Charles Fischer

I will admit that I respected Lanning's hires, but was unsure of Klemm, especially with some of the stuff in his past. My first clue he was good was in interviews of how he was trying not to say, "the previous offensive line coaches did not know what-the-hell they were doing," when he was attempting to explain the differences in run-blocking he was teaching last spring to the offensive line. Every Duck O-Lineman who is NFL worthy will be selected higher in the Draft, and earn more money because of Adrian Klemm. I only thought one of our offensive linemen could move, (TJ Bass) and was astounded to see all of them pulling and knocking people over in the open field early in the season. Forsyth on the edge? Big Sala moving and mowing them down like that? Whew! And I am the schmuck who thought we would have pass-protection issues this year. I did not know Adrian Klemm... Remember all the extreme negative earlier this year from so many in this forum about offensive line recruiting? A ton of "we are screwed" kind of talk, without waiting to see how Klemm would actually do? (Like the hand-wringing about NIL, the portal, etc. when Oregon is winning in those areas?) So many times people feel they have to project extreme negative before the outcome is even close to being decided. I was not in that "Eeyore" camp, but admit to being concerned, and wondering how he was going to pull out a good OL class. Especially since there were so few prospects between all the channels of High School, JC and Portal Transfers. But he got two incredible portal transfer offensive linemen? One is widely considered the best, and the other was an All-Big12 Preseason Selection going into 2022 before he got hurt? And then this "add-on" JC offensive linemen that was below the radar of most fans? (The best JC OL) And a 4-Star Rivals Bruiser? So he can coach with the best, and recruit with the best? Wowsa. Lanning was right again... And I happily admit I was very wrong to have doubts! This guy looks like a monster and we all kinda went, "oh-well, whatever," to this Rivals 3-Star.

From 11 months ago--a fun thread of Oregon basketball greats.

For example, on this date Oregon has four verbals for 2024 and 247 has all four as 4-Star, while Rivals has Fox Crader as a 3-Star. No surprise, as it has been consistently harder to be a 4/5-Star with Rivals and a 4-Star OL would be 290 lbs+ (nearly ready to play weight) while Crader is much less at 265 lbs.

For those who like to see how Oregon is doing with the harder, Rivals rankings, below is the 2024 list and is updated when new verbals join us. DuckSportsAuthority OREGON.RIVALS.COM The definitive source for all Oregon news.

A Holiday Bowl win, please.

Very fun read, Drex, and such a cool story as a student. Thanks!

The Chargers play at Indianapolis, and Justin faces an old Pac-12 QB in Nick Foles. I remember him! Taylor Hart No. 66 does too...

But Nick is using that turnover to his advantage; Kadyn Proctor was swayed because they had a bunch of the three-deep leave via the Portal, and thus made his chance at starting easier. Nick recruited to the holes created by the portal to his advantage... He's a damn good coach when he wins both ways--no matter what happens or what rules emerge.

A terrible job to take except for the buy-out money when you get fired. The best coach after Tom Osborne at Nebraska was Frank Solich, who was fired...Solich's 58 wins during his first six seasons as Nebraska's head coach exceeded those of his predecessors, Bob Devaney (53 wins) and Osborne (55 wins), both of whom are in the College Football Hall of Fame. Gene Bartow after John Wooden...

We don't terminate, but inform the player that playing time in the future is going to be limited. Most of us would want to go elsewhere, and have a chance to play when given the reality of the situation. I'm looking at the current Depth Chart, (that is always at the top of the site under "Repository") and see some names, but am hesitant to write them. You will note that there are only 65 scholarship players on it, and 40 walk-ons. There are only two Portal Transfer periods per year with one from December 5th to January 18th, and the second one is a narrow 15 day window after Spring Football from May 1st through May 15th. Thus we will some leave after the Bowl game, and some after Spring Football.

I get stuff from the pay-sites once in a while, and share it with you after a reasonable amount of time has passed out of respect for the hard work my colleagues do. Now most of it comes out later in free-articles posted by Pennsylvania Duck, but some doesn't for a while. The natural question we all have is...how much more does Oregon have to "free-up" from the roster to make the 85 scholarships limit? Now I do not know if that 85 number has to be reached during the offseason, but I know it has to be that way going into fall football. Between two sites, they seem to believe that Oregon is at 91 players right now, and I suspect there will be two, maybe three more between NLIs and Portal Transfers. So let's say 94, and thus NINE guys will need to leave Oregon beyond what already have? Yes, it is part of football, but boy--these are tough conversations.

