Cristobal: Square Peg in a Round Hole

[Mic]

Maybe it's time we stop dissing on Mario Cristobal and recognize his contribution (and give thanks) to what he did for Oregon.

 

If you believe the knowledgeable pundits (not the lame-brainers) and your own eyes, who has the best, or one of the best O-lines in the country right now?  Oregon!  

 

Who recruited and built that O-line, for the most part?  Mario Cristobal and his staff.

 

If Miami recognizes this fact, then if possible they ought to fire him as their Head Coach and re-hire him to do what he does best: build great O-lines.  He's the proverbial round peg trying to squeeze himself in a square hole and we can all see how that's going.  But this is not to say the man hasn't got merit.

 

In my humble opinion, we owe Mario a big thank you for why our O-line is #1 in the country in allowing sacks, protecting the QB and crushing the defense of our opponents on the goal line,  I'll bet a nickel to a dollar the Arizona D-line would probably agree with this right about now. 

[DuckFan33]

Well said.  He just didn't know how to maximize the rest of the offense around that O-line.  

[MDuck]

On 10/9/2022 at 12:33 PM, DuckFan33 said:

Well said.  He just didn't know how to maximize the rest of the offense around that O-line.  

Very true. However, that is exactly what made them less effective last year….Bad scheming around them.

[Charles Fischer]

I am in the middle of three projects at the moment, so I do not have the time to pull out the stats, but I can later.

 

Cristobal wasted one of the best offensive lines at Oregon ever with four players who are in the NFL right now (When has that ever happened at Oregon?) that dramatically underperformed under Cristobal. 

 

Cristobal had rushing stats far below what occurred before his time at Oregon....and now after his time at Oregon.  He recruited good offensive linemen, but only now are they reaching their potential under Klemm and in the Dillingham offense, IMHO.

 

                          Jake Hanson, Green Bay Packers

[Mic]

On 10/9/2022 at 12:33 PM, DuckFan33 said:

Well said.  He just didn't know how to maximize the rest of the offense around that O-line.  

He has no business, imo, ever making in-game, play-calling decisions.  A consult by a good head coach of his opinion, perhaps, but no farther than that.  His 'round hole' is as an Offensive line coach and recruiter.  Period.

[Mic]

On 10/9/2022 at 12:51 PM, Charles Fischer said:

I am in the middle of three projects at the moment, so I do not have the time to pull out the stats, but I can later.

 

Cristobal wasted one of the best offensive lines at Oregon ever with four players who are in the NFL right now (When has that ever happened at Oregon?) that dramatically underperformed under Cristobal. 

 

Cristobal had rushing stats far below what occurred before his time at Oregon....and now after his time at Oregon.  He recruited good offensive linemen, but only now are they reaching their potential under Klemm and in the Dillingham offense, IMHO.

 

                          Jake Hanson, Green Bay Packers

True.  He's built to build linemen and he needs to leave it there for the O.C. and H.C. to do with them as they see fit.

[AnotherOD]

The outside media certain love the "Mario Cristobal OL Guru" angle.

 

I suppose we could start an over/under on how many more Duck broadcasts are going to pass before we have a complete game without it being referenced at least once?

 

As to the point about credit, my thought would be: a bit of "yes" and a bit of "well maybe not quite so much".

 

First thought is the OL really projected to be pretty good this season. It isn't often a power five program gets to open a season with 3 players in their sixth year of college football, one in his fifth, and one in his forth. All essentially returning starters (at the very least 5 of the top 6), with a lot of snaps under their belts.

 

As to building an OL, there is a list of MC OL recruits who never sniffed a meaningful snap at Oregon. Happens everywhere but arguably the OL recruiting success "hit rate" was pretty average. Sewell was a grand slam commit, but there doesn't seem to be much debate he walked into his first year a guy ready to go. I believe Forsyth and Walk were inherited by MC, though certainly they developed under his watch. Bass and Aumavae-Laulu were highly rated JC OL, who also were chosen and developed under MC, which is solid feather in the cap, though dipping regularly into the JC ranks to fill holes and put together competent position groups in college football generally isn't held out as a preferred player developmental strategy (more finding yourself in trouble and rolling the dice and having the fortunate of a series of good rolls).

