OL from Hawaii Commits to Oregon

[Just Ducky]

Kawika Rogers has committed to the Ducks. 3 star OL out of Hawaii.

 

3 rd highest commit out of the state.

 

[Duck 1972]

Thanks Ducky for putting the link.

[Charles Fischer]

On Rivals...it shows NO other schools recruiting him?  We are the only offer?  On 247 it shows offers from only Arizona State, Hawaii and Fresno State?

 

That's not good.

[Kurt Rambis]

On 1/18/2022 at 5:53 AM, Charles Fischer said:

On Rivals...it shows NO other schools recruiting him?  We are the only offer?  On 247 it shows offers from only Arizona State, Hawaii and Fresno State?

 

That's not good.

Yeah, no one was terribly excited about Herbert, Mariota, or Chung either.  Sometimes you just have to hope that the recruiters see something in a guy that no one else is seeing.  And with the way things are today, if he doesn't develop and can't get on the field, he'll transfer out anyway and we'll have the scholie back..

[woundedknees]

Hmmm..Hmm... Duck fans talk all the time about tapping the hidden resources of the Pacific Islands. 

We hire a new staff, a staff known specifically for its recruiting chops.

That new staff begins producing fruit, shortly after taking the torch, very late in the cycle, and the first question is,  "OMG, Where are the big boys, and where are the stars?"

Yup. Makes sense. We've been discussing the lack of under the radar, hungry, lower ranked recruits under Mario for some time. 

This may be exactly the type of player we're looking for. 

[Haywarduck]

On 1/17/2022 at 9:53 PM, Charles Fischer said:

On Rivals...it shows NO other schools recruiting him?  We are the only offer?  On 247 it shows offers from only Arizona State, Hawaii and Fresno State?

 

That's not good.

Ryan Walk worked out ok? Somebody thinks they know something about this kid, and I hope they are right. 

[McDuck]

Are the recruiting services still evaluating Hawaii football?  Less than a dozen players in Hawaii receive grades from 247 while Rivals "Class of 2022 State Rankings"  goes straight from Georgia to Illinois, skipping the state altogether.

 

It wasn't that long ago Hawaii produced multiple prospects.  The 247 list from 2019 has over a dozen FBS signees, schools like Notre Dame, USC, UCLA, Ohio State as well as lesser schools like Washington.  A couple covid years later the list shows two kids to Arizona, one to Stanford, and Rogers to Oregon.  I can't imagine the actual talent dropped that fast that quickly.  Fewer kids getting to the mainland for camps?

Edited January 18, 2022 by McDuck

[OhioDuck]

On 1/18/2022 at 11:36 AM, McDuck said:

Are the recruiting services still evaluating Hawaii football?  Less than a dozen players in Hawaii receive grades from 247 while Rivals "Class of 2022 State Rankings"  goes straight from Georgia to Illinois, skipping the state altogether.

 

It wasn't that long ago Hawaii produced multiple prospects.  The 247 list from 2019 has over a dozen FBS signees, schools like Notre Dame, USC, UCLA, Ohio State as well as lesser schools like Washington.  A couple covid years later the list shows two kids to Arizona, one to Stanford, and Rogers to Oregon.  I can't imagine the actual talent dropped that fast that quickly.  Fewer kids getting to the mainland for camps?

Yeah, recently it seems there have been some holes in the 247/Rivals type service. The bias seems to be skewed toward the big "football factory" schools (not too many of those in Hawaii) and if you don't go to one of those you often don't even get evaluated. Kid at the high school I went to in VA just ran for 290 yards in the state championship game, was all state, voted player of the year in Hampton Roads area (2 million metro area) and a search of his name in 247 comes up blank. Been watching him for 3 years now, definite D1 talent. Goes to a public school, not a football factory, but really good program with great coaching. I know the recruiting services do a pretty good job at what they do, but sometimes I think they take short cuts and miss some guys. In this case maybe a whole state.

[McDuck]

A short piece from Hawaii Prep World site

 

I don't pretend to be a talent evaluator but the measurables plus playing volleyball suggest more agility than many of the recent OL recruits under Mario.

 

 The measurables tilt in Rogers’ favor. The football-volleyball athlete ran a 5.13 laser-timed 40-yard dash at a combine in Nevada last year. He has a squat max of 550 pounds and bench press max of 335. He has 11 reps at 225 pounds plus a vertical leap of 25.5 inches.

