Duck Fan 76

This actually makes a lot of sense. Sheldon is a pretty decent football school for Oregon but it's a public school and it's in Oregon which puts it off the national recruiting radar. The best players in the country tend to go to prep-schools (sleep away private schools with underage semi-pro teams) to play against the best talent to highlight their individual talents for recruiters. Klemm wants his son to have the best chances to get to the NFL and that means he needs to significantly increase his recruiting profile. I doubt Klemm would encourage his son to play at Oregon just to keep him close. He's going to want him to be recruited by the best schools possible.

I somehow doubt Kirby Smart and Nick Saban spend a lot of time trolling the recruiting websites so *stars* aren't so much a predictor of talent as a correlational variable. The directors of recruiting most likely have standing queries that ensure any of the 3* talent and above is being evaluated but if Jr Moala walked into DLs office with a report that listed recruits in order of their on3 stars he'd probably get fired on the spot. It's definitely true that stand out play that is visible enough to the ranking sites is probably visible to the coaches so a 5* athlete is likely on Oregon's radar and probably under consideration for an offer but systems matter so Oregon doesn't offer every 5* player. Football players aren't race horses which is why Georgia and Alabama both recruit some 3* athletes as sometimes the coaches see stuff.

Yes, Herbert was a 3* QB also out of Sheldon HS with recruiting offers from Montana St, Northern Arizona, Portland St and Eastern Washington... I mean Justin didn't even get the offers from Navy and Air Force so...

That's exactly what I was going to say. As a preferred walk on he gets to learn and develop in the program and use the not insignificant resources at Oregon to build his resume. The biggest problem with the star rating system is it assumes past performance is the best predictor of future performance and that may be a good rule of thumb but it definitely isn't a law of nature. Some athletes peak in high school and essentially can't get much better in college. Some peak early in college. Some peak in the NFL... Development in football isn't linear. One thing Brock Purdy is proving in the NFL is that football analysts and talent scouts don't know everything. Even if the kid never plays a snap it's good to see a hometown kid get his shot at his dream school.

Another awesome article! I think DL came to Oregon because he believes he can build a top 3 perennial power here. He's super competitive and he's very smart, he sees something here. The current top 3 is Georgia, Ohio St and Alabama. All three have a different balance point but the underlying formula is the same I think. Play CFB with NFL players and call a good game. Playing with NFL players is more than just getting 5-star athletes, it's developing them to be "professionals" in their game. The purpose of college is training advanced skills and while Oregon doesn't have an "NFL major" in academics the program needs to be a major in "NFL studies". To do that the program needs a coaching staff that can recruit the talent and then to actually deliver on the multiyear skills and football IQ development. X's and O's is also extremely important to actually win the tough games. Georgia might have been rusty against Ohio St but think of how Georgia played against Alabama and Ohio St in the last two years. For the Ducks to get where the fans and Phil Knight want them to be the program has to deliver on recruiting, developing and play calling. Drop any one of those 3 out of an elite tier and a Natty would just be a fluke.

Here is a resource that answers some of the questions on the thread. Can a coach take away my scholarship without telling me? WWW.ATHLETICSCHOLARSHIPS.NET The subject of losing a scholarship is always very touchy because the process is never easy. Usually, if you ask a coach and the athlete what the story is, the truth lies somewhere in the middle... The TLDR is a scholarship is only good for 1 year and the three reason's a scholarship can be taken before the year is up are 1) you are ineligible 2) misrepresent information on a university document 3) withdrawal from the team. Refusing to practice/play would constitute withdrawal. Another point is signing an NIL doesn't guarantee you a scholarship. That's a separate form in the scholarship/aid agreement. I would say it's extremely rare outside of conduct or academic reasons for an athlete at Oregon to lose their scholarship before the year is up. The 1 year clock is "likely" not the same timeframe for every athlete and has to do with when they enroll. Athletes that will be cut after spring ball likely aren't early enrollees and those that are would likely simply not have their scholarship renewed so they are faced with transferring or staying as a walk on. I don't see the coaches being heartless in this process at all and I don't see a lot of dead weight on Oregon's roster. Oregon wants players who are working to get play time and the players want honesty from the coaches on play time prospects. The transfer portal has the potential to make this process better for all parties.

