Charles Fischer

Hey Lincoln....who's your daddy?

Well done!

And that was before Harmon... Count our blessings and and enjoy the ride my friends! (And USC did get a "B"...)

My FishDuck Friends....I am just a terrible sport. So bad that I don't even feel guilty for the following quotes from one of the biggest USC forums. The only thing greater than the joy of Our Beloved Ducks winning these recruiting battles, is seeing the reaction of Trojan fans who believe they were entitled to these players both schools were pursuing. I'm a sicko, as I can't get enough of this after all the years growing up with their disdain in my face...and there was nothing we could do about it. I need to go get a candy bar, something sweet to go with all this salty... I won't do this all the time, but Derrick Harmon is a recruit they really wanted and needed. And I may have added my commentary in green bold... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Is the fact that Lan Danning thinks he's out recruiting everyone and taking credit for it. He's a freaking blowhard that gets credit for being a great recruiter only because he's got Nike money behind him. It also frustrating that with all the billion dollar alumni USC has, none of them are stepping up the way Phil Knight does for Oregon." "I've always made fun of their envy for SC, but let's face it. Who's laughing now?!" Couldn't have written it better... "Year 3 Lanning looking much better than year 3 Riley. Rest is cope." "Another L with the kick to the nuts. Plain and simple." "They care more than we do at the moment unfortunately." "So now they have both Caldwell and Harmon in the middle? That might compare to Texas two DTs last year." "Damn, but to those that think just throwing whatever money recruits want. It’s obvious Oregon is all in on this year, for USC--they’re playing the longer game." "Big difference of being a $2B billionaire vs a $40B billionaire." Wait...according to this 2021 article from Forbes, USC has 15 billionaire alumni worth a total of $58.5B. I'm not sure how accurate that is in 2024. Phil Knight alone is at around $40B. Whoops! There go the excuses! "It's not Nike the company paying these guys, it's Phil Knight donating to Oregon's collective and former Nike execs running the whole thing. Actual experienced business people. Meanwhile, our NIL is run by football guys that can't even figure out how to consistently pay the players on time." "Oregon has an insurmountable advantage in both $$ and infrastructure, we will continue to lose these battles until revenue sharing happens. Even then, they'll still probably have their collective going to supplement it." "Oregon's NIL is the greatest in the whole country. This is the only thing I’ll ever be envious of with them. Wow. I’m glad we don’t play them this year." "Writing was on the wall when their NT jumped in the portal a few days ago." "Absolute disaster. Oregon didn't even need him and secured his pledge they have 4-5 other starting caliber DTs. We legit have one. I can just about guarantee our DL is going to get rolled over this year with the complete lack of talent. Team is going to go 7-5 against the insane schedule then Justus Terry and the other top DL commits will flip or head elsewhere creating the same problem next year." "Chain of events going to be set off by this and it is really going to hurt. Getting embarrassing at this point that USC CANNOT BEAT OREGON for a single recruit H2H, unless it is a lowly 3 star they recruit over." "Oregon’s 3rd guy on the depth chart would probably start day 1 for us. Lol,sad." Did you EVER think you would read that from a USC fan? "I used to think the CLR was playing chess in the recruiting game, but I’m pretty convinced at this point that we are the ones playing checkers." "Man lol Douche Lanning did his team dirty too by having this announced after the portal closed. Cut throat." "Got Wyatt and Harmon to commit back-2-back just to mock SC...God I hate those MorherFers Ducks." Pretty salty tears....I LOVE IT! "So we "feel like" having a gaping hole in the DL as we enter the conference with consistently stout OLs and run games? That makes a ton of sense." Yep! Good thing I never said I was noble...

He is 359 pounds...changes everything for this defense. The last piece needed...

I hear USC fans handled the news well...

This is almost beyond my comprehension....as this addition truly completes this defense. The impact on the linebackers is enormous. It will help put opposing teams quickly into a one-dimension passing attack once they get behind, because running the ball will be a low-return for the effort because of Harmon.

He is a Rivals 4-Star who was highly sought after by some of nations best programs. Offered by Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and especially frustrating to USC!