 

Steven Jones was a top 250 kid and has been solid, Jaramillo has contributed, Laloula may still, and Harper probably MC's biggest developmental surprise; but, with those degrees of successes are names like: Randazzo, J. Johnson, Tauanu'u, Sagapolu, Denis, Jeffers, Smith, and Suamataia.

 

Finally, to what degree has the OL play this season been dramatically improved by Klemm and the new Duck staff? Prior to this year, I've seen reasonable arguments OL play while generally solid, often was still a mixed bag? If one looks at Klemm's success with developing OL during his last college stay at UCLA, it compares favorably to the "OL Guru". Not to say there won't be bumps along the way but if Klemm sticks around I am not expecting a drop off without MC.

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by AnotherOD

[Mic]

On 10/9/2022 at 2:08 PM, AnotherOD said:

 Not to say there won't be bumps along the way but if Klemm sticks around I am not expecting a drop off without MC.

 

If Lanning proves to be a good recruiter of O-linemen I feel confident they will be able to develop them.  

 

But right now the recruiting scene is revealing a certain scarcity of O-line talent on the horizon.  This is concerning as this line is senior dominant (Walk, Bass, Aumavae-Laulu and Forsyth) tho not without some good Juniors: Steven Jones (injured) Dawson Jaramillo and some frosh and sophomores.  

 

So, we'll have to wait and see how well this O-line is maintained going forward. It's the one good thing that last H.C. managed to produce.

[DazeNconfused]

On 10/9/2022 at 2:08 PM, AnotherOD said:

The outside media certain love the "Mario Cristobal OL Guru" angle.

 

I suppose we could start an over/under on how many more Duck broadcasts are going to pass before we have a complete game without it being referenced at least once?

 

As to the point about credit, my thought would be: a bit of "yes" and a bit of "well maybe not quite so much".

 

First thought is the OL really projected to be pretty good this season. It isn't often a power five program gets to open a season with 3 players in their sixth year of college football, one in his fifth, and one in his forth. All essentially returning starters (at the very least 5 of the top 6), with a lot of snaps under their belts.

 

As to building an OL, there is a list of MC OL recruits who never sniffed a meaningful snap at Oregon. Happens everywhere but arguably the OL recruiting success "hit rate" was pretty average. Sewell was a grand slam commit, but there doesn't seem to be much debate he walked into his first year a guy ready to go. I believe Forsyth and Walk were inherited by MC, though certainly they developed under his watch. Bass and Aumavae-Laulu were highly rated JC OL, who also were chosen and developed under MC, which is solid feather in the cap, though dipping regularly into the JC ranks to fill holes and put together competent position groups in college football generally isn't held out as a preferred player developmental strategy (more finding yourself in trouble and rolling the dice and having the fortunate of a series of good rolls).

 

Steven Jones was a top 250 kid and has been solid, Jaramillo has contributed, Laloula may still, and Harper probably MC's biggest developmental surprise; but, with those degrees of successes are names like: Randazzo, J. Johnson, Tauanu'u, Sagapolu, Denis, Jeffers, Smith, and Suamataia.

 

Finally, to what degree has the OL play this season been dramatically improved by Klemm and the new Duck staff? Prior to this year, I've seen reasonable arguments OL play while generally solid, often was still a mixed bag? If one looks at Klemm's success with developing OL during his last college stay at UCLA, it compares favorably to the "OL Guru". Not to say there won't be bumps along the way but if Klemm sticks around I am not expecting a drop off without MC.

 

Forsyth and walk were part of Wille T's first and only class, but Mario was Forsyth's primary recruiter.

 

Don't sleep on JUCO guys, there are Big-time Dudes to be had every year. Late bloomers underrated and bad grade pullers.

 

Big Sala was the #1 JUCO tackle was an unranked prospect coming out of HS due to carrying a lot of bad weight. Bama offered Sala the same as Oregon when he came out of JUCO ball. Sala kept dropping bad weight at Oregon and is down like 60lbs from his HS days. If Sala had a good diet-strength program in HS he would have been a big-time recruit. 

