AnotherOD

I had a feeling the offense was setting up to take a shot. I think if you run that sort of script, you are expecting to get a guy more open than Seven. If you are going to throw that? Maybe try 6-3, 6-5, or 6-5 instead of 5-8?

3rd and 11 is tough to defend as a DB if you run backwards 13 yards before you turn around. 1st series on D so it's understandable. The chance to get off the field on 3rd and long was there though.

That 3rd down play to Irving was almost, almost there. Ducks look very composed for a 1st series of the season.

I recently rewatched the 60 minute Pac-12 Network replay of the Fresno State game on DVR. The Ducks score with about a minute left before halftime to go up 21-6. Oregon had held Fresno to something like 137 yards of offense. Fresno State zips down the field in 1:02 against the "play it safe" defense and completes a 17 yard TD pass with 7 seconds to go in half to get back in the game 21-13. Oregon comes out and matches down the field to start the second half and gets 2nd and 4 at the Fresno 17 three minutes into the 3rd. Oregon looks like it is about to take control again. AB then rushes for one yard, on 3rd and 3 Oregon completes a TWO yard pass to CJ, then on 4th and 1 from the Fresno 14 CJ gets STUFFED for no gain and Fresno gets the ball back, fired up and right back in the game. Then Fresno of course goes 85 yards in 10 plays and the score is tied 21-21 middle of the third (just like that). Oregon then comes back and gets a first down, but then goes incomplete, incomplete, and then 3rd and 10 a FIVE yard completion and a punt. Next time Oregon gets the ball, it is a sack, then three plays later a sack and fumble and Fresno has the ball at the Oregon 27 and ends up with a FG and Oregon is now losing a game it was really fairly well controlling with 1:09 left in half. Thankfully, Oregon pulls it together, mostly on AB flashing with a 32 yard pass to JJ than that 30 yard TD run, but until that happened, it was pretty dicey. Rewatching, despite some 1st half sputtering on offense, Oregon and it's D looked to be pretty much in control and then went "safe/snooze fest" until needing AB to wake up in the last 5 minutes to pull the thing out of the fire. That won't be missed.

Yeah. I don't know if I totally buy it all. As a veteran, Dye absolutely could spend massive time around friends and family, and show up mid-August and be a Duck for 4 more months... And then have? Oh maybe 60+ years to hang with those friends and family? I hear the same thing with the Tom Brady stuff. Does no one realize from mid-January until mid-August each year he has like at most two weeks obligation to his multi-million dollar job? And that is if he chooses to show up for those couple voluntary weeks of practice. So much media talk about him not being around for his family? Where the heck has he been for those 7 month for the last 2 decades? How many of us full time working people have a full 7 months to spend with friends and family evey single freaking year?

Yes, I mean, Jones and Sala both are 340+ all day long (and Jaramillo is not a small dude). It wouldn't entirely shock me to hear Mario would take both at Miami right now and find a way to make it work - though that possibly doesn't mean the guys are a perfect fit for what the Ducks are going to want to do going forward. Regardless of who plays, I think it's a veteran group who most likely won't be the factor the game totally hinges upon. But in a play-by-play analysis absolutely something to watch, and something that might be a key factor when breaking down the game if it ends up competitive

I think the question on the OL is the Ducks have one solid center and four OG in it's top 5. If you add in the first two guys off the bench, it is one center and six OG. Obviously, someone has to play OT. While not really horrible, the OT play at times has been at times... interesting? I think the hope is Bass, who appeared to be another OG, settles into the position and does well. Jones, Sala, and Jaramillo all can play the position, the question is more "upside" with guys maybe not playing the spot they might be most fit for. Duck fans would love it if true freshman Conerly runs with that spot, but it is a big ask for a true frosh in game #1.