[EastBayDuckDad]

This young man seems to be pretty athletic at his size (6-6, 300#+), his picture shows very little 'bad' weight on him and his weight room numbers are really good. Kapa'a is a pretty small place on Kauai and I bet he didn't get the kind of national attention he would have in SoCal. Stepping into Oregon's strong Poly culture is his home away from home. Under the radar, indeed.

[Just Ducky]

I’ve always wondered why when looking at Rivals or 247 Sports when a recruit picks one of the heavy hitters his rating can jump 10 to 50 player positions. It can happen in reverse if lower tier schools get the pick. It doesn’t happen all the time but it does happen. I’ve seen Duck recruits drop 30 players in the past. Makes me wonder just a bit.

[Haywarduck]

I could definitely see some coaches and programs not wanting a 3* because it may effect their program rating. I am glad that isn't the number one concern for this staff. We saw the film, understand you're a good student, and want to offer you a scholarship, love it!

 

It also helped a coach was aware of the kid. I do think you need to go off more than film. I also think you have to go off more than the recruiting rankings, and what the camps he went to said. We would have missed out on the NFL rookie of the year if we had just gone off what the recruiting rankings had said. 

 

Fortunately the new staff is indicating they aren't obsessed with rankings anymore. A coaches recommendation is the most important thing, just like when Helfrich saw Mariota. The rankings didn't matter and I am glad they didn't. The old formula of doing the footwork and getting to know recruits matters again. We aren't just hitting up every top recruit and trying to sign as many as possible to appease the alumni on signing day. The day that matters is game day, and having the players with potential to become legendary Ducks! 

 

I want the Ngata's and at the Alonzo's on defense. I want the DAT's and the Barner's on offense. A legendary team is full of amazing stories before they become Ducks and after. It is nice to see this mantra becoming true again! Bring on the student athletes who have passion, potential and lets see it all come to fruition on the field, once again.

[EzDucksIt]

We will find out, if the Head Coach, picked good asst coaches.  Asst Coaches who have built relationships with HS Coaches who recognize those "under the radar" grinders that are often overlooked.

 

I would rather have a low star grinder who has talent, some potential but needs someone to develop them.  I am tired of the star chasers.  Oregon has had many that did not shine bright for long.  Lache Seastrunk/Transfer, Kirk Merritt/Transfer, Colt Lyerla/Kicked Off team, Thomas Tyner/Medical Retirement, Canton Kaumatule/Medical Retirement, Cliff Harris/Kicked Off team.  Just some of the high four star and five star talent in the last fifteen years that did not finish with Oregon.

 

Oregon has done much better with less in the hands of good teachers.  To me, this is Oregon Football at its best compared to any other school.  From what I have seen, there are some three star prospects I look forward to seeing how they develop.  Will be a interesting year, to say the least.

[Drake]

With guys in the wings that are working their butts off to get playing time it pushes everyone else at that position. I don’t see a big downside to this guy if he becomes one of those guys. 
 

A year in the weight room with our new trainer may do wonders. Our new trainer appears to be a top notch guy that will motivate these kids to be their best. 
 

 

[kirklandduck]

On 1/28/2022 at 11:26 AM, cartm25 said:

The data is clear on this. The teams that consistently have the highest ranked classes are the ONLY teams CONSISTENLTY in the CFP / National Championship conversation, and are the ONLY teams winning the national championship.

 

The occasional 3* diamond-in-the-rough is fine, but not in large quantities.

Exactly.

[woundedknees]

On 1/28/2022 at 8:19 AM, McDuck said:

A short piece from Hawaii Prep World site

 

I don't pretend to be a talent evaluator but the measurables plus playing volleyball suggest more agility than many of the recent OL recruits under Mario.

 

 The measurables tilt in Rogers’ favor. The football-volleyball athlete ran a 5.13 laser-timed 40-yard dash at a combine in Nevada last year. He has a squat max of 550 pounds and bench press max of 335. He has 11 reps at 225 pounds plus a vertical leap of 25.5 inches.

Can't wait to see him 'spike' a pass (or a qb) for the Ducks!

[Duck 1972]

Remember covid has messed up recruiting ratings for the last 2 years

There's going to be a lot of diamonds in the rough for several years.