 

Bass was the #1 guard in JUCO when Mirabal got him to Oregon. 

Tauanu'u, was a Top 100 kid and Top 10 rated tackle - he was a medical retirement; toy can't hang him on Mario. I was stoked when we got this kid, but football goes this way.

Kingsley  Suamataia seemed to be a Momma's boy and went back home to BYU where he is starting. Can't blame that on Mario.

J. Dennis and Logan S. decided to follow Mario to the U. So that's not one you can hang around Mario's neck either.

 

The rest of the guys you bring up were low 3-stars who wouldn't be expected to win job with the four-stars Mario were bringing in. They were given the chance to compete and push those guys - they got the coaching to develop. They have transferred out but are not worse off for their time under Mario and Mirabal.

 

Harper a low 3-star has developed under Mario and look at him now. Just like Walk he is a legit Power-5 starter, that's props to Mario. 

 

Does the OL look improved? The pass protection seems better than the end of the last year. I like what Klemm has done, but the U line has improved overnight, so it's not like Mario and Mirabal are slouches. 

 

I would say this to you and Charles when you credit Klemm with making the OL better. A better offensive scheme is going to improve your per carry run average and reduce sacks. When the defense doesn't respect the passing game, they can put more in the box to get you in third and long, and they can rush another defender on 3rd and long. 

 

It's hard to quantify how much Dillys scheme is making the OL look better and Nix's canny ability to feel pressure much better than Brown and scramble. 

 

I love what Klemm has done, but there is very little OL wise to indict Mario on. The OL guys Mario got that were supposed to be Legit P-5 starters and stayed with him have all produced or are track. Jarmillo-Dennis will start next year, as will JPJ. Bram Walden is the one question, but he is a redshirt who has been banged up, kid was top 100 and we will see him next year playing.

 

[Mic]

Very knowledgeable post Dazed.  Perhaps you're not so confused after all!

 

This whole "gotta go get Donte Moore (oK) and this gotta go get  Dowdell (really?) thing" has me frustrated because what O really needs right now, (going forward) is more good O & D linemen recruits.  In the case of Dowdell, heck we already have more than a roomful of quality running backs and they're all underclassmen!

 

Our O-line is gonna need some real work going ahead, both in the development of our sophomores and two (?) juniors and in replacing these great bunch of seniors leaving.  Imo, O is where it is right now largely  because of this great O-line, dominated by the seniors soon to leave, and how that's helped Bo Nix perform up to his full potential.

 

Without the line play we're seeing - who knows?  Maybe Bo is just Bo,  like he was just before he came here.  I guess I'm ranting, but I seriously think O needs to put the emphasis on signing more 4-5 star linemen (if they can find them) and get them here.

[AnotherOD]

We can agree to disagree.

 

Not having your high school OL commits being able to play and desperately regularly rolling the dice on JC kids very well may a definition of good recruiting and player development.

 

It hasn't really been for the 30 or so years I have been following college football fairly closely, but maybe things have changed the last few years and I missed it?

 

I am honestly NOT even totally against it; but, if you aspire to be Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, Clemson, even places like Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, LSU, and even USC, it just really isn't a big part of your plan.

 

It's landing and developing kids, and occasionally being in need and finding the right circumstance to roll the dice on a strong JC prospect. Denis and Logan following MC to Miami isn't a red flag? Maybe or maybe not but the relative largely agreed upon opinion that both were miles away from being able to regularly see the field for the Ducks probably counts for something too.

 

Experiencing player after player you bring into the program who you don't wanna ever play to me seems like a high degree of bad evaluation, and reaching into the JC ranks again and again and again and again is fine for Kansas State, Arizona State, Indiana, Mississippi State, and others. I guess we can agree to disagree about where the last nearly 30 year success plus investment in Oregon football have put Oregon closer to Georgia, Clemson, and Alabama or someone like Kansas State, MSU, or ASU (and which group of schools it needs to follow in it's program building design).