My FishDuck Friends,....I have spent a number of hours going through every play of the Oregon Spring Game with my TiVo DVR of which allows me to watch a play in slow-motion with no blur. I'll give you my opinions on the Oregon defensive line, but in reference to the question in the title of this post... No, we will not miss Ben Roberts. Now my first impression upon hearing of his transfer was one of regret at him leaving, but after my study...I am relieved with what I saw of his actual performance, and that of the other defensive tackles and nose tackles with the Ducks. Remember, we had not seen anything prior to the Spring to warrant our concern of losing him, and I wish to address what are three plays that got the attention of spectators. The first was in the opening quarter where after his team stopped the play at the goal line--he came out and did a routine like he personally stopped the play. No, he got caved into the middle from Ajani Cornelius on a great block that left Roberts out of the play. But the running back did not dive into the end zone from the crease created by Cornelius, but instead decided to jump on the pile. He ended up falling on Roberts on the bottom, and thus Ben was giving credit for the tackle, and a TFL. But because he hot-dogged it afterward...I thought he must have made a great play. Nope. He did pressure the quarterbacks twice, and was given credit for a sack. Not a sack to me, as the QB would have just quickly thrown ball away, as he did in the other example. Roberts created a good havoc play, created two quick throw-aways in my view, but we also have to look at the bigger picture. Did he beat a grizzled veteran or starter on the offensive line? No. He beat Lipe Moala, and Gernorris Wilson who are both redshirt freshmen, and both at Oregon one year while Roberts has been through two years of practices. Ben Roberts The key when watching Roberts, is determining whether he is plugging the middle and requiring a double team as a nose tackle should? It is critical for our defense since we only have two inside linebackers, not three in our 4-2-5 MINT defense. Thus the linebackers need to be freed up from blockers to make the tackles. He was usually neutralized by one offensive lineman blocking him, but three times when double-teamed....he was driven three and four yards down the field! That cannot happen as we don't expect the nose tackle to make plays when double-teamed, but he needs to stand his ground at the line-of-scrimmage and deny running lanes. When you are blown down the field like that...you create huge running lanes for opposing running backs in both directions. By contrast, we had some superb plugging done in the middle by a number of other defensive linemen. Remember, they are not meant to make the tackle, but simply plug the middle two gaps with his body and that of the opposing double team to make running in the middle impossible. I noted a ton of good plays in the middle from No. 95 Keyon Ware-Hudson, No. 90 Jamaree Caldwell, No. 99 Terrance Green, No. 58 A'Mauri Washington and brand new freshman (a high schooler who came early) in No. 50 Tionne Gray. In my view, Roberts would have been on the third team of defensive tackles and nose tackles, and he knew it. This is not to mention the tremendous defensive lineman class of '24 that was brought in, and could pass him soon. We had four high school players who graduated and enrolled early to play in the Spring Game, and in my view No. 42 Aydin Breland, No. 77 Jericho Johnson and No. 88 Xadavien Sims were well blocked and relatively invisible in this game. But the fourth one, No. 50 Tionne Gray is one to watch, as he came up a couple of times in my notes. In particular, he beat his man (reserve center) to make the fourth down stop late in the game, but he also forced a quick QB throw in the fourth quarter, and did a fine stuff for nearly no-gain in the first half. I like him better than Roberts already, and Gray makes this 2024 D-Line class that much more impressive. Tionne Gray I did not know much about Gray, but learned that he was a Rivals 4-Star out of St. Louis and a top-10 defensive tackle in the nation! We beat out hometown Missouri (very notable) Iowa, LSU, Arkansas, Washington, Tennessee and Oklahoma for the 6'6" mountain. He was listed at 305, but I believe he looked heavier, yet had a very quick jump at the snap, and some real fast-twitch in his moves. I knew nothing about him, and frankly...forgot about him within this heralded recruiting class, but the little FishDuck Football Fairy on my shoulder was whispering into my ear, "Remember Charles, Greatness and Weakness Emerge Early." Yep, this young man may have been the sleeper of the class. So, I wish Ben Roberts well, as Oregon will be just fine with all the talent being assembled in Eugene by Dan Lanning. For those of you who are new here, I've done over 100 analysis articles for FishDuck.com over the last dozen years, and broke down Spring games for right at 20 years. I created the 50 analysis videos of the Chip Kelly offense and Nick Aliotti defense a decade ago, (Viewed over two-million times) so while these are just my opinions (and I can be wrong) there is some experience in my analysis. I have other impressions of the Spring Game that I'll share later, but this was the pressing question I was curious about and after spending some time--wanted to share my thoughts with you. I am satisfied with the talent and depth of the defensive line without Roberts, and was delighted to find a gem to observe over the upcoming years. Good-gosh Our Beloved Ducks are going to be tough in the trenches! Note how Gray, No. 50 is requiring a double-team, and holding his ground.

