Charles Fischer

Awesome stat and THANKS to 30Duck for posting that and all that he does. Everybody posting articles is what makes this free site work, so thanks for taking a minute to help this community.

Alex Molden played eight seasons in the NFL The first round of the NFL Draft delivered on Thursday evening in a multitude of ways. Las Vegas provided the stage. Commissioner Roger Goodell served as host. A line of players and their celebrating families provided the joy. But Alex Molden brought the late-night perspective. The former NFL first-round draft pick reached out to me hours after the final pick of the first round. Something was on his mind and I think you ought to hear it. Molden said, “You know it’s funny how people look at the draft. For most people it’s the beginning of a bright future… but no one ever looks at the other side of the equation.” There was a lot to like on Thursday night. Four Pac-12 Conference players were drafted in the first round, the most in several years. Oregon Ducks’ coach Dan Lanning, who led the defense at Georgia, had five of his starters from last season selected in the opening round. And No. 5 overall pick, UO’s Kayvon Thibodeaux went to the New York Giants and will earn in the neighborhood of $36 million with his rookie contract. The perspective? “Some player,” Molden said, “is being put on notice.” He was once one of them. Alex Molden was the No. 11 overall pick in 1996 Molden was drafted No. 11 overall in 1996 by the New Orleans Saints. Five years later, he was an unrestricted free agent who signed a $17 million contract with the Chargers. The cornerback spent the bulk of that first season in San Diego on injured reserve, suiting up in only six games. San Diego, coming off a disappointing 5-11 season, headed into the 2002 NFL Draft with a list of needs and the No. 5 pick. Everyone expected San Diego might focus on building the offensive and defensive lines. Instead, General Manager John Butler used his first-round pick to draft University of Texas star cornerback Quentin Jammer. “It felt like Mike Tyson hit me in the gut,” Molden said. The former Oregon star defensive back now works as a life coach and motivational speaker. One of his eight children, Elijah, was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round last year. The elder Molden also has a podcast and has written a book designed to help athletes and others make life transitions. His most popular presentation is one he makes to corporate teams. Molden talks candidly about the arrival of Jammer in training camp and the stress it created. Overnight, he’d gone from star starter to potentially dispensable. Yet, Molden regrouped and played eight seasons in the NFL, something only two percent of players achieve. How did he manage that? “Willie Shaw, my position coach early in my career, told me three things that would help me have success in the league — alignment, assignment, and adjustment." “I mastered these things.” Molden believes they’re principles we could all learn from. It’s what he talks about when he speaks to large groups. For him, the Jammer pick wasn’t just a wake-up call. It was the moment of truth in his career. Molden had spent the bulk of his college years in Eugene being told how valuable he was to the team. That was validated when the Saints used their first-round pick to select him. Also, when the Chargers threw a pile of money at him in free agency. In 2002, though, Molden was 28 years old and his employer was publicly signaling that he was expendable. Molden said he went to work, using Shaw’s principles. “I had to make sure I was aligned every play, know my assignment and the assignments of my teammates, and be ready for any and all adjustments. “It helped me stay in the league.” Molden was nearing the end of his career, but rallied and started 18 more games over the next two seasons before he retired. Jammer played 10 seasons with the Chargers. He became a mainstay in the San Diego secondary before being replaced himself. Each of the 32 NFL teams has 53 players who make their active roster. Seven rounds of this draft will funnel an 263 additional players into the league. Also, each team will invite a number of undrafted players to training camp for a look. Those newcomers and returners will compete for exactly 1,696 active roster spots. “The NFL is very humbling,” Molden said. He tuned in on Thursday night to watch the first round of the draft. Thibodeaux went to the Giants early. A few picks later, USC wide receiver Drake London was selected by the Falcons. Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie went to Kansas City at No. 21 and the Jaguars traded up to No. 27 to pick Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd. All of it, great and exciting for the Pac-12 players and their families. Lanning, in his first season at Oregon, was a winner, too. He’ll be able to tell recruits and their parents that he coached five first-round NFL Draft picks. But I liked what Molden reminded us on Thursday night. Alignment. Assignment. Adjustment. Molden mastered the basic principles. It kept him in the league and helped him transition to civilian life after football. But it didn’t prevent him from viewing Thursday night as a sobering scene. The first round was a reminder to 32 players currently on NFL rosters that nothing lasts forever.

