple pick-ups from the portal. Next week is full power Lanning. It is very exciting to say the least.

Verdell always seemed to look for contact when running up the middle. I have felt that the vision of the running backs has been lacking where they just run straight and into whoever is there rather than try to bounce to the outside or make a different cut to get into space. Cardwell has so far shown more patience and better vision which I look forward to seeing him develop.

I think that Mullens low balled Wilcox to force Wilcox into saying no. Wilcox was not given the same offer Lanning was given considering Wilcox has actually been a a head coach where Lanning has not.

I think this staff can absolutely pull in the best classes Oregon has ever seen. I also feel the emphasis made on big time recruiters is vital. You can recruit to Oregon but let's remind everyone that that doesn't mean it's easy to recruit to Oregon. Cristobal proved it could be done... But that staff worked their collective butts off to do it. Oregon can't afford to have coaches who take little interest in recruiting or aren't great recruiters because getting the talent to even show up for a visit can be a challenge. Let's put it this way... Lots of programs that sit in recruiting hotbeds get loafs of unofficial visits from top recruits. They show up on their own dime and get to look around and meet the staff and what not. Oregon gets some but that usually comes at the minimum cost of a plane ticket and the expenses attached. USC, Bama, Georgia, Texas and others have recruits just drive in and stay the day and leave at minimal expense. That's hard to compete with... Oregon needs to get recruits to campus and official visits do help hit there is a limited number of thosr. And at the end of the day, it's hard to beat those unofficial visits.