 

I re-read my post and I think I give MC a fair amount of credit for the OL during his time here. I just think it is ** low hanging fruit ** for people who need to come up with such angles and wanna spend 15 minutes researching it to come up with a point that will make them seem ** smart ** - and isn't such a slam dunk argument - but 80% of college football fans will gobble it up as some sort of piece of information they need to know, without actually doing any work themselves, and trusting in the idea a guy in that spot MUST know what he is talking about.

 

I'm not sure if I linked it here on OBD (possibly not) but google and article by Hythloday1 and Klemm - and his research into Klemm's player development and the amount of UR, two, three, and low 4 star kids at UCLA that he turned into guys with meaningful NFL careers during his run there. Not sure if you are familiar with the author, but I believe he says something to the effect of, "a degree of success at that level I've never come across in my research". That isn't to say MC didn't do respectable, just perspective on what others have shown in similar spots can be done.

 

And I must disagree at least up until this point the idea that you expect a large portion of your lower rated kids to ever develop. Yes the "hit rate" on lower rated kids needs to be adjusted for expectations, but I just can't see how it can be that low. You gonna bring in a dozen kids with the hopes 1-2 might flash? I would hope it is more than one maybe two. Georgia, tOSU, Clemson, and even places like Michigan, LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas I doubt recruit that way. Should Oregon have such a lower standard? Maybe that is a topic for a different time?

[Mic]

On 10/10/2022 at 7:24 PM, AnotherOD said:

We can agree to disagree.

 

Not having your high school OL commits being able to play and desperately regularly rolling the dice on JC kids very well may a definition of good recruiting and player development.

 

It's landing and developing kids, and occasionally being in need and finding the right circumstance to roll the dice on a strong JC prospect. 

 

Of course.

 

I can agree with your opinion on the need to give playing time to O's commits but there's probably more reasons for that then just wanting to roll dice for Juco's instead.  And here-in lies the rub: "landing and developing kids" (young men, actually).  

 

Oregon has labored behind the 8-ball for decades with schools like USC, UCLA, half the SEC and most of the Big 10 & 12 to "land' those kids you reference; ie the top linemen recruits, or what Charles likes to call eagles-in-the-making.  Not all these "eagles" are born and raised in the South & East (Ryan Walk and the Jaramillo brothers hail from Oregon) but often keeping them here to play for OSU and UO is harder than developing them once we do get them here.

 

This situation is slooooowly changing, largely due to Nike's infusion of $ (in getting the Oregon brand out there) and the success of Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly and now perhaps Dan Lanning in getting O noticed by these so-called young eagles all around the country.  But clearly Oregon is still in need of transfers or Juco's to be able to compete with the traditional football power houses.  At least, for now

 

I think I can speak for a lot of us when I say we'd all love to see Oregon recruit, develop and win football championships with all of our own young men that we bring in, scholarship players or walk-ons.  But we're not there yet.  We're trending in the right direction I believe, but O still has a long way to go.

 

How does this all relate to Mario C?  Well, at least he was smart enough to know that to get Oregon into the Championship circle they needed to build Offensive and Defensive lines like we have now.  He wasn't the head coach we needed to ever get Oregon there, but he was at least on the right track on how to get there.  At least as it related to the heart of the team: the Offensive line.  

 

I'm glad Oregon has Dan Lanning and Miami's stuck with Mario.  But I also give the guy a modicum of credit for helping us to build a line a lot more teams than not wish they had.

 

.

[David Marsh]

On 10/9/2022 at 12:14 PM, Mic said:

If you believe the knowledgeable pundits (not the lame-brainers) and your own eyes, who has the best, or one of the best O-lines in the country right now?  Oregon!  

 

Who recruited and built that O-line, for the most part?  Mario Cristobal and his staff.

Yes, Cristobal and Mirabal recruited our players on the offensive line and they are an incredible group. However, I would argue they failed to fully develop them. The offensive line was a strength in the Cristobal era but at the same time it wasn't as dominant as it should have been. 

 

Klemm and Dillingham have developed and schemed around this line to enable them to become dominant. 