Interesting to mention that as I didn't have room above but there are a couple ways to look at that. Again, going off projections, some "key" depth guys for both sides: GEORGIA A. Gilbert (5 star TE): #5 (#1) A. Mims (5 star OL): #8 (#3) S. Mundon (5 star LB): #35 (#4) D. Blaylock (4 star WR): #36 (#5) K. Milton (4 star RB): #54 (#7) M. Rosemy-J (4 star WR): #55 (#8) A. Smith (4 star WR): #58 (#9) N. Green (4 star CB): #72 (#4) X. Truss (4 star OL): #214 (#19) Z. Logue (4 star DL): #342 (#25) OREGON S. Stevens (4 star S): #137 (#11) S. Dollars (4 star RB): #143 (#2) M. Matavao (4 star TE): #158 (#5) C. Cota (4 star WR): #159 (#29) J. Powers-J (4 star OL): #194 (#14) T. Taimani (4 star DT): #208 (#7) D. Jaramillo (4 star OL): #252 (#14) J. Bassa (4 star S): #344 (#24) M. Irving (4 star RB): #348 (#23) C. Chapman (4 star WR): #354 (#60) B. Swinson (3 star LB): #509 (#20) J.Hill (3 star S): #576 (#46) So, Georgia has a lot of highly rated (top 100 type) young guys not currently listed as starters showing up on their depth chart. The thing is, most of them haven't played much I can find. I see Rosemy-Jacksaint with 7 catches, Arian Smith with 3 catches, Blaylock with 2 catches, Logue with 11 tackles, Mundon with 10 tackles, Green with 2 tackles (as mentioned Milton with 56 carries). I think Gilbert sat out the season. Oregon has some guys not rated as high, but guys who have played quite a bit in its group. Taimani started 11 games for UW and had 41 tackles, Irving rushed for 699 yards (and 3 100 yard games) with Minnesota, Cota has 67 career catches with UCLA, Chapman (despite injuries at A&M) has 28, Bassa started 7 games and ended up with 48 tackles, Powers-Johnson played in 11 games and started 3, Swinson had 24 tackles last year, and Hill has 13 career starts and Stevens 9 career starts. So, while Georgia has some very highly rated depth, Oregon isn't without highly rated kids in it's backing units, and has a lot of kids who have played quite a bit. Possibly, perhaps possibly, an advantage in an opening game that might help balance against the highly regarded Georgia youngsters.

