Haywarduck

Decent article, but the title had me,,,,,,, gag just a little. Few can compare to Marcus, on or off the field in the college game, especially the latest spoiled child.

Transfer portal is like going after frogs instead of polliwogs. Seems like there are plenty of players with legs ready to go, instead of just tales of what might be.

I think this will be a big year for the portal for the Ducks. Now that Lanning has had a full year to evaluate who he has, and he knows the type of player he wants, it is time to get his players. We are seeing the extremely talented, but uncoachable leave. I look for more talented players like Gonzo to transfer. Players who want to win and be highlighted while being part of a team. I was impressed by what Lanning was able to do with somebody else's players. I look to be even more impressed with the players he wants along with the culture he is building. I also look for some lower rated kids who have the heart and drive a program needs. I hope the fanbase doesn't balk at Lanning signing some kids who didn't have the 5* next to their name, just a chip on their shoulder like the good old days. More Bucky's fewer let downs.

After reading the many posts it is clear to me Fishduck is like one of the beautiful cabins you see and mostly wonder who owns it, what happens inside and how are they so lucky. What is even more important is how is was built and maintained. Anything that is substantial takes a lot heart, and soul to create, sustain. There are always many stories nobody knows which went into the creation of it. We all have our part, mostly small, and the big driver of this site, I would call it a being, as it has life, and gives life to so many, is Charles Fischer. That being, as everyone can see is more like a child to Charles. It isn't just a beautiful cabin people mess up at times and he has to clean. It is something he cares about more than anyone knows, and probably will ever know. I found that out recently when I had a difference of opinion on an area. I couldn't believe how important the site was to Charles. The care and concern are beyond what 99.9% of the human population could ever give to something. His passion and care is beyond compare. So in the future when you mess up his cabin know it isn't just a cabin, or place you go every once, and a while. It is something very sacred that someone cares deeply about. Take your computer driven medicine, and clean up the mess. We all want the cabin just like it is.

For every Freddy Couples, Allen Iverson, and Frank Robinson there are thousands of Michael Jordans who not only had natural talent, but also the drive to be the best, and worked their tails off to get there. What we see is the end result, but most often there was countless hours of work at their craft, and much failure which drove those players. Some talented players let failure drive them to the bench where they stayed. What would have happened if Jordan had just said basketball wasn't his sport when he didn't make varsity? I suppose the other could be said, what would have happened if Justin Flowe hadn't earned all the accolades and the Butkus Award so early? There are players who are ruined by success, and those who are made by their failures. I think in the past the Oregon program has been made by those who just wouldn't accept failure. Sometimes those guys turned out to become NFL players, other times they just made the team that much stronger. Those are the players I want to see more of, and I think Lanning does too. We want players who lean into to failure, coaching, and difficult situations. My guess, in this picture, is Michael Jordan listened, and tried to do exactly what Dean Smith was telling him. Other players were already too good to listen when this happened.

I know I have been a pain, and felt the pain of doing somethings which were extremely difficult. Doing the tough things isn't as rewarding as you think it will be, as the process goes along. I do know the outcome was always worth it. I remember coming out of those experiences shocked and exhausted. I am not sure how you do it, other than you are a better man than most. If you ever need to step away for a day, week, month, or more I think most will understand and be right back when you come back. I know few are as appreciative as they should be, myself included. Just know we are, and do what you have to do. One guiding light I try to live by is I can't please everyone, just myself, and if I am not pissing off somebody I am not being true to myself. Sorry if that somebody was you too many times. I do know many of the people who pissed me off, I learned from, in time. Others, I learned just weren't worth the time.

Agree, after becoming the coach late, Lanning tried to keep the team together this past season. We are just now seeing what you predicted. Players who don't measure up, aren't willing to work on weaknesses, are headed to the exits. The trick is to now sign the Gonzo's from other teams, not the uncoachables from other programs. This is where the real research needs to happen, and a focus on the star rating given coming out of high school needs to stop. Bucky Irving was a 3*, and our 4* is leaving. It is all about production and heart, not always the measurables, SPARK numbers. We may even end up with another 3* qb instead of the 5* we have been so proud of. Will we be going back to our roots, or just going after tougher highly rated student athletes? I remember watching Brock Purdy, with all his heart, and savvy, slice up our defense, while our qb struggled. Brock was a 3* from the same state as our 4*. My bet is in our distant past we would have gone after Brock. He would have led our Ducks and surprised everyone, but our coaching staff. I look forward to a coaching staff who can again look past the star ratings, and what everyone else says. We did look past what many said about Nix, so maybe we are moving back to just going after the heart, more than measurables. I look forward to whatever is happening. I trust Lanning to know the players he wants are going to measure up on the field. Exciting times, and maybe a return to a better evaluation of players based on the Oregon standard.

Agree integrity matters, also agree something needs to happen to upgrade our backfield. Lake would be a mistake, but it would be a mistake not to do something different in this area.

If we want to be elite, we need to have RB's like the elite. Najee Harris, the best RB in his class, waited two years to start at Alabama. We need to have that kind of competition at the skill positions if we want to compete with these guys. Bring them in and if they want to transfer because they can't compete, next man up.

Lanning hired Tosh and there are other coaches who have had issues. If Lanning hired Lake as the DB coach it would pretty much guarantee great DB's and a shut down backfield. Wins over the dawgs and beavs would be much more likely. Could this happen and what would everyone say?