That picture above kind of exemplifies the vibe that Thibbs gave the Fanbase. I was thinking of adding the caption, “Humility is my biggest asset!” But it was not part of the press release, and is sour grapes on my part.

Thibodeaux Goes No. 5 Overall To Giants LAS VEGAS — Defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux was selected by the New York Giants with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday night, giving the Oregon football program a top-10 selection for the third year in a row. Oregon is one of three schools to have a top-10 pick in each of the last three NFL Drafts, along with Alabama and LSU. Thibodeaux is Oregon’s first top-five selection since Marcus Mariota went No. 2 overall in 2015, and he joins Dion Jordan (No. 3, 2013) as the only UO defensive players to be taken in the top five. Overall, Thibodeaux is the seventh top-five pick in program history. The fourth Duck ever to be named a unanimous all-American, Thibodeaux is Oregon’s 10th all-time top-10 pick and 20th first-round selection. He is the seventh top-10 draftee since 2000 and sixth since 2013, and he becomes the eighth defensive player to be selected in the first round. A Los Angeles native, Thibodeaux becomes the ninth Duck to be drafted by the Giants. He will join former UO offensive lineman Shane Lemieux on New York’s roster. “I knew, I manifested it,” Thibodeaux said after the selection. “We had great talks. They FaceTimed me on the plane and they were excited to talk to me, and I knew it was time. “It was just a blessing … Just to be a part of a family – an organization like this – it’s ridiculous.” Thibodeaux enjoyed a dominant three-year career with the Ducks, tying for seventh in program history with 19.0 career sacks in 31 games. He made 34.5 career tackles for loss, and he is the first Oregon player ever to lead the team in both sacks and TFLs in three straight seasons. A finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 2021, Thibodeaux became the first UO defensive player ever to earn unanimous all-America status while also receiving first-team all-Pac-12 honors for the second year in a row. Thibodeaux led Oregon with seven sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss in his final season despite missing multiple games due to injury. One of the highest-regarded recruits in program history, Thibodeaux burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2019 and was named the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. He set a program freshman record with nine sacks, and dominated in the conference title game with a Pac-12 Championship Game record 2.5 sacks and a blocked punt. Thibodeaux will join a Giants organization that went 4-13 in 2021 and is entering its first season under new head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. Oregon All-Time First Round Picks 2022 – DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, No. 5 (New York Giants) 2021 – OT Penei Sewell, No. 7 (Detroit Lions) 2020 – QB Justin Herbert, No. 6 (Los Angeles Chargers) 2016 – DE DeForest Buckner, No. 7 (San Francisco 49ers) 2015 – QB Marcus Mariota, No. 2 (Tennessee Titans) 2015 – DT Arik Armstead, No. 15 (San Francisco 49ers) 2013 – OLB Dion Jordan, No. 3 (Miami Dolphins) 2013 – OG Kyle Long, No. 20 (Chicago Bears) 2008 – RB Jonathan Stewart, No. 13 (Carolina Panthers) 2006 – DT Haloti Ngata, No. 12 (Baltimore Ravens) 2002 – QB Joey Harrington, No. 3 (Detroit Lions) 1999 – QB Akili Smith, No. 3 (Cincinnati Bengals) 1996 – DB Alex Molden, No. 11 (New Orleans Saints) 1987 – QB Chris Miller, No. 13 (Atlanta Falcons) 1976 – DB Mario Clark, No. 18 (Buffalo Bills) 1975 – TE Russ Francis, No. 16 (New England Patriots) 1972 – WR Ahmad Rashad, No. 4 (St. Louis Cardinals) 1972 – OT Tim Drougas, No. 22 (Baltimore Colts) 1968 – DB Jim Smith, No. 12 (Washington) 1955 – QB George Shaw, No. 1 (Baltimore Colts)

Speed, skill and power...whew! If Bradyn Swinson can further emerge on the other side...look out!