No sweat, and that is the perfect way to say it. Oregon State was incredibly bad three years ago, and I thought Washington would go 6-6 or 7-5 this year. I did not see Penix coming, and was surprised at how well the Huskies were coached. Both to me are "miracle-coaching" examples, the way Oregon used to be. And if we develop the new classes of 4/5-Star players the way we used to develop 3-Star players, (as Oregon State, Washington and Utah have done) then we could be formidable. But I do agree with your basic premise of how everything has changed to give more schools a chance to improve. Without the portal...the miracles at Corvallis and Seattle could not have happened. Fun to ponder, and thanks for starting the thread.

There is only one new name there, and that is TE Walker Lyons, who is also a 4-Star on Rivals. Note how three on that list are Tight Ends... Jamari Johnson looks pretty big... Just need one-more 4/5-Star player on Rivals to sign and Lanning breaks Cristobal's recruiting record for a first-year coach!

Well, I don't know. I say that because I look at how CFB has changed with the portal, NIL and crazy contracts, but look who is still at the top? Saban has adapted and flourished despite the changes, IMHO. He will win another 'Natty yet, IMHO. When I see people wring their hands at how hard it is for Oregon...I just shrug. We are killing-it in the portal, and our recruiting just tied (and will probably beat in February) the all-time best recruiting record for a new coach at Oregon after his first year. I do not like the changes either, but the teams that adapt the best....and the Ducks along with Alabama have? What happened at Washington and Oregon State is simply a coaching miracle in college football--they adjusted well too. Good stuff to ponder...

I like the looks of Daylen Austin bringing back punts, and how he can already stop a slant pattern...

Steven A. makes a good point about too many, as it used to be special going to a bowl. The next three games are... San Diego State vs. Middle Tennessee Bowling Green vs. New Mexico State Buffalo vs. Georgia Southern Good grief! Would anyone want to watch those even as non-conference games in September? (Yeech) Bowls are going as well as....

FishDuck Writer Drex Heikes says that the brothers can stay close and share a house in...

Not threatened by him in Corvallis. Clemson has a great playbook and weapons, and if he was so-so there...

Normally I do not allow any reference to the frick word in any form....but this is too funny, and it is USC fans spouting it to their own! I love a thread about Huskies or Trojans once in a while, but we are not fixated quite like this. What Oregon Fans Shared: "Josh Conerly completely traumatized them. It’s so bad on their boards right now that one Trojan fan actually had had enough and called all of them out. For the most part they are obsessed with Oregon to the point of psychosis." "Getting Matayo completely wrecked them" "I just linked screens of the front page of both boards. Half their top 15 posts were about the Ducks or Ducks recruits." "Well said by the Suc fan. And dang have their site boards been overrun with Oregon threads." "As an LA resident I could not be happier with this. Their fans are insufferable and think they are gods gift to everything" "They try to tell themselves that we’re an afterthought, but every time I go to that board for recruiting info there’s about 7 threads on the front page dedicated to Oregon." An Appropriate Christmas Gift for Trojan Fans... The Oregon "O" is perfect!