Awesome article! I think you got the analysis spot on for this one. The question posed was how do the Ducks get to 85 by Fall camp and the answer is as you said attrition. I spent 25 years in the military and there is one common factor to the really high performing teams we put together and that's "down selection". DL sets the bar high for the talent that get brought to Oregon from all sources but that offer is really only an offer to compete, not to play at Oregon. Everyone on the roster has to earn their spot. I think you hit the nail on the head that the timing windows enforced by signing and the portal drives Spring ball as the time when the roster will get shaped. There are a number of factors in attrition and some of them aren't under the program's control. Injuries most notably but also conduct and to a lesser extent academics. Once the program has accounted for the unplanned attrition then they will have to finish the shaping the hard way. I would expect the plan for Oregon is to have an aggressive Spring camp to really help grade out the positions. That aggressiveness doesn't necessarily mean the coaches are screaming at players so much as it means they are pushing them hard. Screaming is definitely one way to dial up stressors but in my experience it's far less useful than simulating actual performance stress. Make them do what you need them to do but do it at a higher level than they are comfortable with. I would think at the end of Spring camp Oregon's coaches will have a rough depth chart put together that tells them who the 85 should be. They will mostly also know who is injured, has off field challenges and who is struggling in the classroom. Those that are below the 85 cut would then get a meeting with coach Lanning and their position coach where they are simply told, I'm sorry you just aren't going to be able to make it at Oregon, how can we get you where you can succeed? The trick here is the scholarship offer is binding but one of the three reasons for a program to pull a scholarship is the athlete asks for it, e.g. transfers or drops. It's the drop on request route but these athletes want to play and so the coaches being honest about their position on the roster is probably the best route to 85 in my opinion.

I agree, I really think it's the track team that reels him in for Oregon as he's from Maryland. The only points Michigan have in their favor is they offer Engineering which is his other major of interest and he has family in Detroit. I think the parents are going to be willing to fly to Eugene for games though so Oregon getting him to the Olympics is a huge selling point.

I think he's obviously got huge upside as a WR. He will force the safety to leverage him to provide support for even lock down corners. The corners will be forced to play off the line against him to respect that deep ball route. That effect provides advantages in every other position on offense. No question, he could be a great WR but WR is a dangerous position on the field. It's better as a rule to hit than be hit. I'm thinking of the Devon Allen comparison even though Allen is a hurdler it was his top gear in 2014 that got him 41 receptions. Allen missed the 2015 track and field season however due to a football injury. He tore his ACL on a kickoff in the Rose Bowl. He was never featured in the offense again after that and instead focused on track. He placed 5th in the 110 meter hurdles in Rio 2016. Would he have medaled in Rio without the 2014 football injury? Impossible to say honestly. We do know that in 2016 he tore that same ACL again and that ended his CFB career and NFL draft prospects. Injuries happen in Track as well so it's always a gamble. Would Bo Jackson have had a different career if he wasn't a running back? Most likely as RB is the most dangerous position in football, especially when he played. Football is obviously a dangerous sport and most doctors advice is don't play it all. Harbor has more gifts than most humans could really imagine. At least if he blows his ACL he can go to med school and become an orthopedic surgeon. His father is an Engineer with NASA and a former college athlete himself and so I'm sure he's getting superb advice on this decision.

LMFAO!

I think we will have a solid understanding of the team and the season after about game 2... The Texas Tech game will be a rough atmosphere, Oregon has to play well there to come out with a win. It's not quite Georgia but it's an early challenge so the team needs to be humming along by then.

Everything I read seems like Dante Bartee fits with DL's coaching preferences. He has plenty of coaching experience and is well regarded in coaching circles. DL seems to like to grab the young but talented coaches before it's obvious to hire them which is smart.

I agree and Charles' article spells out that 100m dash probably isn't his best option for a gold medal. His stride is better suited to the 200m dash or as Charles indicated the Decathalon. Tall sprinters are usually poor out of the blocks. I'm sure coach Schumacher will talk to him about events that his frame could best fit along with the whole Nike angle... which is not insignificant at all.

Thanks Charles, I actually missed that article otherwise I 100% would have posted on that thread. My Bad!