**For the hard core types** A detailed look at the talent ratings for the upcoming Oregon/Georgia game, plus some notes. I mostly watch Pac-12 and only casually watch anything else (even the playoffs unless a Pac-12 team happens to find its way in), so despite the championship I wasn't that up on Georgia heading into 2022. The list below includes 24 players each team, the 22 projected starters for each team plus a 5th DB plus the top 4th WR option (for Oregon a slot and Georgia a second TE). Below a short discussion about the level of playing some of the newer Georgia starters from 2021 (no real discussion is made similarly for the Oregon side as this is an Oregon site and we most likely are more familiar with how much our guys have played). I took projected starters off two decent sites I found (there may be some debates at some spots like Smael Mondon and Xavier Truss, and Oregon with Hill, Stevens, and Swinson, but I took a shot best I could figure). The listing is the 247 Composite National Ranking then national position ranking (which is usually the position they play now but may look a bit funny if the ranking position was ATH or Center or pro style QB or something similar). OREGON 5 STARS J. Flowe - LB: #6 (#1) N. Sewell - LB: #13 (#2) D. Manning - CB: #31 (#4) B. Nix - QB: #33 (#1) GEORGIA 5 STARS N. Smith - LB: #1 (#1) K. Ringo - CB: #4 (#1) B. Jones - OL: #11 (#2) J. Carter - DE: #18 (#4) D. Washington - TE: #23 (#2) OREGON HIGH 4 STARS T. Franklin - WR: #41 (#3) A. Thornton - WR: #57 (#7) M. Funa - LB: #68 (#4) D.J. Johnson - LB: #74 (#6) B. Addison - S: #98 (#3) GEORGIA HIGH 4 STARS T. Rutledge - OL: #38 (#3) K. Milton - RB: #54 (#7) S. VanPran - OL: #60 (#1) B. Bowers - TE: #105 (#3) R. Beal - LB: #107 (#8) OREGON REMAINING 4 STARS S. McGee - WR: #151 (#9) B. Cardwell - RB: #190 (#12) C. Hutson - WR: #229 (#41) T. Ferguson - TE: #231 (#10) S. Jones - OL: #246 (#10) K. Ware-Hudson - DE: #259 (#19) C. Gonzalez - CB: #326 (#31) GEORGIA REMAINING 4 STARS T. Marshall - LB: #122 (#7) K. Jackson - WR: #130 (#23) T. Ingram-Dawkins - DT: #148 (#148) J. Dumas-Johnson - LB: #195 (#22) W. Poole - S: #195 (#28) W. McClendon - OL: #227 (#20) K. Lassiter - CB: #248 (#18) W. Ericson - OL: #263 (#5) C. Smith - S: #306 (#30) OREGON 3 STARS P. Aumavae - DT: #391 (#28) T. Bridges - S: #421 (#36) A. Forsyth - OL: #465 (#49) B. Dorlus - DE: #836 (#56) GEORGIA 3 STARS A. Mitchell - WR: #387 (#64) OREGON UR R. Walk - OL GEORGIA UR L. McConkey - WR: UR (#169) D. Jackson - S OREGON JC M. Aumavae-Laulu - OL: #5 JC (#1) R. Bass - OL: #21 JC (#1) B. Williams - S: #14 JC (#2) GEORGIA JC T. Walthour - DE: #65 JC (#7) S. Bennett - QB: #166 JC (#6) Recruiting giant Georgia obviously wins this category; but, I don't know if the gap is as big as often has been put forth? Georgia is usually listed with 3 returning defensive starters: Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Kelee Ringo. It looks like S Christopher Smith started a number of games (34 tackles) and I saw him listed as pre-season 2nd team All-SEC, so I'm not sure why he isn't listed as a 4th returning starter? LB Dumas-Johnson played in 14 of 15 games and is on the pre-season Butkis watch list (21 tackles). LB Robert Beal had 2 starts and played in 15 games and had 6.5 sacks to go with his 23 tackles. S Dan Jackson had 37 tackles and DE Tramel Walthour played in all 15 games (14 tackles). The three projected returning WR caught: (McConkey) 31 passes for 447 and 5 TDs, (Mitchell) 29 passes for 426 and 4 TDs, and (Jackson) 16 passes for 194 and 1 TD. The top 2 predicted RBs had 58 carries for 328 yards and 3 TDs (McIntosh) and 56 carries for 264 yards and 1 TD (Milton). Similar to Oregon's Cardwell (who finished with 61 carries for 417 yards and 3 TDs). QB Bennett had a wonderful statistical year, rating out at 176.7, with 29 TDs and only 7 INTs (and only took 14 sacks). Found it a bit interesting AB attempted 103 more passes on the season (287 versus 390), yet total yards were pretty close at 2862 versus 2989. AB was sacked 9 more times - a total of 23 - and ended up with a rating of 140.1. Georgia #2 TE Darnell Washington is expected to return from injury last year and On-3 has him rated the #6 TE in college football to go with Bowers at #1.

It is a common factor with the very "elite" OC college football, having quality ready to play depth - without a huge drop off. That allows the to absorb a reasonable amount of injuries during the year without changing their overall level of play dramatically. Taimani, Rodgers, Riley, Swinson, LaDuke, Bassa, Brown, Hill, Stevens, Jaramillo, Powers-Johnson, Conerly, Matavao, Dollars, Irving, Whittington, Cota, Chapman. Other than CB, this season opens on paper with some pretty good Duck depth, It won't be surprising to see many, if not most of those guys play in the Georgia game, not because the Ducks are forced to play them, but because the guys are good enough - that using them at times increases the team's overall performance. Obviously Georgia has recruited like gangbusters and that should mean awesome depth; but, the typical #3 something ranked team playing #12 ranked something team - and #3 is going to wear them out because #3 has a huge advantage with the twos (and threes) seems... well, at least following the usual narrative, without actually bothering to do much further analysis. Maybe off base but I find myself unconvinced the 2022 Ducks are at a "normal" huge depth disadvantage: some prolonged recruiting success, some key portal additions, and some growing players last season due to having a injury heavy season (being three possible factors contributing to the argument).