(Oregon Athletics Press Release) "It Goes Back to Relationships" EUGENE, Ore. — When Dan Lanning was named UO football coach in December 2021, he had just days to secure commitments to the recruiting class that would begin signing that month. That the Ducks ended up signing a top-25 class despite a coaching change said something about the relationships Lanning and his staff could build in a short time. And it hinted at the quality of class this Oregon coaching staff could assemble with a full year on the job. The results are now on paper: This week the UO football program added 30 newcomers to the roster, a class that can be enhanced during another signing period in February. At least two national scouting services rated Oregon's class among the top 10 in the country as of Friday, when the signing period ended, and the class included multiple five-star players for just the second time in the current era of national recruiting rankings. "I think everyone sees what we're building," said Lanning, whose current roster resumes practice Saturday for the Holiday Bowl, looking for a successful end to a season that had Oregon in the thick of the College Football Playoff race until an injury to quarterback Bo Nix. "There's some players that want to be a part of something special … and they realize that you can reach all of your goals and aspirations here." Dan Lanning and Bo Nix The new group of 30 recruits makes up a complete football team, right down to a placekicker, a punter and a long snapper. This class is Oregon's third in the last five years to earn consideration among the top 10 classes in the country, and for the second time in program history it includes multiple five-star prospects, in wide receiver Jurrion Dickey and defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei. Dickey, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of East Palo Alto, Calif., was one of the earliest members of this signing class to commit to the Ducks. Uiagalelei, a 6-5, 265-pound edge defender from Bellflower, Calif., announced his commitment on Wednesday, when this week's signing period began — seemingly a late addition, until his father posted photos on social media showing that Uiagalelei has been an Oregon fan since childhood. "We put a lot of attention into finding guys that obviously have elite talent but also elite character as we're building this class," Lanning said. "And we found a really connected class. We've talked about 'connection' as one of our DNA traits, and I think piecing this class together, a big part of that was really the connection we had with each family and each one of these players." Uiagalelei's commitment was part of a dramatic finishing flourish by the Ducks to this signing period. Wednesday began with the program receiving letters from some of the players who'd been committed to the class the longest, such as defensive backs Kodi DeCambra, Collin Gill and Tyler Turner, and defensive linemen My'Keil Gardner, Terrance Green and A'mauri Washington. The Ducks also signed a full complement of offensive linemen, and received letters early Wednesday from Bryce Boulton, Iapani Laloulu and Lipe Moala. But then, other dominoes started to fall. Uiagalelei, one of the top uncommitted players in the nation, announced he would sign with Oregon. Defensive back Daylen Austin and running back Jayden Limar, who had been committed elsewhere, opted instead to sign with the Ducks. They followed on the heels of quarterback Austin Novosad, who announced early Wednesday that he too had reassessed his options and would sign with Oregon over other programs. Jayden Limar "They love competition (and) they're not afraid to be a part of a great class," Lanning said. "Some guys are concerned about, who else is going to be in the class with them and who they're gonna have to compete against. These are guys that want to go play with the best, because they know that's going to result in wins." Novosad is a 6-3, 185-pound four-star prospect from Dripping Springs, Texas. He had an established relationship with new UO offensive coordinator Will Stein, which helped the Ducks make the case that the best decision for his future was to play in Eugene. "The more you are around him, you realize his intelligence and his desire to be great," Lanning said of Novosad. "This guy's really hungry and I think really excited to have some great weapons around him." The weapons around Novosad in the new recruiting class are plentiful. Along with the 5-11, 190-pound Limar, the running back room added a 6-2, 210-pound bruiser in Dante Dowdell. Dickey is joined by another long, athletic wideout in Ashton Cozart, and tight end Kenyon Sadiq is a rare combination of size and athleticism. Gernorris Wilson joined Boulton, Laloulu and Moala up front by signing Wednesday. The strength of the class on defense was further in enhanced on the opening day of the signing period by linemen Johnny Bowens III and Tevita Pome'e, linebackers Jerry Mixon and Teitum Tuioti, edge player Jaeden Moore and defensive backs Solomon Davis and Cole Martin. Ashton Cozart All of that talent had Oregon's class ranked as high as fifth in the country late Wednesday, by ESPN, pending developments over the next two days. By the time the signing period ended Friday, outside linebacker Blake Purchase and offensive lineman Georgia Silva — the only junior college transfer in the class — had signed with the Ducks. The class — about 15 of which plans to enroll early, Lanning said — was ranked No. 9 in the country by On3, and No. 8 by ESPN. Only twice before, in 2019 and 2021, had Oregon signed recruiting classes ranked inside the top 10 nationally by multiple scouting services. Along with this being the first full recruiting cycle for Lanning at Oregon, is was assembled amid a national landscape shifting under the influence of the transfer portal, and opportunities by players to capitalize on their name, image and likeness. The Ducks accounted for those new factors while assembling this class. But they also fell back on the traditional bedrock of recruiting. "I think it's great to be in a place where you can be innovative and ahead of the curve, but I think anybody that really knows college football right now knows there's a lot more to recruiting than NIL," Lanning said. "Nobody picks the place just because of those factors. "Certainly some of those factors matter, and you want to be in a place where you can build a brand; I don't think there's anywhere in the nation that's better than Oregon when it comes to that, and being able to build a brand for yourself as a player. But it goes back to relationships, and the guys that we've been able to pull and get on our team here that's because of relationships.”

Whoa. Look at the background on this portal transfer who just entered....and Oregon made immediate contact. But he has had the last two seasons cut short by shoulder injuries? That is the risk of the portal. (Their Justin Flowe?) Jalen Catalon ARKANSASRAZORBACKS.COM 2022 Phil Steele Preseason First-Team All-America 2022 Phil Steele Preseason First-Team All-SEC 2021 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll 2021 Preseason Second-Team All-American (AP)...

There are times to be negative, but to me--this isn't one of them.