David Marsh

Oregon has really plundered WSU when Leach was there... David Yost (2016) Joe Salave'a (2017) Jim Mastro (2018) Ken Wilson (2019)

I really hope Cardwell will see the field though he might get stuck behind some veterans at runningback and allow him to develop some more. He might come out late in the season and take over but probably not so much early in the season. Franklin I think will be similar to Cardwell as he is going to have to beat out some vets to get on the field. Though I think Franklin will absolutely do so and get more playing time as the year goes on. How fast he picks up the offense and is able to make an impact will depend on whether he lights it up or not. As for Thompson... if he wins the quarterback job he will absolutely light it up...

I think USC is in play for one 4-star at this point... Raejon Davis .... I mean they are making a "run" at JTT but that doesn't seem to be going anywhere in all honesty. Outside of Davis I think USC is done with this year.

Happle has an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID year... Plague Shirt? ... so he doesn't hurt our scholarship roster at all in that regard. He will fight for playing time and I do think he will get SOME... but I think the other safeties on the roster will push him out over the course of the year. I don't think it is a good or bad thing... I think it would be deeply troubling for Oregon is Happle was a starting safety as that would signal a lack of development at the safety position.

I remember the announces at football games saying 2-Star Scoob all the time... it was infuriating when Oregon lost to Zona. Also... Anu Solomon was pretty good and was a four star... though due to some medical things he fell off the radar after 2014.

Yes, this shorter method is great... but Coach Boles has always left me wanting MORE!

No excuses now... time to score POINTS!

Just need to grab JTT and the PAC is definitely ours.

I don't see MC hiring an unproven coordinator at this time... maybe in the future... but championship aspirations require proven coaching, especially at the coordinator positions the risk to too great.

It would appear there is a coaching exchange going on between Oregon and Cal. Oregon took DeRuyter and now Cal is looking to add Heyward by the looks of it. Interesting note is with the departure of Heyward only Joe Salave'a in the ONLY assistant coach who is a holdover from the Taggart year (Cristobal is head coach so not counting him).

Didn't Trevor Lawrence travel with Clemson this last season when he was asymptomatic with COVID? These protocols strike me as dumb in the highest degree.

We all know Cristobal is watching... but is he learning? I think the Spring game is going to be telling as to any changes to the offense. Moorhead will have more time to install his offense deliberately on the field. Realistically Moorhead only had one month of on field practice time before the season to install his offense. Yes, they had loads of zoom time but teaching and learning through zoom is no substitute for doing it in person (I've been doing it with high school and it SUCKS!). My big question is what will the offense look like with enough time to properly install the offense Moorhead wants to install. How much of last year's offense was based on the Arroyo offense because that was simply stuff all the players knew and with limited time they used what they knew while trying to install over the course of chaotic practices.

Cyrus Habibi-Likio would have fallen into the depth chart badly next year regardless. He was already the No. 3 runningback behind Verdell and Dye and with Dollars showing some flashes and Benson coming along from all accounts CHL was going to really have to fight for the few snaps he was already getting. Adding Cardwell to the mix might knock him out entirely. CHL isn't a bad runningback, he has had some nice games, but he just isn't good enough to be the guy at Oregon or many other top Power Five Schools.

I know there are also some rules around "grey shirts" where students go to community college to move around what academic year they belong to. I'm not 100% sure how it works but I know grey shirts are out there though rarely talked about.

The raiders are wasting Mariota... By nfl standards Mariota does need some polish and some more confidence. But in the one game he had the opportunity to play in he didn't let his team down. The raiders defense did but Herbert is pretty good too. Though Mariota fought hard and showed his skills. Here's hoping he finds a place to play, whether that is in Vegas or elsewhere. Though it does look like Anthony Lynn (former charges hc) was hired as the OC in Detroit. So maybe steer clear of Detroit.

This seems rather likely right now.

I heard a while ago that JTT was interested in Bama and Oregon... Either way Oregon seems to be sticking on the list. If it comes down to proximity from home Oregon gets the advantage.

Washington was by far his high water mark. I really did think he was going to break out after that game but it never happened. I just keep coming back to his lack of speed.... yes the pistol is problematic... But so many runs out of it he was caught from behind BEFORE the line of scrimmage.

Habibi-Likio enters transfer portal I am a little surprised but not shocked by this. Honestly, with the runnningback talent at Oregon I doubt it was going to see the field much next year. He is big but not fast enough. I wish him the best.

Though Jordon Scott having shed about 20 pounds, down to around 300, really didn't look terribly good this season.

This article on Rivals was a very interesting read about why DeRuyter might move to a 4-3. I know there is absolutely no reason to fear the use of the 4-3 as it does have its own inherent strengths and weaknesses and it does look like it would be an amazing fit for Oregon's current roster... but I keep getting Hoke flashbacks. I'm still super excited to see how this Oregon team looks next year!

The running back room dynamic is very interesting. There are also some predictions that Oregon is going to pick up Cardwell (he announces Monday). Cardwell looks more like the type of running back Oregon has had in the past and a better fit for the vision at Oregon. The running back room on the whole is going to be very crowded this year. Dye will see the field even if they need to make him into more of a full time receiver. Dye has proven he can catch the ball and make some incredible plays. Verdell has shown he can do all the tasks required of a running back in the Oregon offense... Running, catching, and blocking... But he just isn't big enough. If he is going to have an NFL future he will probably need to move to receiver. With all that said... There is a lot of talent in the receiver room as well. So even trying to get Dye and Verdell on the field as receivers may be difficult. Especially with Redd and Johnson returning for another year. This is a very good problem for the coaches to have.

At this point I'm really excited for the spring game.. The spring game is going to be soooooo interesting this year. New defensive coordinator and a new defense with the most talent Oregon has ever had. THEN ... Moorhead gets to install his offense in probably the most comprehensive fashion so far with a full compliment of spring practices. So we might see the full potential of the offense. Is the spring game here yet?

The more I read about DeRuyter the more I like this hire. Oregon has some INCREDIBLE raw talent on the defensive line and linebacker and this hire is going to get the most out of that talent. KT is going to be put in position to win at the line of scrimmage and break into the backfield on every single down. He was basically doing this already but a scheme designed to do this will make him even more terrifying. Perhaps the biggest weakness is recruiting. This is something that can certainly be an area of growth and Cristobal obviously wasn't too concerned about this as he choose to hire him. Though I wouldn't be surprised to see DeRuyter working with some of Oregon's big recruiters and see his own recruiting improve while working at Oregon. He has a scheme that can be VERY attractive for many potential recruits. Who knows this system might be enough to make a final push to get JTT which would take the Oregon defense to the next level.

I think this is a solid choice. Its not as exciting as some of the splashier names out there but Oregon doesn't need splash it needs a GOOD defense. With so much raw talent on the roster it needs some development and be put in the position to make plays. Oh... and we may have made Jimmy Lake's job more difficult in the UW DC hire. That would be a bonus. .