HawaiiDuck

A lot of Hawaii kids transferred to mainland schools for exposure during the last two years since the high school football seasons were cancelled for a while. So, a lot of kids lost their junior and senior seasons. Can't evaluate games that aren't played.

Kapaa is off the beaten path from Honolulu, but it looks like Kawika is holding his own in these short clips.

After what Zak Hill did to the University of Hawaii in 2016, I'm really not surprised he was involved in some shenanigans at ASU. Then-UH coach Nick Rolovich (yes, that Nick Rolovich) hired Hill in 2016 as UH's OC and QBs coach. He left after 48 days to become Boise State's co-OC and QBs coach. It was terrible timing since he left 7 days before LOI day and didn't do UH's recruiting any favors. Losing his chance at the SEC? Too bad, guy. Karma will bite ya.

I found the pic of Otis and me and my friend at the Natty! I'm on the left. "If I were you, I'd be..." "Leaving! What a good idea." "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!" "She was going to make a pot for me..." "You're all worthless and weak!" "Thank you, sir! May I have another?" I need to stop.

At the Natty in Phoenix against Auburn, I met Otis Day at our hotel. He looks pretty much the same as he does in the movie. Pic to come if I can find it. "Son, fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go though life." "Can you guess what I am now?" "Is that a pledge pin??? On your uniform???" "He can't abuse our pledges like that. Only we can abuse our pledges." "Welcome back to the Dexter Lake Club! We'd like to do a tune for you entitled Shama-lama-ding-dong. Now, hit it."

The UH job is a tough one and in my opinion, will likely attract either an up and coming coach with ties to Hawai'i or an established coach with ties to Hawai'i who doesn't need the money. Timmy Chang? Rich Miano? June Jones? Tony Tuioti? Some assistants from UCLA? Graham was only making $800,00/yr. UH doesn't have the cash to be competitive with Power Five schools. And has to pony up thousands in travel subsidies to visiting teams. The off-campus stadium was condemned and a new one is supposed to be built. Though with the politics around here, who knows when that will happen. In the meantime, there's a small 9,000 seat stadium on campus that the governor has only recently begun allowing spectators at less than capacity because of COVID. In addition, a new coach will have to deal with a meddling legislature https://www.khon2.com/sports/local-sports/another-call-for-investigation-on-uh-athletics-by-senate-committee-on-ways-and-means/ and a decimated team with about 22 players in the transfer portal or already transferred. It's a mess.

Late to the party (what else is new being 2 - 5 hours behind everyone ) but I'm sure you were all waiting for the weather report here. It's 71 degrees at 8 am with blue skies and white fluffy clouds. And a bonus rainbow! Love to see the pictures of snow. Miss the Northwest and seeing Duck games in person. Happy holidays OBD!

https://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/2021/12/ben-roberts-4-star-defensive-lineman-sticks-with-oregon-ducks-after-last-nebraska-push.html More info from Oregonian

Here are the (summarized) details of Coach Lanning's contract, presented to the U of O Board of Trustees for ratification.

LaMike james @LaMichaelJames I learned from the best, I'm available @CoachDanLanning #goducks

I agree 100%. Wherever this guy goes in the Pac, recruiting violations follow. Peterson didn't retain him at UDub after Sark left for U$C. When Sark tried to hire him, $C admin said no because of the allegations he paid for a recruit's tutoring and that he was "steering" kids he was then recruiting for UDub to $C (while employed at UDub) and while the $C offer was pending. Allegations he did that at Cal before leaving for UDub too. Wilcox was considering bringing Lupoi from Alabama back to Cal because Lupoi's a Bay Area guy but ultimately decided not to. He may be a great recruiter, but has he stopped doing things which will bring scrutiny and/or NCAA enforcement? Is the risk worth the reward?

I can't remember where I heard it, but word was that Joe Salave'a was on campus in Miami, perhaps checking out the program? Lanning might be anticipating MC poaching Salave'a. FWIW, I like Joe, think he's a good DL coach, and I hope he remains at the U of O. I met him at the Polynesian FB Hall of Fame dinner in Waikiki a few years ago and had a good conversation about Oregon football.

From GoDucks.com, it will be live-streamed on Twitter, FB, and Youtube. "Lanning will be officially introduced at a press conference at 2:00 p.m. PT on Monday in the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex. The press conference will be streamed live on the Oregon Football Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as the GoDucks YouTube page."

This is a crazy season in the Pac - so many changes

According to 24 7 Sports' Brandon (didn't get his last name, might be Huffman) on Twitter Spaces last night, an offer was extended to Kenny Dillingham and he is expected to make a decision some time today.

Anndddd.... Joey Harrington is on right now talking about the letter, answering George Wrighster and Geoff Schwartz.

Dillingham

This is fantastic news! Although I'd never heard of him before the AJC report, the more I read about him, tireless work ethic, fantastic recruiter, and tough D, the more I like him. He's had other offers and UGA gave him $1M raises over his $325K base salary to stay put, so that says how in-demand Lanning is. SCO DUCKS!

Thanks for the support, Charles and especially for the avatar! We LOVE Marcus here in the islands. His parents came to our UOAA-Hawaii Chapter annual fundraisers a few times along with DeForest's mom. Glad to be here, mahalo and aloha!

Definitely true that the AJC is a major newspaper. Just a little jumpy after all of the reports, rumors, and innuendo. The report of a premature hire might be semantics, that they're still working out the details before an official offer or acceptance is made. Much mahalos

Good Lord. Sorry for the click bait, guys. I figured the AJC was a reliable source. Live and learn.

Breaking: Dan Lanning to leave Georgia to become Oregon head coach (ajc.com) Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning will be named the new head coach at Oregon on Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation. Lanning and Georgia are negotiating whether the assistant coach will remain with the school through the College Football Playoff. Georgia will face Michigan in a semifinal Dec. 31. The winner of that game will play the winner of the Alabama-Cincinnati game in the other semifinal, the Cotton Bowl, for the national title Jan. 10 in Indianapolis. Lanning started at Georgia as the outside linebackers coach in 2018 making $325,000 a year. After raising his salary several times as offers came from other schools, most recently the defensive coordinator position at Texas, he made $1.7 million this season. The Oregon position become open when Mario Cristobal left for Miami earlier this week. Lanning, who played at William Jewell College in Missouri, also coached at Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Sam Houston State, Alabama (where he was on the same staff as Georgia coach Kirby Smart) and Memphis. He was the inside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Memphis from 2016-17 before coming to Georgia. As for Georgia’s staff, inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann holds the title of co-defensive coordinator. Also, former South Carolina coach Will Muschamp is on staff as special-teams coordinator and assists with defensive backs. Muschamp also served as defensive coordinator at Auburn LSU and Texas. Lanning’s compensation has increased 540% in four years at Georgia. “I’m forever grateful to coach Smart for giving me the opportunity to coach at the University of Georgia,” Lanning said in August following the pay raise. “It’s always been a dream of mine to coach the elite and to have the opportunity to compete for championships at the highest level. I think Georgia provides that.” Rewards such as Lanning has received do not come unwarranted. The $1 million of increases Lanning has received over the past two years are listed as “competitive” raises on Georgia’s accounting ledgers. Each came as a result of Lanning being offered work elsewhere. Mike Norvell, for whom Lanning worked at Memphis, tried to hire him away to Florida State before last season. And new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian took a shot at acquiring Lanning in January. “It’s competitive, and when you’re at a good program, you’re going to have good opportunities,” the 35-year-old Lanning, who is married and has three sons, said before the season. “But the grass is not always greener, and I learned that from watching coach Smart for several years. You know, being successful where you’re at, opportunities will come.”