 

I have a whole article looking at this idea tomorrow. So keep an eye out for that tomorrow. 

[Mic]

On 10/11/2022 at 9:17 AM, David Marsh said:

Yes, Cristobal and Mirabal recruited our players on the offensive line and they are an incredible group. However, I would argue they failed to fully develop them. The offensive line was a strength in the Cristobal era but at the same time it wasn't as dominant as it should have been. 

 

Klemm and Dillingham have developed and schemed around this line to enable them to become dominant. 

 

I have a whole article looking at this idea tomorrow. So keep an eye out for that tomorrow. 

1st paragraph: I can heartily agree with.

2nd paragraph: I can whole-heartedly agree with

3rd paragraph: I will, eagerly.

[DazeNconfused]

On 10/10/2022 at 7:24 PM, AnotherOD said:

We can agree to disagree.

 

Not having your high school OL commits being able to play and desperately regularly rolling the dice on JC kids very well may a definition of good recruiting and player development.

 

It hasn't really been for the 30 or so years I have been following college football fairly closely, but maybe things have changed the last few years and I missed it?

 

I am honestly NOT even totally against it; but, if you aspire to be Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, Clemson, even places like Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, LSU, and even USC, it just really isn't a big part of your plan.

 

It's landing and developing kids, and occasionally being in need and finding the right circumstance to roll the dice on a strong JC prospect. Denis and Logan following MC to Miami isn't a red flag? Maybe or maybe not but the relative largely agreed upon opinion that both were miles away from being able to regularly see the field for the Ducks probably counts for something too.

 

Experiencing player after player you bring into the program who you don't wanna ever play to me seems like a high degree of bad evaluation, and reaching into the JC ranks again and again and again and again is fine for Kansas State, Arizona State, Indiana, Mississippi State, and others. I guess we can agree to disagree about where the last nearly 30 year success plus investment in Oregon football have put Oregon closer to Georgia, Clemson, and Alabama or someone like Kansas State, MSU, or ASU (and which group of schools it needs to follow in it's program building design).

 

I re-read my post and I think I give MC a fair amount of credit for the OL during his time here. I just think it is ** low hanging fruit ** for people who need to come up with such angles and wanna spend 15 minutes researching it to come up with a point that will make them seem ** smart ** - and isn't such a slam dunk argument - but 80% of college football fans will gobble it up as some sort of piece of information they need to know, without actually doing any work themselves, and trusting in the idea a guy in that spot MUST know what he is talking about.

 

I'm not sure if I linked it here on OBD (possibly not) but google and article by Hythloday1 and Klemm - and his research into Klemm's player development and the amount of UR, two, three, and low 4 star kids at UCLA that he turned into guys with meaningful NFL careers during his run there. Not sure if you are familiar with the author, but I believe he says something to the effect of, "a degree of success at that level I've never come across in my research". That isn't to say MC didn't do respectable, just perspective on what others have shown in similar spots can be done.

 

And I must disagree at least up until this point the idea that you expect a large portion of your lower rated kids to ever develop. Yes the "hit rate" on lower rated kids needs to be adjusted for expectations, but I just can't see how it can be that low. You gonna bring in a dozen kids with the hopes 1-2 might flash? I would hope it is more than one maybe two. Georgia, tOSU, Clemson, and even places like Michigan, LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas I doubt recruit that way. Should Oregon have such a lower standard? Maybe that is a topic for a different time?

I don't get where you're getting the perception that we have been desperately rolling the dice on JUCO OL players? 

 

The fact is Mario excelled on getting the elite JUCO guys to Oregon who were better than the back half of the OL roster low 3-star guys. Besides what's it matter if a guy is a HS signee or a JUCO? What matters is who is better and plays.

 

George Moore was the #3 JUCO tackle in the nation and Mario was his primary recruiter and he had a solid career at Oregon. He was hands down better than the 3-stars who have transferred out.