My FishDuck Friends, the contributed article above I would call Jon Joseph-Light, as it gives us good overview, but not the depth that our fellow OBD member provides this community. I appreciate your patience with it, as it is a "money" article that contains the usual gambling link that helps to pay the bills. I will not be doing very many of these in the future due to time constraints, but when an easy one comes through--gotta take it to pay the damn tech bills piling up. I hope you enjoy the usual pictures, as the top one and last one are from the 2003 game with Michigan at Autzen from John Giustina, the official UO Photographer at the time. He has been generous sharing photos from 20 years ago with us, and some are epic. Great color and memories!

The portal closed to enter, but the school can sign over the limit as long as we are at 85 for the beginning of fall camp. Players may be told this summer that they will not have playing time this fall, and decide to sit out the '24 season, and then enter the portal at the end of football season. Or players are pulled off scholarship, and simply paid enough by NIL to be the equivalent or better. There is rumor that some top players at Oregon are not even on scholarship; they are enrolled at school, but receiving a large NIL income to pay expenses. Or I am completely wrong. We do not know the details, and due to privacy laws....probably never will. I don't worry about the scholarship problem, because it is the coach's problem to figure out...and they will. A nice problem to have! It could be a lot worse... who would want to be in the spot that Beavis is?

OK, if it is going to be a night game, then a Friday night game...when there are few options for viewers is ideal. B1G fans wanting to check out Oregon will watch some and record the rest, thus our viewership on Fridays could be superb.

I will have more about the loss of Ben Roberts tomorrow, as I have some homework to finish tonight. Peyton Woodard is visiting Oregon this weekend!

Michigan State defensive lineman Derrick Harmon is once again in the portal and evaluating his options. (From On3) One of the top available players at his position, he entered the portal this winter with the coaching turnover in East Lansing. Teams like Auburn, Ohio State and Oregon were all in the mix. In 25 career games, he’s posted 71 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Sources have indicated to On3’s Steve Wiltfong and I that five teams are in consideration this time: Colorado, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon and USC. The Buffaloes and Trojans have landed visits since Harmon entered the portal more than a week ago. He was tentatively scheduled to visit Miami earlier this week, but that trip was canceled. USC landed the first visit and allows Harmon to play beside Bear Alexander, who nearly entered the portal earlier this month but decided to stay in Los Angeles. Colorado hosted the 6-foot-5, 320-pound Michigan State transfer this past week for its spring game. No timetable has been set for a decision. Derrick Harmon Ohio State is still squarely in the mix to land the Michigan State defensive lineman. The Buckeyes were very interested in Harmon when he entered this past winter and were able to get him on campus. Now a few months later, sources tell On3 that Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson has been in contact with Harmon and the two have picked up where their conversation left off when the defensive tackle withdrew from the portal. Oregon is in a similar situation to the Buckeyes. The Ducks were one to watch the first go-around and were able to get Harmon out to Eugene in December. Defensive tackle is a position Oregon has looked at in the spring window as the Ducks saw a departure on Wednesday with Benjamin Roberts hitting the portal. Sources have also indicated that Michigan State has yet to be ruled out. Derrick Harmon withdrew from the portal in the winter, opting to stay in East Lansing for Jonathan Smith’s first spring. Despite visiting Colorado and USC, sources said the two-time All-Big Ten Honorable Mention has communicated with the coaching staff this week. Now the Spartans are trying to convince him to return for a second time.