Lanning met my standard for a freshman coach against seasoned coaches. Lanning beat Whittingham, that is a huge win, and under appreciated. Losing to two coaches who are experienced hurt, but it wasn't like we lost to Jimmy Lake, or some of the clowns the beavs have had coach their program. I also don't think you can just add up stars, and rating of individuals and create expectations. Too many programs do this and lose their focus on what it takes to build a program. Lanning is, now, building his program. It takes years to create a culture where the Seniors and Juniors help with the coaching. It also takes years to get in place the players you want leading the team. You might get lucky and inherit a Justin Herbert, and a Troy Dye, but that doesn't always happen. I think it will be appropriate to talk about standards in year three, and agree 10 wins would be a pretty good floor for any program.

When Ty wins the starting job, he should start, and not until then. When you give, people take, when someone earns something they keep earning it.

No doubt Smith won the Coach of the Year. The beav coach took a program that never should have a ten win season, and may just pull it off with a bowl win. Also all you have to do is as a dawg fan. Their coaches merely meet expectations, or are a complete failure. The dawg program should always win 10 games. DeBoer only did what was expected. I do think Whittingham should be in the discussion. He won the Pac-12 again, and lost some good players last year. He is the best coach in the Pac-12 right now. As far as the best leader on the field, no doubt it is Rising. I would take Rising over Williams all day long. If you watched the two injured qb's play, one was a leader and one was a whiner. Rising gets his head knocked off, and jumped up and led his team. Williams got sacked and looked like he was going to quit. I do wish Nix had been able to stayed healthy. He may have won the award with a win against all three top qb's. Unfortunately it is could have, should have, and would have, and that all means he didn't. He did do all he could for our program and for that I am grateful.

There is connecting the dots, putting two and two together, understanding the situation, but this is just plain seeing the big picture. Lanning may be a gambler, but he know a winning hand when he sees it.

He definitely had all the exits scouted out. He will be able to help the Buffs find the exit quickly after their loss. I do hope the guy saves a lot of the money he has been paid up to this point. He is getting $290k per month from FSU for the next couple years. That windfall will come to an end, and the Oregon job creating opportunity is gone for that guy. Dilly is the latest winner of that lottery.

Agree about the MariØ players, but the ones who fit the culture and ability to play Lanning's type of football will stay, and the others, for the most part are leaving. Lanning did his best to keep the team together as he didn't know who he had. Seven is the perfect example. Last year Seven entered the portal and Lanning talked him off the cliff. This year the portal entrants don't seem to be getting any attempt to keep them. Some may even be getting consulted it might be best to leave. I do think this will be Lanning and the teams sophomore season, not the senior type season we all want. This season was a freshman type season and I came away quite impressed.

I think we can agree on, Deion, will get everyone, from Leon, to the Peon, interested in Colorado football. The question will be can they get their game on, before too long, or will it just be a speech that goes on, until he moves on.

Pennsylvania Duck continually keeps me, and I am sure most, updated on headline news, often ahead of the news. A big thank you for all the work you do!

This was MariØ's team, with Lanning coaching. Next season we will see Lanning's team. Again, he was hired as the recruiting season was coming to an end. He did his best to keep the team together. After a season of trying to put another guys players to work, it is time to see what Lanning can do with his guys. Some of his guys are already on the team, but some just didn't fit his definition of positional players, and or wrong culture guys. Deion is trying the other method, get rid of everyone the first season, late. It will be interesting how he is able to do. Of course, he starts with a much depleted team, but he has a Herculean task ahead of himself.

A lot of hope, but nope. Best of luck in your next stop!

Young, 33, and brilliant, 9th ranked offense, checks all the boxes for Lanning. QB coach too, so that box checked too. I do like that he got his masters degree while beginning his coaching career. Interesting choice, if he is the guy.

Pointing to his son as a starter, then saying he will earn it, would send me out the door even as a starter. You never show bias, or it will always be questioned. Telling players to leave, and then naming a starter, strike two.

Love it, REDEMPTION!

Interesting, coaches now have to recruit, evaluate high school kids, and evaluate potential portal entrants. The programs which are ready, will win. The job of a college coach, assistant is never done. I imagine this is also where support staff are critical. These coaches need to have staff they can trust. I wonder if it will ever get to, or has it, where support staff are sent to a Texas A$M practice during the season to watch players practice, investigate players on campus during the season. This is happening for the high school players, and I imagine it will shift to the portal players as well.

We must also remember Lanning was hired December 10th and was still coaching at Georgia. I agree with KK, Lanning is now ready to bring in his guys, knows what he is looking for, and it will be more evident on the field. While I agree T A$M is full of talent I imagine he will be selective. There is a body of work with many of these guys, at the college level, not just high school. A coach can now evaluate how these guys compete, and deal with college football. I trust Lanning has a more complete plan for what he wants to see on the field. This leads me to what I think will change next year. Instead of a laissez faire attitude with how the OC and DC run their groups Lanning is going to be more actively involved. The coach we saw on the sideline with the defense at the end of the season firing them up is the one we will see next season. I think we will also see Lanning more involved with the offense. I think this will be the biggest difference in coaching next season. No longer will Lanning just let coordinators run the show. He had to coach with MariØ's players and he won't have to as much this next season. I think he also realizes it is going to take a more active head coach on game day. We won't have the controlling coach again, but we will see Lanning's footprint on each part of the Oregon Program next season.