 

Then Mario was able to pull Big Sala the # 1JUCO tackle who was rated a 4-star commit. I remember my buds and I being excited the day he committed. Big Sala was a huge get, the second highest rated OL in the class, Here is a link to his offers, there was nothing desperate about signing. Sala when you look at his offers. Take a look, Bama, Texas, Chokelahoma, FSU, ect offered him. 

 

Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu Timeline Events (247sports.com)

 

Then Mario got TJ Bass the #2 JUCO guard who is a two-year starter and 3 times Pac-12 OL player of the week so far this season.

 

Mario deserves a ton of credit for pulling 3 stud OL guys out of the JUCO who have kicked butt at Oregon. They came to Oregon for OL coaching and to develop under Mario and Mirabal. None of these guys were a desperate JUCO signing and the Jeffers, Randazzo and Jonhson's who couldn't beat them out weren't as good. Mario also pulled Womack from Bama here who was a 4-star. 

 

Mario was always taking 3-star OL projects in the back half of his classes that I never expected to jump the higher recruits, and he had good OL's every year he was here. Only five of the 15 or so on the roster at a time can play at one time. If low 3-star guys wanted a sure route to playing, then they should have gone to another school.

 

As far as your claim of bringing in player after players in you don't want to play. that's football man. you can't have 15 blue-chip OL dudes on the roster. Mario would take some big bodied 3-star guys and offer them good coaching and the chance to develop. Sometimes one does develop and plays, but you need bodies for the two deep and the scout team. You can't just have the 8 OL guys who will play on your roster. 

 

Mario also brought in the deepest roster depth of blue-chip OL guys Oregon ever had, he put talent on that roster the OL had never been able to have. 

I think we all should give him a ton of credit for that. 

 

I don't think it's a red flag Dennis from Florida and Logan S followed him to the U, it shows they trust his OL coaching. Your also selling Dennis short as he was on the two deep and pushing for a starting spot last fall when he got hurt in camp and was out for the season. 

 

There are lots of things to gripe about with Mario - his OL record is really not one of them. 

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by DazeNconfused

[DazeNconfused]

On 10/11/2022 at 9:17 AM, David Marsh said:

Yes, Cristobal and Mirabal recruited our players on the offensive line and they are an incredible group. However, I would argue they failed to fully develop them. The offensive line was a strength in the Cristobal era but at the same time it wasn't as dominant as it should have been. 

 

Klemm and Dillingham have developed and schemed around this line to enable them to become dominant. 

 

I have a whole article looking at this idea tomorrow. So keep an eye out for that tomorrow. 

I wrote an article two weeks ago that I speculated that maybe the OL was undeveloped to its full potential under Mario when compared to Klemm. 

 

But since then, my thought is that's awful hard to quantify. They would have to play in the same offensive scheme that Mario had, with Klemm coaching them to make it a controlled comparison. 

 

If Klemm coaching them better? Maybe? But the biggest difference I think is the run pass balance to the scheme that Dilly employs. Dilly stretches the field more and creates more space for the run game and makes the defense cover deeper on third down so they can't rush an extra defender as easily.

 

Ponder this..Mayebe Mario's OL was better because they ran into more eight men in the box. Plus, with no routes on 3rd down past the sticks the defense tended to rush an extra man more? 

 

Ponder this one to close it out...  How much better would AB and the Ducks offense had been last year in Dillys scheme? There's article right there. 

 

I will tell you this.. go watch the second half of the UW game last year in the rain storm.. we came out and ran the ball down their throat and the blocking was amazing. I counted 1 missed block in the half, and I watched that game a few times. That OL was good.

Edited October 11, 2022 by DazeNconfused

[Mic]

On 10/11/2022 at 11:54 AM, DazeNconfused said:

There are lots of things to gripe about with Mario - his OL record is really not one of them. 

I'm glad I'm not alone in giving Mario at least a bit of credit (a lot, actually) when it comes to this great O-line Oregon has right now. I was never a fan of his when it came to his head coaching duties and esp. his game-calling and in-game decisions, but he had a good eye for good linemen and he had a firm grasp on how important great lines were to a football team.