Oregon Recruiting: 5-star Nyckoles Harbor discussses interest in Ducks DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM 5-star Nyckoles Harbor wants to play football and run track in college. It’s hard to be better than Oregon is in those two areas combined. I had some thoughts regarding an interesting angle in Harbor's commitment. His obvious upside is his size at 6'-5" and 225 lbs with top end speed of 10.28 seconds in the 100 meter. When you check out interviews with Harbor there is one really important factor that isn't showing up enough. Harbor is interested in majoring in a pre-med program. Yup, he's off the charts smart. He is ranking his schools by academics, athletics and track. He has designs on preparing to compete in the Olympics while also playing CFB. This all gives an interesting angle between Michigan and Oregon as frontrunners to his recruitment. Neither school offers a pre-med B.S. but both offer excellent programs that are essentially "pre-med". Both schools have excellent track and field programs. Oregon could have an edge as we have a history of football players training for the Olympics. He's stated he wants to play as a TE or WR since he doesn't want to bulk up for LB or Edge. That makes a lot of sense given his Olympic aspirations. Truthfully I would think when he talks to the Track & Field coaches as this is really a joint recruitment they will likely tell him an ideal bodyweight for his frame to optimize his sprinting. I'm betting at 6'-5" the Track & Field coaches are going to tell him his optimal weight is closer to 210lbs and that pushes him below the ideal for a TE and a lot more like a WR. Why do I think that? That's what Usain Bolt weighed who is also 6'-5" and he clearly had optimal power-to-weight ratio. At 6'-5" Harbor as a WR is in the Mike Evans mold but in the NFL... Evans is 225 lbs. There's a bit of a contradiction here as a two-sport athlete. To get to the Olympics he's got to drop down to be leaner for top end speed but to be effect as a big body receiver he needs to stay around 225lbs. The other major concern here is that Oregon is pretty deep with WR talent and WR as a position is fairly injury prone and that endangers his Olympic aspirations, just ask Devon Allen. What could Oregon offer over Michigan? Well point one is a head coach that will still be here next year. Point two is a defensively minded coach with the tools to innovate. I think Harbor offers something special for a position he hasn't really played, Safety. Safety is actually one of the "safest" positions (pun intended) that isn't special teams on a football field. Safety needs a bigger body to play against the run but as the third layer they don't need to be truly big bodies, 215 lbs is perfectly fine for most safety positions. What 6'-5" gives a safety is the ability to eye the QB and the reach for jump balls. Harbors top end speed has obvious advantages in coverage but think of that speed in a safety blitz! Most importantly think of what Harbors intellect brings to the field as an advantage. Does football IQ matter for a WR? Not all that much to be honest. High football IQ has the most impact on QB's, LB's and Safeties as they are the typical field generals. Safety happens to be a position of need for Oregon and a place where Harbor could stand out and likely end up in a high draft position if he truly excels.

You said it right I think, trying to find a field general for the defense is tough so we might have to make them. We need a player on the defense that does what Bo does for the offense which is to diagnose situations, make adjustments and synchronize the offensive play. With Powledge leaving I hope the program sees an opportunity to find a coach that has a great defensive mind and excels in player development. Specifically we need a coach that can diagnose offensive adjustments and make the necessary counter adjustments. Sometimes the linebackers are the field generals but I happen to think the vision afforded to the safety position is best postured to make on field adjustments and synchronize the defense. I would love to see Oregon bring in a coach that can grow that skillset in our safeties...

I had heard rumors of this a few weeks ago before Bo announced his return but I thought it was crazy talk lol. It speaks really well of the program that so many family connections come to Oregon.

Canzano made some good points there for sure. He didn't address the play calling but that may simply be to the fact that we're not actually sure who/how the play calling was getting done. Though it was suspect. Bo looked out of rhythm in the third quarter and he was having some accuracy issues but that might simply be due to the fact that he had a lot of time off and Christmas with his family was 3 days prior to the game. He played well enough to win and he showed grit and loyalty and that definitely counts. Unfortunately Bo definitely looked slowed down by that ankle... there's a clue in that just to how bad he hurt that ankle. Most mild sprains take a couple weeks to heal and even a bad sprain should be recovered with adequate PT in around six weeks. Sprains are highly variable injuries given their complexity and a lack of precision metrics. If Bo is still recovering six weeks on then either his continued play is aggravating the injury or he had a severe sprain. This is worrisome as this is the third time Bo has injured that ankle and the recurrent injury vastly increase the odds of a lifetime limitation. To be fair lifetime joint disability is something a lot of NFL athletes continue to play through so Bo can still play at a high level even if his ankle never gets back to 100%. I think there is some good news however in that Bo may be able to focus on a new dimension to his game during the off season. The Will Stein offense is likely to have a more complex passing attack and Bo already has very good accuracy and a good enough arm to throw down the field. What Bo could be working on this off season however is the NFL level passing attack that he needs to demonstrate in games to up his draft stock into the first or second round. If I was Bo's dad I would offer one piece of advice for him as someone who cares, don't go to the NFL as a "mobile" quarterback. You will play (possibly for Shanahan), but you won't stay. Focus on reading defenses and making lightning adjustments and check downs like Herbert has done. Build more arm strength and alternative mechanics to make different trajectory throws into tight windows. The mobility should only be used to escape pressure and only when throwing the ball away doesn't make better situational sense.

It's quite understandable, I wasn't sure of Klemm either until I listened to one of his early interviews he gave on coaching the line. That got my attention and so I did a deep dive and what I found is he's a guy who's committed to the craft of O-line play. He really knows his stuff and coaches tough and honest and that's hard for some to take. Those that have the thick skin learn to eliminate the faults and play to their ability. What really impresses me the most about Klemm is he's an absolute straight shooter, I've heard him question KD on decisions regarding O-line play... I have huge respect for someone that can just tell it how he see's it damn the consequences. It's not for everyone but the guys in the trenches I think appreciate that kind of honest interaction. It makes the praise you earn mean so much more.

