Principal Duck

My first game was the 1992 season and it was a home opener loss to Hawaii. I was able to put my elbows on the bench behind me my feet up on the one in front of me. Prior to graduating in '96 from Oregon I was able to be a student during that hinge point when the Ducks made it to the Rose bowl. I went to that game and it was after that, as we all know, that Uncle Phil and Nike got involved and things changed forever. All of this has led to a perspective that we are living in blessed times even if there are some jagged pills to swallow here and there. I am so excited about the current coaching crew, the players the recruits, the transfers, and the positive trajectory. I am so hopeful to be able to visit some of the most storied venues for football now that we are in the Big 10. Go Ducks!

I'd like to say that I'm feeling calm but I woke up in the middle of night after a dream that Bo was kicking field goals for us. So clearly there is something bothering my psyche.

Both quarterbacks are great candidates. I'm thinking we still have some time ahead of us to see how things pan out before we get into this conversation too deeply as there is still data to collect. Nix and Oregon have a final conference game tomorrow and hopefully a conference championship. LSU has TaMU on Saturday. Let their play the next couple of days settle the matter.

How many four or five star defensive ends and tackles do we now have? And I'm talking from prior years recruiting, incoming high school recruits and transfers? I don't think I've ever seen this many defensive line recruits come to Oregon like this. I feel like our offense will be our defense because they are going to lineup, punch somebody in the face, take the ball from them and score. Rinse, wash, and repeat.

This is turning out to be one of the most exciting signing days I can remember. It feels like Christmas came early.

Amazing turn of events! Our D will be full of amazing athletes next fall between who's already there and who is now inked to join the team. There's a bowl game today right? With all this excitement that might be getting lost in the background.

So much we don't know about his decision. I for one will not fault anyone for making a life changing decision and there has to be a lot going into his decision besides just scorning a fan base. Much respect for DM and hope he thrives until he plays the Ducks. In the meantime, we can all agree that the dynamic nature of college football has changed so much that the likelihood of having a favorite player commit and stay committed for their entire college career is waning and we have to be a little more thick skinned and positive in nature and enjoy the drama. Are you not entertained? I do very much trust DL and his coaches. I can not imagine the 5D puzzle that it is to build culture, run a practice, have a winning scheme on offense and defense, navigate the media; AND, deal with NIL, transfer portals and the age of social media recruiting. Tip of the hat to you coaches. I have a hard enough time running a school, I can't even imagine how challenging their job is and I don't want pile on any couch coaching when they're in the muck each day. They will win some of these recruiting battles and they will lose some. Players will have more mobility and seemingly selfish decisions than ever before...but again, they have to do what is right for them. I am highly entertained by all of this...that's a win right?

Up here in Portland the air is very similar to what it was during the terrible forest fires a couple years ago. The sky is dark and the air quality appears to be in the unhealthy category. This will be the first game I've gone to in a few years and I'm bringing the kids, so I'm wondering does anybody have any live reports of what it looks like in Eugene or how this may impact the game today?

My first game was at Autzen and a loss to Hawaii in '92. I was in my first year and put my elbows on the bench behind and feet on the bench in front and lots of space was still available as this was before it all took off. Back then I may have described Oregon as back water. Now The only backwater around there is some excellent kayaking up at the North fork of the Willamette, the Mackenzie, and Fall Creek heading towards the coast. I get what you mean though because I think most people can't locate the state of Oregon on a map if they're from the East Coast. I do love the energy around the new coaching staff and I'm hoping that it translates into an exciting product both on the field and off. So far I feel pretty good about it!

As a fan base I believe we've become a customed to a top 10 recruiting class. Having this group of coaches come in and with less than a month to secure a top 25 class and in the fashion they did, I feel ecstatic and don't need what we've had the last few years to feel good about the outcome. I believe we have brought in some very talented and exciting recruits. I believe we covered almost every position. I do see a little lull in regards to the tight end position this year, but to supplement the recruits the transfer portal brought in support. This coaching staff had a few recruiting coups from programs that are very competitive. Having a top 25 class, with most major positions covered, with the exciting recruits they brought in, and beating out those other teams... I'm feeling pretty excited.

I say this with all the academic prowess in the world, "Neener Neener Neener Mario!"

We're all familiar with the concept of risk versus reward. When I think back to what led to the most exciting time for me and Oregon football, it was the risk taken on hiring an unknown coach named Chip Kelly. Lots of reward came from that gamble. I am still uncertain about the risk taken here with many of the new coaching hires, but I am definitely thrilled about the reward that could be experienced and I believe it fits the fabric of what Oregon football is. I am excited to see what this coaching staff can do and I give them my support as the drama of this risk and potential reward plays out. Should be fun. On a different note, I've been thinking about this idea of coaches being able to recruit players on one school's dime and then should they take a job somewhere else have those recruits follow them to their new school. That falls under the category of things that make you go hmmmmm.

You have all hit on exactly the thoughts that have been going on in my mind. The one thing that I would add that I believe is another contributing factor to the changing landscape is the ever-increasing salaries paid to coaches that can lead to jumping ship. The days of having a Bellotti and tenured coaching staff who recruit athletes that stay at the school, play in their bowl games, and become names that we really root for may be coming to an end. Imagine if an NFL player could simply say I'm going to play for a different team next year? The inequities in the system that exist may devastate all of this even if it is well intended for the athlete. What tools or governing bodies even exist at this point to regulate some of these factors?

A friend of mine often used the phrase norming, storming, and conforming. We interpreted this to understand that there are three phases that occur whenever there is change. I'm not going to worry about all of this too much either because at the end of the day this is all just a fun hobby for me. It just seems like there is so much right now in the storming category that could irrevocably change what this sport is. Someone above said that these athletes do deserve more compensation than what they've received before. Another person stated that the NCAA has essentially become ineffective in regulation. Charles you brought up the fact that the bidding price has now been set and other teams will need to want to match that to be competitive. So it's that delicate line between what is good for the athletes and where this eventually ends as something that we can all continue to enjoy. For example, the new defensive back coach ringing with him the player from Colorado. As a fan, that's great! If you're a fan of Colorado though how does that feel to you? It seems like between coaches getting big money and pulling players with them, the transfer portal, and now this compensation package that is going to create so much inequity, this storming stage could be long and end in a product that is concerning. I simply hope for some stability at some point as we get to that conforming stage.

I appreciated the bulleted points that really show how it's done. It is going to be interesting to see how between this and the transfer portal college football changes. Texas A&M sure spent a lot to get that number one class. Sigh. Texas A&M Boosters Spent Unfathomable Amount Of Money To Land No. 1 Recruiting Class, Per Report by Grayson Weir of brobible