 

Im happy he's no longer O's H.C. but I will say I hope Dan Lanning, Kenny D. and Tosh Lupoi are just as good or even better at finding, assessing and recruiting the players we need to fill the huge shoes of these departing Seniors and Juniors.  No exotic offense in all the CFB is worth a nickel without the linemen in front to make it all happen.

[David Marsh]

On 10/11/2022 at 1:57 PM, Mic said:

I'm glad I'm not alone in giving Mario at least a bit of credit (a lot, actually) when it comes to this great O-line Oregon has right now. I was never a fan of his when it came to his head coaching duties and esp. his game-calling and in-game decisions, but he had a good eye for good linemen and he had a firm grasp on how important great lines were to a football team.

 

Im happy he's no longer O's H.C. but I will say I hope Dan Lanning, Kenny D. and Tosh Lupoi are just as good or even better at finding, assessing and recruiting the players we need to fill the huge shoes of these departing Seniors and Juniors.  No exotic offense in all the CFB is worth a nickel without the linemen in front to make it all happen.

I wrote this back in February. 

 

Let's Be Thankful For the Coaches Who Have Left Oregon

FISHDUCK.COM

---

In the last five years Oregon has seen two head coaches leave for their dream jobs. Willie Taggart didn't even finish coaching the...

 

I'm happy he is gone... I feel we get so much out of talking about his current job at Miami because we see he hasn't changed and we are happy we are avoiding those frustrations his year as Dan Lanning is a major breath of fresh air. In many ways Lanning feels like an extension of the Brooks-Bellotti-Kelly-Helfrich continuity. 

 

I am thankful that Cristobal has brought a new age of recruiting to Oregon. 

[DazeNconfused]

On 10/11/2022 at 1:57 PM, Mic said:

I'm glad I'm not alone in giving Mario at least a bit of credit (a lot, actually) when it comes to this great O-line Oregon has right now. I was never a fan of his when it came to his head coaching duties and esp. his game-calling and in-game decisions, but he had a good eye for good linemen and he had a firm grasp on how important great lines were to a football team.

 

Im happy he's no longer O's H.C. but I will say I hope Dan Lanning, Kenny D. and Tosh Lupoi are just as good or even better at finding, assessing and recruiting the players we need to fill the huge shoes of these departing Seniors and Juniors.  No exotic offense in all the CFB is worth a nickel without the linemen in front to make it all happen.

Forsyth, 3-star Mario was the primary recruiter for, and the walk on Ryan Walk -- show Mario did develop some 3-stars into dudes. Harper was another 3-star of his that is Dude now also. Moore and Bass even though they were Top 3 JUCO guys were rated sorta higher 3-stars coming out of JUCO and he did a great job with them. Big Sala rating on the 247 composite was right around a top 200 4-star, so while Mario gets credit there, Sala wasn't a diamond in the rough.

 

Mario showed he had an eye for 3-star guys he could develop into legit P-5 starters, not just the blue-chips.

 

The other coach who really deserves some credit bit isn't here to get it is Big Joe Salave'a!

Brandon Dorlus and Popo Aumave both 3-star recruits were first team All-Pac-12 dudes last year under him. 

[Mic]

On 10/11/2022 at 2:35 PM, DazeNconfused said:

The other coach who really deserves some credit bit isn't here to get it is Big Joe Salave'a!

Brandon Dorlus and Popo Aumave both 3-star recruits were first team All-Pac-12 dudes last year under him. 

Yeah, Joe Salave'a (sp.?) was a good coach and it's too bad he couldn't be kept on staff but Lanning & Co. cleaned house when they came and it's understandable.  Do you know where Joe went after he left?

[Charles Fischer]

On 10/11/2022 at 4:40 PM, Mic said:

Do you know where Joe went after he left?

Joe was not "let-go" by the new staff at Oregon.  He left with Cristobal to Florida immediately upon Mario's hiring.

[Mic]

On 10/11/2022 at 6:52 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Joe was not "let-go" by the new staff at Oregon.  He left with Cristobal to Florida immediately upon Mario's hiring.

Then Miami should at least get a good line out of the deal.  The rest is their problem.  Pity, I liked Steve Greatwood.