I know we don't like Walnut Heights. Affluent, undefeated, ranked third in the state: "They've got a swim team, a tennis team, they've got a golf team... for the boys and girls!" "Here's the situation, we haven't beaten Walnut Heights the 5 years I have been coaching. There are 10,000 people out there who don't think you are going to do it tonight. But there are 37 people in this room that know we can. Am I right? <YES SIR> That's you and that's me. Why are we so sure, what do we know they don't know? See, I don't think they know about the human beings inside these uniforms. I don't think they know the pain you are willing to endure, do they Tank? <NO SIR> They don't know how hard you are gonna hit, do they Djordjevic? <NO SIR> And they don't know what you are going to do to Alexander do they Riley? <NO SIR> And they sure as hell don't know about the magic in Rifleman's arm, do they? <NO SIR> The next 48 minutes are gonna find out what you are made of, and you are going to make me proud. You guys are gonna go out in your life and achieve amazing successes and I hope and pray you do. No matter what the future is gonna bring, seldom is there going to be a moment like tonight - where you hold it all in the palm of your hands. When you can achieve something together they can never take away from you. Your friends, your family, your parents, this town. A win tonight is going to give them something to be proud of, something they can believe in. And you know what they call us? You know why they only gave us 500 tickets to this game? We are the ( ), the ( ), the ( ). Alright, it what you are. It's what I am. That is what we are together. And that is how we are gonna' win this game - we are going to win it together. How are we going to do it <TOGETHER>."

Yes, missing Eddie Pleasant, and I just noticed no Brady Breeze either. So many great Ducks over the years.

Why not? Top 50+ offensive players for the Ducks since 1990. Maybe a bit tougher, as most have their own ratings for the skill guys, and OL probably - for a number of reasons - is about the toughest position spot to rank. Where to put all these guys? What standard does one use to place them? 01. Marcus Mariota - QB 02. LaMichael James - RB 03. Penei Sewell - OL 04. Max Unger - OL 05. Jonathan Stewart - RB 06. Joey Harrington - QB 07. Justin Herbert - QB 08. Adam Snyder - OL 08. Ruben Droughns - RB 09. Keenan Howry - WR 10. DAT - WR 11. Royce Freeman - RB 12. Tony Hartley - WR 13. Maurice Morris - RB 14. Ed Dickson - TE 15. Tyrell Crosby - OL 16. Darron Thomas - QB 17. Pat Johnson - WR 18. Kyle Long - OL 19. Sammie Parker - WR 20. Ontarrio Smith - RB 21. Josh Wilcox - TE 22. Demetrius Williams - WR 23. Paul Wiggins - OL 24. Tim Day - TE 25. Jake Fisher - OL 27. Jim Adams - OL 28. Dan Weaver - OL 29. Jeffery Meahl - WR 30. Damon Griffin - WR 31. Jordan Holmes - OL 32. Calvin Throckmorten - OL 33. Shane Lemieux - OL 34. Geoff Schwartz - OL 35. Dennis Dixon - QB 36. Donte Rosario - TE 37. Christian McLemore - WR 38. Jeremiah Johnson - RB 39. Jeremiah Masoli - QB 40. Akili Smith - QB 41. Brian Paysinger - WR 41. Blake Spence - TE 42. Jaison Williams - WR 43. Enoka Lucas - OL 44. Josh Huff - WR 45. George Wrighster - TE 46. Vernon Adams - QB 47. Darrion Weems - OL 48. Deak Moen - OL 49. Jordan Holmes - OL 50. LeGarrette Blount - RB 51. Kellen Clemens - QB 52. Mana Gregg - OL 53. Saladin McCullough - RB 54. David Paulson - TE 55. Ricky Whittle - RB 56. Lee Gundy - OL 57. Jed Weaver - TE 58. Carson York - OL 59. Tony Graziani - QB 60. Byron Marshall - WR 61. Brian Addison - WR 62. Marc Asper - OL 63. Hamaini Stevens - OL 64. Jake Hansen - OL 65. Terrence Whitehead - RB 66. Cameron Hunt - OL 67. Darren Carrington - WR 68. Nick Steitz - OL 69. Charles Nelson - WR 70. CE Kaiser - OL 71. Pharaoh Brown - TE 72. Dino Philyah - RB 73. AJ Jelks - FB 74. Hroniss Grasu - OL 75. Aidan Schneider - K

Ugh. Yes. Missed Jalen Jelks. I probably would add him around JD Nelson and Avery Patterson, about #75? Great Duck. Even for a long time Duck fan, 30 + years is a tough undertaking (as the memory does fade and there just are a number of things to weigh). I probably need to update to add in at least McKinley III and Wright to the list. I'm just realizing, where is Spenser Paysinger? Got to be top 40. And I am happy to be wrong, so if there is a wrong or a big ommission, just fire away...