Or is that Jeff Maehl out there?

Thanks, and know that I am very committed to protecting this safe place from the nastiness of the world, where we can “banter-with-our-buddies” about college football. A high percentage of people don’t want to be “polite and respectful,” thus this forum is not a good matchup for them. This forum is not for everybody, and we don’t want to be. Thanks again.

What a great way to kill other sports...

Awesome stuff..."going to a prestige university like Oregon..."

Not sure how to react, as I don't know if he that much of an impact player--even for them? Not the same as Travis, who went to USC, where running backs Dye.

Commissioner George Kliavkoff has some moxie doesn't he? Interesting comments by Nate Costa about Butterfield.... The NCAA is getting a new boss. Mark Emmert announced he’s leaving the post after spending 12 years carefully running the entity in circles. He’ll stay on the job until June 2023 or whenever the NCAA hires his replacement. Sports Illustrated called Emmert a “calamitous captain.” The New York Times termed his impending exit “stormy.” Yahoo columnist Dan Wetzel wrote that Emmert’s tenure was marked with “inertia, ineffectiveness and incompetence.” Yup. But Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff may have best summarized the scene with a tweet on Tuesday night. Wrote Kliavkoff: “As the Wizard of Westwood once said…” and the commissioner posted a John Wooden quote that read, “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” It was more scalpel than sledgehammer. But Kliavkoff got his point across beautifully. Emmert, 69, got a contract extension by his Board of Governors a year ago. It was supposed to carry him through 2025. Make no mistake, this was a calculated and shove out the door by the NCAA. It couldn’t afford to wait a day longer. Emmert will be treated like a piñata in the coming months. He deserves it. His failure to lead has left the NCAA an eroded mess. Athletic directors have been crying for new leadership for years. They’re now looking to federal lawmakers for help in trying to reel in a name, image, likeness dynamic that has pitted wealthy booster groups against each other, buying high school talent on the open market. The NCAA members had to move on Emmert. He couldn’t lead. Nobody would follow him anymore if he tried. These times call for a massive overhaul of major college athletics. The NCAA needs to figure out what it wants to be. The scene was laughable earlier this month when Emmert arrived at the men’s NCAA Tournament Final Four. Kansas won the title and cut down the nets, all while still being under investigation by the NCAA for major infractions that should have been settled long ago. Here’s another one — Portland State and the University of Oregon both fall under the authority of the NCAA. They play each other at times in college football. PSU will report approximately $15 million in athletic department expenses in the next fiscal year amid questions about its future. Oregon will spend in excess of $100 million and have a booster collective helping land six and seven-figure endorsement packages for its athletes. These two animals are not the same. Neither are McNeese State and LSU. We all can plainly see the separation. So why do the “haves” and “have-nots” still operate under the same section of the NCAA handbook? We’re at a critical juncture in NCAA history. Emmert’s replacement doesn’t have to come from the world of college athletics but that person needs to understand it. The hire will also need to be a non-traditional thinker. The times demand it. The NCAA has drifted woefully out of touch with college athletes and I fear that if the entity doesn’t experience a quick correction it will never find its way back. I like that Kliavkoff fired a public brush-back pitch at the NCAA on Tuesday. He’s got some moxie. If Kliavkoff weren’t so new on the job in the Pac-12 I’d wonder if he were the NCAA’s solution. “King George” sees the benefit of rallying people around the notion of change and college athletics desperately needs it. Jennifer Cohen, the Washington athletic director, told me last summer that she was concerned about the direction of the NCAA. Oregon State AD Scott Barnes echoed that in a conversation with me a week ago at the Beavers’ spring game. Washington State’s Pat Chun said he believes it will take congressional intervention to fix college sports. None of what we’re seeing here is a surprise to anyone who is paying attention. Except maybe Emmert’s timeline, which feels unnecessarily extended. He’s gone? But still hanging around? Emmert is paid $51,923 a week — A WEEK — in salary. Like Wooden said… failure isn’t bad by itself. But if you don’t change amid failure, you haven’t got a chance DEFENSIVE TAKE: Former Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti was at the Ducks’ spring football game calling the game for the Pac-12 network. He told me he thinks UO quarterback Bo Nix will start the season opener at Georgia, but he’s not ready to hand Ty Thompson the role of No. 2 quarterback. In fact, Aliotti ranked the performances of the Oregon spring game like this: 1. Bo Nix 2. Jay Butterfield 3. Ty Thompson Keep an eye on that race. Former Oregon Assistant Nate Costa told me that he’s a big fan of Butterfield, too. Said Costa: “He’s the son of a coach. He understands offense. I think he also has a photographic memory and can kind of build plays in his head and he processes information really well. What Ty has in arm strength Jay has in accuracy and ball placement… I think he’s someone players gravitate towards. He’s one of those guys you don’t notice in years one, two, three but in years four and five you say, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s draft-able.” More good stuff… • I also asked Aliotti for his NFL Draft analysis of Kayvon Thibodeaux. Aliotti said he likes Thibodeaux’s first step and pass rushing ability but said, “I thought he was very, very disruptive but there were other games where he disappeared. To be an elite guy you have to show up every weekend. Good player. He’ll go early because of his pass rush skills but to me there are a few holes.” • Mike Yam of the NFL Network is a big fan of Thibodeaux and thinks he’ll be a star at the next level. Yam will join me today on the statewide radio show at 4 p.m. PT today. Tune into 750-AM in Portland or listen in Eugene (1050-AM), Klamath Falls (960-AM) and Roseburg (1490-AM). Or you can stream the show live 3p-6p weekdays • Don’t be surprised when Washington State president Kirk Schulz emerges as a candidate for the NCAA president job. Schulz is smart, understands sports, and would be a breath of fresh air. There is one problem out of his control, though. Outgoing president Mark Emmert came to the NCAA from the University of Washington. Would the NCAA turn to the Pacific Northwest twice?

