Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Interesting stuff here to ponder, as perhaps 2021 is not the year for Oregon? We went from 74% underclassmen all the way down to....72%? It seems to be a Playoff contender that you need a team with a ton of hardened leaders as the 2019 team had? Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 2 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Well... yes and no... remember that the freshman are those who have a full year of experience... so really because of 2020 it is a bit more deceptive. KT is a junior (in school anyways) but is considered a sophomore because of 2020's wacky season and 2020 not counting towards eligibility. So Oregon may be considered the youngest team in the country again (not sure just conjecture at the moment) but there are a LOT of players with some real experience now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sousa No. 3 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Agreeing with David. I don't know how we drop from 74% to 72%??????? If everyone stays where they were at the beginning of 2020, we lose some seniors and juniors declaring, we add 22 new freshmen, how can we not go up to 78%??? The answer is in the transfer portal? Getting seniors to replace seniors and juniors? Losing some sophomores to the portal? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandownbytheriverduck No. 4 Share Posted February 1, 2021 I’m kind of a oregon homer and definitely biased towards Duck success but would hope you are both right and wrong in your excellent statistical presentation. Right in the fact that this is still quite a young team as you point out and wrong only in the sense that I hope there is no “THE” year and that Mario Cristóbals culture building is creating a perennial contender and recruiting juggernaut such that every year forward we are honestly believing that it’s THE year. I do that anyway which proves I’m totally and completely biased. But c’mon how can’t I like what I see. Sincerely Homer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDucksFan No. 5 Share Posted February 1, 2021 "Just win baby, just win" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrw Moderator No. 6 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Not too worried...the small percentage drop means that not many upperclassmen left, so it follows that lots of the young players now have game experience. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudslide No. 7 Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) Another problem with the class distribution as it stands is the imbalance and difficulties it will cause in recruiting in years going forward. Edited February 1, 2021 by Mudslide Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck No. 8 Share Posted February 1, 2021 The problem and why so many are still considered young is last season wasn't a full year of football experience. I suppose like those mormon kids who come back from their mission, all is not lost. What we have is a bunch of older freshman and sophomores. They will be bigger and more mature. The other side of the coin is everyone else has the same situation. Agree the whole imbalance going forward will be an interesting one to watch. Those programs with lots of talented kids who stay around for 5-6 years are going to be beasts with this whole extra year. Some programs where the kid go pro early might be at a disadvantage, interesting times indeed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 9 Share Posted February 1, 2021 2 hours ago, Mudslide said: Another problem with the class distribution as it stands is the imbalance and difficulties it will cause in recruiting in years going forward. No way to avoid that... though the new redshirt rule really does help as new players can earn their way on the field their freshman years. Then the higher quality players the more of them might opt to leave after three years. Which does open up space for youth to get more playing time. In terms of runningbacks there is an interesting problem... Verdell has the most experience, and has at times shown some true skill. However, he doesn't really have the size to be an NFL runningback, nor does he have the durability. This has put a bit of a bottleneck on the runningback position, though the competition will still be intense. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Funduck No. 10 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Thx Fish for bringing up such an interesting POV with the info. Its no secret, I've been messaging that our defense is more about youth than ability. Our biggest problem was our offensive became anemic. Verdell was basically a no show this year due to injury and this exposed our RB cupboards didn't look so stocked. Add to it an woefully inexperienced O line and a new QB and it got scary at times. I truly believe that our offense, even if left alone and allowed to mature, will be much better than last year. I'm reminded that Shough was a top tier QB in 2020. He had some struggling decisions but, in essence, he's a new starter, with a new O line, in a shortened year, with No Spring or Fall practice to speak of. Its time for a do over. Get Shough back in there and I believe we have a 10 win season and another Pac Title. Our defense just might be good enough to win us some games this year. Rose Bowl bound IMO. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sousa No. 11 Share Posted February 2, 2021 4 hours ago, 1Funduck said: Get Shough back in there and I believe we have a 10 win season and another Pac Title. Our defense just might be good enough to win us some games this year. Rose Bowl bound IMO. Rose Bowl should be the goal... not just getting there but WINNING it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