Since absolutely nobody asked, my list of the top 50 Duck defensive players since 1990 - I don't feel comfortable going back any further as it was before my time really following closely enough (forgive any omits and spelling errors): 01. Haloti Ngata - DL 02. DeForest Buckner - DL 03. Kenny Wheaton - DB 04. Igor Olshansky - DL 05. Rashad Bauman - DB 06. Patrick Chung - DB 07. Alex Molden - DB 08. Nic Reed - DL 09. Troy Dye - LB 10. Kiko Alonso - LB 11. Ernest Jones - LB 12. Dion Jordan - DL 13. John Boyett - DB 14. Arik Armstead - DL 15. Devan Long - DL 16. Jevon Holland - DB 17. Chad Cota - DB 18. Keyvon Thibodeaux - DL 19. Peter Sirmon - LB 20. Walter Thurmond III - DB 21. Saul Patu - DL 22. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu - DB 23. Jarius Byrd - DB 24. Matt Smith - LB 25. Jeremy Asher - LB 26. Kevin Mitchell - LB 27. Cliff Harris - DB 28. Steve Smith - DB 29. Michael Clay - LB 30. Herman O'Berry - DB 31. Terrance Mitchell - DB 32. TJ Ward - DB 33. Romeo Bandison - DL 34. Wes Mallard - LB 35. Kenny Rowe - DL 36. Anthony Trucks - LB 37. Keith Lewis - DB 38. Rich Ruhl - LB 39. Reggie Jordan - LB 40. Jerome Boyd - LB 41. Thomas Graham - DB 42. Troy Bailey - DL 43. Casey Matthews - LB 44. Will Tukuafu - DL 45. Junior Siavii - DL 46. Micheal Fletcher - DB 47. Derrick Barnes - LB 48. Marc Schmidt - DL 49. Eric Dargan - DB 50. Taylor Hart - DL And, 10 more for fun: 51. Deommodore Lenoir - DB 52. Josh Kaddu - LB 53. Brandon Bair - DL 54. Terry Miller - DL 55. Troy Hill - DB 56. JD Nelson - DB 57. Dietrich Moore - LB 58. Ugo Amadi - DB 59. Boseko Lokombo - LB 60. Matt Toeaina - DL And 25 more because I have to stop at some point: Justin Phinisee (DB), Steven Moore (DB), Matthew Harper (DB), Blair Phillips (LB), Alex Balducci (DL), Henry Mondeaux (DL), Chris Solomona (DL), Zac Freiter (DL), AJ Tuitele (LB), Jaiya Figueras (DB), Justin Hollands (LB), Eric Edwards (DB), Bryant Jackson (DL), JD Nelson (DB), Avery Patterson (DB), Silila Malepeai (DL), Tony Washington (LB), Ra'Shon Harris (DL), Darrell Wright (DL), Jeff Sherman (DB), Paul Jensen (LB), Kwame Agyeman (LB), Seth McEwen (DL), David Moretti (LB), Des Byrd (DL), Aaron Gipson (DB).

Hard to not have DeForest Buckner on the DL list somewhere. The secondary is another difficult group to crack but it would be tough to leave out Rashad Bauman.

It's natural for Oregon fans to feel the program is beginning a new era; but, to the rest of the college football world - it's the team that got absolutely handled twice by Utah and (didn't look particularly competitive in its bowl game). Meanwhile, Georgia pounded Michigan then went on to beat Alabama for the National Championship. So, I can absolutely see Georgia fans being pretty confident (and in a couple discussions I've found they actually have been a lot less dismissive than the tOSU fans last year). It is a new season, and by the most commonly used measures of talent, an 18 point spread seems like a lot; but, add in a new Oregon staff to the final impressions left at the end of last year, I can see where the number comes from.

