Haywarduck

I would also say the NFL isn't out of the question. Plenty of underused TE's have made it to the NFL from Oregon. With the heart and talent I saw, if luck is on his side from here on out, he has a chance. This is a guy who really needs more game time.

I can only imagine he is, once again, doing what is best for the Ducks. He will always be one of the great role players. Also maybe there just weren't anymore interesting classes to take?

What is interesting also is how many people, I'm guessing, are looking at the replay screen. Just like in modern life, the screen pulls the viewers away from the moment in front of them. Justin, as usual, is on point, and in good company. Agree, amazing shot!

I come back to we can't just duplicate, we have to have an edge. I think the edge is both speed, and innovation. We almost did it once with speed and innovation without the truly elite skill players. I want to see speed, innovation and elite skill players this time. The indicator that things are changing is our WR group. If we can train up the WR talent pool it will become the elite position group we have never had. Hopefully this spreads to all position groups, because it all take all hands on deck at an elite level.

Great analysis and statements about what programs have done with talent. I would say Lanning has done well with somebody else's talent. Agree about the other coaches outcomes. What I hope to see is the Oregon way with our twist. Innovate with more, don't want to see any attempt at duplication. Get more out of more with innovation. I will also agree the program should never let up. If the other team gives up, it's on them. Bring in the back-ups, but let them give it their all. Lastly Oregon has had great leadership on the field, and that has been lacking on the defensive side of the ball. I want to see which guy steps up to be Lanning's defensive leader, or leaders. The culture he wanted to see on the defensive side of the ball never materialized.

What really hurt was when the taking heads started talking at halftime about the last time TCU came back from being down in a bowl game.

It will come down to where will he be willing to work his tail off. The young man has talent to no end, but he needs to spend hours, every day, working on his hands. I don't think starting or playing time is going to fix his issues. My thought is Donte might say if he was just on the field more all would be good.

I would add Coach Lanning needs to have a better filter for recruiting players, not posers. This can best be seen at qb, but seems to have found its way throughout the program. My example of Brock Purdy being overlooked over a more highly ranked recruit is the best example of the previous staff's focus on recruiting rankings. Players need to be analyzed with an effort meter, not just a potential meter. It's like we have been recruiting potential energy, rather than kinetic energy. We need to view players in motion rather than as they sit on top of the hill. I want players who have worked extremely hard to get to the top, and are willing to fly down the hill and attack the next obstacle. Players who are sitting at the top and maybe didn't have to go too far to get there need to be filtered out.

With all the available transfers makes one wonder if some of these guys are signing as preferred walk-ons? Anyone know if this is a possibility? He would get gear and uniform, I think food, but no money for school.

Interestingly Garret didn't give Lincoln a ticket to the game. Maybe he figured Lincoln could afford a ticket better than his friends, but.... I am not sure I would want support from Lincoln at a big bowl game you want to win! Lincoln Riley's Brother, TCU's OC, Didn't Get Him National Title Tix WWW.OUTKICK.COM Lincoln Riley's brother, TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, said that he didn't provide big bro tickets to Monday's national title game.

Just glad that she doesn't have the tats which are referenced on Lannings side. Now that would be too much, way too much! Also the boomerang tattoo meaning is basically, what you send out into the world comes back to you, for what it is worth. That seems to be a talking point for Lanning.

Lanning has been a head coach for one year, and he has already sprouted two branches off his coaching tree, wow! One reason coaches want to come to Oregon, it definitely isn't a dead end job, if you do well.

Now we just have to get better at exceeding the expectation we and the recruits have after being so highly sought after. I hope Lanning has picked the right guys, and they all get onboard. The hard work begins now, for the coaches and the players. Step one done, now step two is putting a team on the field full of players who exceed all expectations! Who will the leaders be, who will be the surprises at this next level? Recruiting is great, but we have seen all this before, time to develop, and install Lanning Ball!