Shoots 37% from three? We need it! TJ Bamba becomes Oregon's third portal commitment this spring 247SPORTS.COM TJ Bamba is a Duck after announcing his decision today.

Oregon's pitching situation has been pretty surprising this season on the good side, but in particular...on the bad side. We have been happy with the gradual development of RJ Gordon returning from injury, the mental progression of Grayson Grinsell, and the gradual improvement of Kevin Seitter on Sundays. (Fantastic game against the Bastard Beavers) We also have to separate the issues from either injury or simply a bad day. Some days you step on the mound, and the control is not there. Seitter had that against Stanford, and Ian Umlandt had that occur on Tuesday night vs. OSU. Bad days are going to happen to the best of pitchers, and the challenge is when to replace them....since sometimes they pull it together and shine. Coach Waz recruited a ton of pitchers, and we had a ton of pitchers returning, yet for crazy reasons...we are still short good pitchers. Two of our pitchers from last year, Matthew Grabmann, and Turner Spoljaric, have lost the magic of last year and are not the same at all. Jaxon Jordan We have four superb pitchers from last year that have not even played yet, and probably won't in Dylan McShane, Austin Anderson, Isaac Ayon, and Leo Uelmen. If they were available--it would change everything for Oregon. It looks like Michael Freund is returning from injury, and Umlandt will be available for relief on the weekends, now that mid-week games are finished for the season. But we had two pitchers return on Tuesday that create some buzz and excitement for Oregon Baseball fans. Jaxon Jordan was a highly acclaimed recruit from JC (Moorpark College) who had a 3.17 ERA and was a closer who had 11 saves for them. Waz was excited about his work in fall-ball, and mentioned that he could become the Duck closer. But injury stepped in, when he tried to pitch earlier--got shelled. He pitched for an inning Tuesday night, and showed us good fastballs, and a pretty good curve/breaking ball that started at the batter's eye level and dropped to the knees for strikes. He is badly needed, and at 6'5" can really whip it. I suspect we will see a gradual introduction back as he builds up his arm. Brock Moore The bigger excitement was the return of big, 6'6" Brock Moore and his three scoreless innings. He is known for heat, and he was throwing 94-98 mph, but his slider and breaking ball were killing the Beavers. In particular his breaking ball was much faster than a usual one, thus the batter thinks it is a high fastball and lets it go. Then it does a backdoor drop for a strike that leaves the batter just frozen. This is VERY exciting, as this is just what the Ducks need right now in relief! Big series against No. 25 Utah at PK Park starting Friday night. Check it out!

I will have more information tomorrow about the importance of the loss of Ben Roberts. Also more about the trenches, as I have to finish my homework tonight.

Wow Jon, thanks for posting that. Those issues, in particular, rematches, pretty much assure that the field has to grow to 16. Do you favor more in the playoff? I do, to 16... No rematches; I've seen enough of Beavis...

Wowsa. I loved his improvement, but perhaps he saw too many ahead of him? Not one I wanted to lose, and perhaps freeing up a scholarship for a portal nose tackle? (Harmon, please!)

EUGENE, Ore. — The Big Ten Conference has released the opponents for Oregon’s 2024-25 conference season. Each Big Ten institution will play a 20-game conference schedule, playing three schools both home and away, while facing 14 teams once. Of the single-play opponents, member institutions will play seven at home and seven on the road. The Ducks will play UCLA, USC, and Washington both home and away next season. Oregon’s home-only opponents are Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, and Rutgers. UO’s road-only opponents include Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin.

Yep, and unfortunately, Ohio State is not out of the picture. But it comes down to the total package, and Oregon may not have enough NIL budget to afford Harmon. After what I saw of the defensive line in the Spring Game, I am sweating it a lot less. We have some very talented young guns at defensive/nose tackle at Oregon. It is "good-or-good" to me as to whether we sign Harmon. I do not want to scare away great young talent either....

Agreed. When I wrote "eyeballs," I meant primarily TV and later on--streaming.

The facts are that he dropped way-too-many passes thrown to him. (10%!) And the rumor is that he bombed the interviews with NFL team executives.