Until we find out differently, I am gonna go ahead and suggest the Georgia players are gonna put their uniform pants on one leg at a time too. I know people feel pretty positive about the future of Duck football in 2-3 years; but, a lot can happen in that time (and that is without adding in the current changing landscape of college football). The Ducks have what one Georgia outlet recently called "an OL full of grown men" (with the current top 6 all entering either their 5th or 6th year of college football), a former 5 star HS QB that started 3 years in the SEC, possibly the best and deepest group of WR the program has maybe ever had, two highly rated promising young TEs, what appears to have become a deep and interesting group of young RBs, an experienced front 7 that may have as many as 5 future NFL players, and a secondary with two national top 100 recruits, an All-Pac-12 CB, a guy who looked like a possible AA candidate before going out for the season with injury, and two additional returning safeties with a lot of college snaps. Why not have a few expectations? This team quite possibly will be replace 14 to 15 starters in 2023 (including possible the whole starting OL, QB, and maybe 4 of it's 5 top LBs). Where will it be in 2024? Hard to say as recruiting has remained solid but possibly all but a handful of players we will see in key roles this year will even be around. Maybe expectations of a playoff run are too much; but, I don't know if anything less than a very strong season is exactly a crazy expectation. Just one opinion though.

While preseason scrimmages always draw attention, at the end of the day, I find it good to remind myself it still is just practice. Probably somewhere across the college football landscape there are a few coaches who are secretly loving their scrimmages - and are having a hard time hiding it. (If so) they seem to be doing a pretty good job of it - as pretty much all of the reports I've come across - have less than happy head coaches. It's a new Duck coaching staff, putting in new systems, with either new or young pieces stepping into many main roles (especially on the offensive skill side of things but also in some key spots on defense). It would probably be more surprising to hear scrimmage number two went off like a well oiled machine. When breaking down games, I think there often is a tendency to look at them as either: what happens if a team plays lights out, or what happens if the wheels come off for a team. Usually (but not always) both teams perform somewhere closer to the center of the performance curve. I caught some of 9-0 Georgia playing 5-4 Tennessee from last year; and, I thought Tennessee did a respectable job playing them (it was 17-10 with 0:37 seconds left until half until Georgia hooked up a 23 yard TD pass). Georgia wore them out and pulled away comfortably (UT still appears a work-in progress from the Pruitt mess and arguably the Dooley and Jones eras). I think they ended up with 17 points and 387 yards. Tennessee's offense did put up numbers all year (ending up like #16 in yards per game and #9 in points per game), so no shade, another strong showing for the Georgia D. Maybe of note, according to the announcers, Georgia never took out its starting defense, even after getting up 41-10 (on the way to the 41-17 final). It did look like UT found some success using tempo against that great Georgia D. I'm sure DL had a long look at that from the Georgia sidelines, and it will be interesting to see how much Oregon attempts a similar tempo (especially against a defense with 8 new starters). As well, can Oregon even do that (9 months removed from Mario ball) in a season opener in a new offensive system (or will it actually turn into Georgia's favor if the Duck offense isn't ready to run at tempo and instead generates numerous assorted errors)?