[HawaiiDuck]

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

 

 

[OhioDuck]

A quick look at the top 5 recruiting classes of 2022 according to ESPN (not my favorite, but easy to access). There were a total of 21 3* recruits, only Alabama had none. A & M #1 class has 4 and Georgia #3 class has 8. This guy looks super athletic for his size. I think we have coaches that can work with that.

[HawaiiDuck]

On 1/18/2022 at 6:36 AM, McDuck said:

Are the recruiting services still evaluating Hawaii football?  Less than a dozen players in Hawaii receive grades from 247 while Rivals "Class of 2022 State Rankings"  goes straight from Georgia to Illinois, skipping the state altogether.

 

It wasn't that long ago Hawaii produced multiple prospects.  The 247 list from 2019 has over a dozen FBS signees, schools like Notre Dame, USC, UCLA, Ohio State as well as lesser schools like Washington.  A couple covid years later the list shows two kids to Arizona, one to Stanford, and Rogers to Oregon.  I can't imagine the actual talent dropped that fast that quickly.  Fewer kids getting to the mainland for camps?

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.

[SmithRiverDuck]

It seems probable that next season will tell us just how bad........or how good MC and his staff were. One thing about the Cristobal regime is that it was constantly changing, which seems the norm is today's CFB world. The old Oregon way of coaches being here 20+ years seems quite quaint in retrospect, doesn't it?

 

Oregon became a national recruiter under Chip Kelly.  Texas was the first well to be plumbed and then we started moving east.  Chip wasn't so much a star gazer as he was looking for guys that fit his scheme. Wins piling up helps get the attention of the 4 and 5 star guys.  Handing Michigan their hat by scoring a touchdown on a fake Statue of Liberty play followed by a touchdown on a real statue of Liberty is bound to turn some heads. Oregon can now actively recruit players that Bellotti never had a realistic shot at.

 

It was Taggart (first I typed Slick Willie.  I gotta stop calling him that. Damn, did it again.) and Cristobal (betcha his mother lives several more years) that started going after stars rather than individuals.  I won't bag on going after the stars.  Analytics tells us that today's championship teams have a preponderance of 4 and 5 star players. But the hungriest guys I've ever seen play football didn't have that many stars. I believe that math tells us that the more 5* star guys you are around the more prima donnas you are likely to encounter.

 

That's why I'm hoping this staff can meld the Bellotti and Cristobal ways to find exactly the right guys.  So far, I'm encouraged with what I've seen. Apparently, Lanning and company are doing well at selling their vision for Oregon football here and now.  Winning will bring more sales. 2,3,4,5 stars? I don't care. As long as they're the right guys.

 

From the words and actions I've seen to this point, without even pIaying a game, I believe in this staff more than any since the Kelly administration.  It's just my gut. What does my gut know? It wanted Taggart. But it also wanted Altman, so I guess it's hit and miss. 

 

For now, my fellow Duck friends, our future seems so bright. I'm puttin' on my shades............

[Haywarduck]

3* High School Player, and Outland Trophy, Bednarik award, Lombardi award winning, very lightly recruited, and still only 13th pick in the NFL draft, Aaron Donald.

 

“He was not a highly recruited kid,”  “He was wrestling then. In our scheme, any guy who was a wrestler I always thought that was a nice intangible for a football player. You saw his quickness and stuff, but it wasn’t off the charts. He was perfect physically for what we were looking for as far as an inside tackle. We recruited him, and it all worked out.”

 

 

3* High School Player and Outland Trophy, Bednarik award winner Jordan Davis. Played at Georgia so Lanning is familiar with under the radar guys who should get more respect than they receive from the recruiting services. Davis played basketball until realizing football might be his sport.

 

There have only been three guys who have won these two college awards. Suh was the other and grew up in Oregon, but chose Nebraska for their engineering program. Suh is also one of those guys who was under rated at 4*.

 

All of these guys have one thing in common, they didn't just play football. Suh played soccer, basketball and was all state in the shot put. My hope is like what was said about Aaron Donald we are looking for more than football ability. Other sports can show hidden ability which translates to the football field. The coaches need to know what physically they want and not limit those metrics to the football field. Georgia wouldn't have been the same team without Jordan Davis, might never have won the national title.