DuckIt No. 1 Share Posted June 26, 2022 I know Dante Moore and Richard Young are Oregon's top priorities but why aren't we talking more about and getting excited over what could be Oregon's biggest catch in this class, the #1 DL recruit, David Hicks? If the Ducks aspire to become the next Georgia or Bama, they need to win more of these Big Uglies from the South. Fresh off his official visit, both David Hicks Jr. and Sr. couldn't stop raving about their "fantastic time" in Eugene. According to his dad, "It was a home run visit, it was a helluva visit." That sounds like a visit that is gonna be hard to top and may have even outdone aTm. aTm has been recruiting him since 8th grade which makes them the odds-on favorite for the moment, to land him, but there could be a changing of the guard taking place. It will take some doing to pry him away from aTm's NIL deal$, but the Ducks have thrown down the gauntlet and are giving the top 5 player in the Country, a lot to consider. College football recruiting: Oregon, Texas A&M battling for 5-star DL David Hicks 247SPORTS.COM ... 4 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckIt Author No. 2 Share Posted June 26, 2022 It is also worth mentioning that he plays basketball and competes in track. There were a couple threads today that were discussing the advantages of athletes competing in multiple sports, and this recruit fits the bill. 1 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck No. 3 Share Posted June 26, 2022 Agree the biggest, almost invisible impact would be a big ugly for the interior line. Going forward having a DT who can take up two guys will be huge for the defense Lanning wants to create. Hicks only needs to look at the 2022 draft if he wants to see where Lanning will take him. They don't make impact DT's in the west like Hicks, this would be huge! 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontrollonshobbas No. 4 Share Posted June 26, 2022 Completely agree. Establishing DL recruiting dominance is the last brick in the wall. We can and have competed everywhere else on the recruiting front. If I had to pick two 5 stars from this visitor list, it would be Hicks and DJU 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontrollonshobbas No. 5 Share Posted June 26, 2022 On 6/26/2022 at 8:42 AM, idontrollonshobbas said: Completely agree. Establishing DL recruiting dominance is the last brick in the wall. We can and have competed everywhere else on the recruiting front. If I had to pick two 5 stars from this visitor list, it would be Hicks and DJU I meant DJU's brother, Matayo....I've got my Uiagalelei's mixed up 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 6 Share Posted June 26, 2022 It would be a massive get. I think as fans we are so used to not landing these recruits that we don't get our hopes up too much. I will say this... I'm feeling this class could have 2-3 5 star recruits in it. 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckIt Author No. 7 Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/26/2022 at 10:26 AM, David Marsh said: I think as fans we are so used to not landing these recruits that we don't get our hopes up too much. I didn't think it was possible that we land KT, but the Ducks beat out Bama and every other school that was salivating over the prospects of having him play on their defense. And the same goes for Noah Sewell and Flowe. I'm aware that there is a huge difference from snagging a 5 star from the West Coast than it is from the South, especially convincing a Big Ugly to ditch the SEC and leave his home. I don't know if Kelvin Banks would have stuck to his commitment had MariØ not bolted to Miami and had the Longhorns not threw some NIL money at him, but he could very well have been Oregon's first 5 star Big Ugly from the South. If MariØ taught us one thing from his time as HC of the Ducks, Oregon is capable of recruiting the best in the Country. For that alone, I am grateful. Having said that, I still think he is going to flop at Miami and be exposed as one of the worst game day coaches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckIt Author No. 8 Share Posted June 27, 2022 I used to think that despite MariØ's shortcomings as a coach, he was building something special at Oregon, both as a recruiter and a salesman. Everyone was saying it, including the recruits and their parents who bought into his vision. Well, I think the same is going on here with Lanning. David Hicks Sr. indicated this much by saying, "What Oregon has got going on with with Coach (Dan) Lanning and Coach (Tosh) Lupoi and those guys there..." He is cooking up and building something real special at Oregon, and everyone sees it. Only this time, we have a HC who is not only an elite recruiter but a young, brilliant, X's and O's captain who can navigate and steer the ship, even through choppy waters. With Helfrich, it was the complete opposite of MariØ. MH was supposedly "the smartest guy in the room" according to CK, a real X's and 0's guy but had his limitations recruiting and leading. Could this be the year that the Ducks finally got the complete package coach? This is why the other coaches are jealous and intimidated by Lanning. They see a passionate, charismatic, bright leader who is going outwork, outrecruit and outcoach them. Make no mistake, Dan Lanning's defense won that championship for Georgia. His brilliant adjustments and play calling is what separated his team from Bama. When Georgia's offense was struggling to establish any kind of rhythm for first 3 quarters, Lanning's defense kept the game close and held Bama's offense to only 4 FGs for the first 3 quarters and only 1 TD, the entire game. If Coach Lanning can prove his brilliance on the field as a Duck, duplicate the magic that he helped create at Georgia, and progressively make strides each year as a Duck, we Ducks are in for one "helluva" ride! 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 9 Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/26/2022 at 7:26 PM, DuckIt said: Having said that, I still think he is going to flop at Miami and be exposed as one of the worst game day coaches. I think MC is an average game day coach. There are some nice wins to his name from his time at Oregon and when he was with FIU he had some good wins there as well when he was the head coach. He will have some success at Miami... but unless he learns how to get out of his own way and let his coaches really coach... a National Championship is not in the cards. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 10 Share Posted June 27, 2022 On 6/26/2022 at 7:42 PM, David Marsh said: He will have some success at Miami... but unless he learns how to get out of his own way and let his coaches really coach... a National Championship is not in the cards. Completely agree. Who knew our pinnacle under him would be the Rose Bowl win, when it felt like the beginning at that time? "Mario Cristobal held the Oregon offense down better than any defense since Auburn of 2010!" 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckIt Author No. 11 Share Posted June 27, 2022 MC enjoyed coaching in a relatively weak conference, when SC was experiencing down years in recruitment. Now, he has joined another weak conference, with the exception of Clemson. If Clemson can pull their act together, I don't anticipate MC will be bringing home any ACC Championship trophies anytime soon. The talent that MC recruits will mask his incompetence on the field but eventually, it will catch up to him. When elite talent begins to lose games to subpar talent like that Stanford game last season, people will take notice. What he has working in his favor, is he situated in one of the biggest recruiting hot beds. I keep waiting for when the recruits realize that he can't coach. We kind of started to see him losing the trust of his team last year, with Pittman quitting mid season and players like KT and Hutson acting out, not to mention the home crowd booing. That should have sent a loud message to all recruits, pondering their verbal to MC, both at Oregon and Miami. For whatever reason, they ignored it or never received that message. If MC didn't fly the coop, I think it would have been all downhill for him at Oregon, with his team imploding, all his WRs transferring, and Riley taking over SC. His credibility as a coach, would have been permanently tarnished. Maybe, he saw the writing on the wall, and that is the real reason for him taking the Miami job, besides being home with his family and coaching for his alma mater. As a result, he was able to postpone his unmasking and continue his excellence as a recruiter. If he allows what took place at Oregon, to happen to him at Miami, then where is he going run for cover? If that happens, Miami won't be so lucky as Oregon. They will have to buy him out of his contract. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Ducker1 No. 12 Share Posted June 27, 2022 We need some bruisers to put the punishment to those Fuskies!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