It's also interesting that, despite some stats, it only has taken four games for Texas Tech fans confidence in Shough to fall nearly off a cliff. Obvious just message board stuff, but the consensus among the TT fans there was TS wasn't great in his four games prior to being lost to the season, and quite possibly has lost his starting job in 2022 (some think a guy named Morton others think a guy named Smith). Some comments from "Who wins the QB battle?": Cleanship: "I think we get a surprise, and Morton starts or ends up starting at some point and finishing the season. I think you'll see Smith come in at certain times and certain packages. Shough will be back-up." Good Fellow: "Conventional wisdom says it will be Shough but I with the water cooler boys picking Morton. Smith had a better season last year than Shough...I was not impressed with Shough last season and neither was Oregon the previous season. I just don't see how that makes him #1...A pro-style QB standing upright in the pocket with a history of poor reads is the last thing you want..." arciTTech: "Shough has the tools of an NFL QB and I'll think he starts. But when the game starts, he just doesn't have the mental game needed...There's just something about All Star Practice QBs where the flaws don't show until it's game time." JRaid: "Shough is probably the safe pick. As much as it pains me to agree with Good Fellow wasn't all that impressed with Shough what I saw last season." scarletwisdom: "They will pick Shough most likely given that he is the senior. And then may change mid way through the season. He shouldn't have been in contention at all, but the fact that he is tells me that the others still have some catching up to do." dhtech: "I've been low-key afraid that everyone feels compelled to name Shough as the starter not based on what he's done or shown them, but based on what he's supposedly capable of. Meaning he's still sort of riding the wave of accolades he came out of high school with." OU48A: "From what I saw from Donovan Smith I thought he has a chance to be very effective with a good supporting scheme and some good QB coaching." MrClicks: "Agree with most. Money says Shough starts, but we need to see him consistently move the offense. Don't know if he's a gamer, not every talented player is. Hope he proves me wrong because he's got all the measurables." MoRaiders: "I’d be surprised if Shough doesn’t start. He has talent and experience. I do think there is a good chance Morton starts at some point in the season either due to injury or a need for change." There are a few fans who still hold onto the "he was a highly rated high school kid and has NFL skills" and think he should at least get the first couple games before being pulled, and the rest have already moved on to other QBs they feel have already moved past TS in on the field play. I'd fine with those who want to add Shough to Mario "QB regression" pile; but, once again perhaps another case where some stats may paint a rosey outcome but eyeballs just suggest something different. In this day and age in college football it sometimes isn't that hard to generate some good numbers (shoot I think at about the four game mark the Beavs QB Chance Nolan had a QB rating north of 190 - and that was with a couple decent opponents - yet he ended up having a fair year but not really close to that level).

I don't want to be that "stars are everything" guy; and, the Duck staff apparently were on him; but, I see the kid listed #779 nationally in the 247 composite. Since 2016 (but not counting the new Ducks for 2022), the Ducks have brought in the following OL ranked between 500 and 999 nationally: Jacob Capra #577 Logan Bathke #613 Cody Shear #951 Christopher Randazzo #822 Justin Johnson #903 Logan Sagapolu #614 Jaylan Jeffers #532 Marcus Harper #730 Faaope Laloula #804 Couple guys who still may become players for sure, but 6 seasons of guys in this OL rating range and arguably not a guy with really any meaningful snaps yet. Guys in this range tend to be more multiple year developmental guys, with the portal, maybe possibly maybe not quite as necessary as pre-portal.

It's a bit of a head scratcher. On one hand, many places have Oregon a top five national OL, on the other hand, sometimes they just kinda look like they are getting blow up. Sala is in his 6th season, Bass his 5th, and I think 5th for SJ. At this point they probably are who they are gonna be; but, if none of them can really play OT, what have we been doing for 5 years? If healthy I do see a pretty strong group. In AF and RW, I think that's two more 6th year guys among the 5 starters. DJ and JPJ I think there are a 6th and 7th that are capable Pac-12 starters. "High floor/low ceiling" comes to mind, but I don't know if that's exactly it either as it's a unit that can look great against Ohio State then turn around and struggle with an Arizona (and that isn't necessarily "high floor"). The last time Oregon had a highly rated OL, it had 3 guys who have gone on to start NFL games early in their careers and a 4th that I believe is still hanging around with the Packers. Other than Bass (who I think has a late round shot) I think the rest are good college players who likely are FA types (who face an uphill climb to ever start an NFL game). I'd be happy to be wrong but I think that is part of what we are seeing. That and Mario favoring giants on the OL. Maybe Klemm and the rest of the offensive staff have some new approaches, possibly something not on display in the spring.