Seven is a receiver, and Cardwell is a running back.

And it is fine to discuss new breaking news, new articles, etc. about NIL, Portal, Pac-12, NCAA, as long as we are discussing the new content, and not rehashing what has been written 100 times already. Thanks to mrspenny for the article... Welcome to College Football’s Free Market WWW.THERINGER.COM NIL has created a messy, lawless recruiting marketplace, but that has always been true in college football. Suddenly, the sport is, for everyone, what it’s always been for the people in charge: a...

What a great-great thread! As I wrote before, Georgia fans that have visited this forum have been all class.

Yep...I just had some time today finally to comment. In many respects--Coach Aliotti had it right; it is a G-Series pulling the guard, and sometimes a tackle or tight end. To me, this new play is more of a sweep than it is a counter--but we can call it anything. Goodness knows I did that 11 years ago with the Chip Kelly videos!

I don't know....a name like that looks like someone in the hills of Arkansas? Small town Alabama? He who laughs last... Careful Trojans....Oregon at your 6:00!

The forward pass? I don't care WHO you are....that's funny!

Really good observation, and one that I'll borrow to offer perspective--we gotta be thankful. Good stuff, thanks.

Glad you saw it because I was going to email you for your opinion. I thought that at first as well, but I ruled out "Counter," because there was not any counter action of the QB and RB going one direction in the backfield to get the linebackers stepping one direction, and the the counter-action in the backfield going the other direction. We can disagree--no sweat. But I'll be we will see a GH Counter in the future....and I'll bet it will be enhanced as this play was as well. I would agree with you that I was mistaken though...that your point and that of others that it is not a sweep is true. It turned into a sweep due to the actions of the corner coming so far inside. So what to name it?

Boy...at 278 pounds? Tough call, because he has a rough-go in the run blocking, but we will need his quick feet in pass protection. And we do not have dancing bears at tackle...

On the other hand...what does it have to do with the prior 50 posts about the Spring Game? Let's stay on topic folks, because this is how we get diverted into other subjects, places we don't want to go.

No sweat Jester, as it is tough for me too.

Completely agree. That is why I am not on-board with those predicting an 11 win season, as we may have to take a small step back to make a big one forward in '23 and '24.

It was written elsewhere that Snee and DT Kristan Williams were not with the team as they are both..."working through some issues." Who knows what that means?