Do I think he's going to have a season like Bo did this year? No. Do I think he's a major improvement against OSU's current QB room? Yes. A point of history to think about, Jonathon Smith took the Beavers to 11-1 in 2000 throwing for 50.3% and 20 TDs. He was significantly helped by a guy named Ken Simonton who rushed for over 1500 yards. The Beavers ended up ranked 4th in the nation that year. DJ adds mobility and LOTS of athletic ability to an OSU offense that has a "pretty good" rushing attack and a very disciplined defense. Do I think DJ makes OSU a 1 or 2 loss team in 2023? Maybe, just maybe. I looked at the Beavs schedule next year and they have to travel to Arizona, Cal, CU, WSU and of course Autzen. WSU and Autzen are tough fights on the road. They get Stanford, UCLA, Utah and UW all at home and they play very very tough at Reser.

You must have a different relationship with your brother than I do. I love my brother but gloating at Christmas how I planted his butt in the turf is exactly how many brother relationships work.

If the rumors are to be believed... D.J. Uiagalelei To Transfer To Oregon State OREGONSTATE.RIVALS.COM Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will transfer to Oregon State... The Beavers just became a formidable opponent in the PAC. Good thing we play them in Autzen in 2023. Think we will get to see some brother-on-brother violence? That would be super fitting for the civil war.

Ok fair point there is now a direct from Eugene to Dallas that is a 4 hour flight. The last time I took that flight there wasn't and with a connection the shortest route was 8 hours. South Bend is closer by a fair bit as I've taken the flight from Indianapolis to Dallas in like 2 and a half hours. He picked Oklahoma though as I was saying because his parents can just drive up I35 every single weekend. Keep in mind that the Eugene Airport doesn't have direct flights further east than Dallas and that does unfortunately make it harder to convince some parents to get behind their kid playing football at Oregon. Especially if the kids parents work jobs that make frequent time off a problem like pretty much 99% of the country. As for the NIL leverage angle there are some teams that engage in that but as I understand how Oregon handles NIL it's not likely that "Oregon was being leveraged". To me the evidence was in the video... watch it again and look at what his mom does when he switches for the Oregon hat.

The guy is from the Dallas, TX suburbs. If he plays at Oklahoma his parents can go to every game and still live in Dallas. If he plays at Notre Dame then his parents can fly a couple hours to South Bend and see quite a few of his games. If he plays in Eugene his parents are looking at 8 hour flights to see his games. My guess from the rumors is his parents want to see more of him during his college years and he really connected with the Oregon coaches/program. It's a hard situation really, I completely understand if he ends up at Oklahoma. Still, he's very likely to get more recognition playing at Oregon than Oklahoma... he's a better standout player in the PAC than the SEC. His Mom was clapping for Notre Dame and covered her face when he switched to Oregon...

So... welcome to the NIL and transfer portal era. The truth is your roster is only yours for as long as you can keep it. What's the best strategy for DL and the Ducks? 1) Be professional, which includes telling the truth and letting the athletes make the best decisions for themselves. 2) Be patient, it would be amazing to lock up a top five class during the early signing period but the truth is "lock up" doesn't mean "locked up" anyway just ask A&M. 3) Be diligent, 17-18 year old athletes make decisions based on how they see things and that is subject to a bit more fluctuation than the over 40 crowd. We will put together the best roster each year that we can given the tools that we have and we should count our lucky stars since Oregon has way more tools than most schools. We should remind ourselves that OSU beat us with well coached 3-star athletes so while recruiting is important, it isn't the whole game. Lastly, it's now important to think about recruiting as a VERY long game... if Dante Moore doesn't like what he sees at UCLA and then he later looks to the transfer portal Oregon will be top of his mind especially since Bo only has one more year of eligibility. Edit: Touted QB prospect Dante Moore flips from Oregon to UCLA WWW.ESPN.COM Quarterback prospect Dante Moore, the No. 3 player in the Class of 2023, told ESPN he has flipped from Oregon to UCLA. He indicated NIL was not a factor and that losing KD was the primary factor as he had a 3-yr relationship with KD. He grew up watching Mariota and so Kelly's offense get's his strong interest as there's a proven track record for QB play in his systems. He also noted that UCLA moving to the Big10 was a factor as it offered him more TV exposure. As I said above, we shall see what happens next year. He's going to have a very tough time winning the starting role in Spring camp against a skilled veteran.