Interesting thoughts. I just don't know whether there is much evidence either NIL or conference affiliation was a huge factor? It makes some sense as an argument but seems to assume some things we don't really have in evidence. Oregon gets Conerly and USC fans say Oregon dropped a big bag of cash, USC gets Banuelos and Oregon fans say USC swoops in late with a big bag of cash. Pulido may be a case of doom and gloom, or maybe not. It seems like there are enough reasons for a recruit to take an Alabama offer where it just can't mostly he really liked the Alabama offer? With the portal being a thing that looks like is here to say, recruits can always jump back to a second choice if things don't work out as hoped at a "blue blood". All that said, if I was a "three star" OL prospect, ranked somewhere from around 400 to 600 nationally, I would probably take a long look at Klemm's record (his last time as a college coach) taking OL recruits at this rating level and turning them into guys who have significant NFL careers (i.e., that 75% of the top dozen OL at UCLA in Klemm's final two years there - are still playing in the NFL fire years later - with - if I'm remembering correctly - only one of them rated at least a low 4 star). I don't have my trust Phil Steele yet, but I would suggest generally it's (more) difficult at places like Alabama, Georgia, tOSU for lower ranked OL kids to work their way through the pile of "elite recruits" to get the chance to develop (but sure it can happen). For kids at the 400-600 level of recruit, one has to wonder if in many cases differences in NIL dollars are more likely in the thousands than in the hundreds of thousands. If so, is there a hidden cost of spending a few years washing out at a "blue blood" which might mean missing out on a 4 to 5 year path that might mean a big NFL run down the road? Of course, just speculation. As much as I am uneasy about the way these dollars are being thrown right now in college football, with data clearly showing the road to the NFL isn't easy, if it is a BIG chunk of change is available right now, hard to question a kid ultimately picking one favorite school over another favorite school adding in the $ bottom line.

I think the answer must be 2015 and Canton Kaumatule (who while technically was listed as a SDE, likely was never going to play there entering college at 6-7 and 290)? If we have to throw that one out, next would be 2012 Arik Armstead (though most services listed him as either an OL (or ATH), if he was listed as a DT, he still would have been a top 20 prospect). If we can't count that one, it probably goes to 2010 where Ricky Heimuli was listed as #77 nationally and #5 DT. Looking further, there is the infamous 2007 "what might have been" pair of Myles Wade (#157) and Simi Fili (#176) - who both DNQ. 2004 had David Faaeteete (#140), and of course 2002 Haloti Ngata. Interesting to see Haloti ranked as the #10 overall prospect that year, and #2 DT. The #1 DT and #6 overall player was Texas recruit Rodrique Wright, who went on to be a good college DT, drafted in the 7th round by Miami, and played 3 NFL seasons followed by 2 in Canada. In maybe the "it's a small world" category, he now is coaching Mario's DEs at Miami. I remember (some) Duck fans being surprised to see Haloti ranked as far down as #10. He was a huge commit. I recall a story at the time about former BYU standout and then local TV reporter for the Eagles Via Sikahema (who spent 26 years in Phil and is a member of the Phil Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame) catching Andy Reed after a game to get a few comments. After a couple quick questions and a thank you to the coach, Andy said to Via (who knew Via was a huge BYU guy), "Congrats, I saw you guys got the big kid" - referring to the news of Haloti's initial commitment to BYU. It always struck me, #1 overall or #10 overall, #1 DT or #2, if Andy Reed knew all about you, especially circa 2002, you were probably a pretty big recruit. Unless I'm missing a name or two, not a huge list of top 200 recruits at DT for 20 classes.

I've been checking out CanesInsight a bit as well. Gonna be an interesting few year in Miami. A poster named Yoyo82 posted yesterday: "One thing I expect is for the head scratching losses to mostly go away due to inconsistent performance.It seemed like our last few coaches did not know which team was going to show up on Saturday and sometimes we'd come out guns blazing and blow out a pretty good team and sometimes we'd come out flat and be in a dogfight with a terrible team only to squeak it out or still lose in the end. I expect Mario to have his teams consistently performing at the talent level on the team which means we should win most of our ACC games pretty easily instead of going into a Duke or GT game and wondering "is this the one where we flop?" I'd expect to get to Clemson's level in the ACC pretty quickly where there's like 6 guaranteed conference wins on the schedule every year and only 1 or 2 dogfights." Big bag of popcorn indeed.