I say this analysis create a somber mood for me. I am troubled for Noah and his dreams which weren't met when he came to Oregon. What happened as Lanning, and the rest of the football world wanted him to commit to their school at the time of his recruitment? I suppose I just come away from all of this Noah, Justin era with much melancholy. There was so much hope, and that was turned into unfulfilled promise. We have to move on from these guys, but the program has to get better at selling and completely the dreams of these young men. It goes both ways, but the analysis, and what we saw leaves me wanting the program to become a place where expectations are exceeded, not defeated, as they too often were under MariØ.

Devon was 4th in the Tokyo games, and was robbed of an opportunity to medal in the World Championships in 2022. The big item is he ran for Nike after football and they supported his track journey. I have to admit if Harbor signs with Oregon it will be because of one guy, and that isn't Coach Lanning. The Nike connection may be the difference maker. The indoor training at Hayward might be the hidden gem of the new facility. A person can be ready for medical school at Oregon after football, and the NFL. We might want him to talk to Justin on that one. Lastly our sprint coach has coached Olympic sprinters, the Michigan coach not so much. Eugene is Track Town USA!

Carlos Locklyn was a nobody, with basically one year of coaching at the D1 level. This guy seems like a Locklyn type hire, if so I love it! We need somebody to bring to the Defensive Backfield what Locklyn brought to our offensive RB's. I also like the continued hiring of guy with a lot to prove. The Oregon program wasn't built by hiring guys who check all the boxes. We hire guys who want to think outside the box and win by working harder and smarter.

I found it interesting that it was almost like inertia ruled the team. With good coaching putting together an offense has always been a given at Oregon. At the same time a top notch defense has seldom been easy for our program. Once again we had an OC who became a superstar, and got a head coaching job. A qb rose to lead an offense with a strong running emphasis. Pretty much every element of the historical Oregon offense was clicking with a functional coaching staff. On defense, even with outstanding recruiting, we still couldn't get over the hump of having a stellar defense. There were flickers of a new defense, but Lanning's footprint on the program is sill murky. What will Lanning bring to Oregon beyond what we have already had? I suppose what will be interesting to watch is can the Oregon Football Program really become something different, or at least evolve beyond our past? Can Lanning put together a defense that is consistently as good as the Gang Green? Can the passing attack finally include NFL level talent? Will Oregon be looked upon as something other than a place where OC's come to get head coaching jobs? The one thing I do want to see from the past is speed. I WANT TO SEE SPEED RETURN TO THE OREGON FOOTBALL PROGRAM! It is past Christmas wishing season, but all I want is speed, and a defense that has seldom been seen at Oregon! Great ponder points Alex, and that is what I came up with.

I love seeing the use of the TE more. Great play and analysis of Stein's offense. It would seem like a last option might be the QB to keep the ball and run the other way if the defense collapses on the direction of the play. This would give the qb the ability to get outside and run to the sideline, if it the defense opens up like that.

Shocked, just shocked!

Bottomline is if Pleasant and or Harbor sign with Oregon, speed is back in the program. Oregon football isn't right without speed, real speed. There is another dimension to the game when a defense, special teams and an offense has speed. I want to see that again!

The most important player on the field this season was Bo Nix. From the spring game on you could see he commanded the offense. He made everyone better, even Dilly. On the defensive side of the ball there was no Bo Nix. We had no Troy Dye, leading with heart, savvy, and guts. We just had unfulfilled talent galore. I hope most of that was too many players who weren't on board with Lanning, nor fit what he wanted on the field. With the turnover of players we should see a shift to what Lanning wants to see. The question of coaches is also an interesting one. It will be interesting to see how Lanning adjusts that too. There definitely seemed to be some disfunction going on from the sideline to the field. That is a challenge Lanning needs to show he is up too. I do want to comment on the picture I am looking at as background for my comment. There is a lot there, but it is superb with Cota waving emotional respect, love to the crowd, including Justin and Phil Knight. That is some great photography!

Now it is time to break them, or break them in.

Brilliant, never looked at this way. So a player can also say I hope I can play for you some day. He might even say my mom wants me to play at X school so I will sign there, and may want to transfer at a later date. Is there anything stopping athletes from talking about transferring before they ever sign their first letter of intent?

Fixed it,