Haywarduck

Time for a moment of pause for those families and friends who were impacted, and hope for the future!

Cal was ranked 49th best defense and he is taking over a defense ranked 88th. If he can show improvement, not a bad move. Arroyo job security seems tenuous at best, so probably a stronger move by Arroyo than Heyward. Taking risks always can be questioned, but it is what you have to do sometimes, good for Keith for stepping out of his comfort zone!

Great discussion and it does raise the question of do we have a Joe Burrow, or Tom Brady like talent waiting to get on the field or was it wise to bring in another transfer? Burrow and Brady languished on the sideline as other talented qb's played. Burrow transferred out after graduating, and seeing no end to bench time. I have little faith Cristobal was a good evaluator of qb talent, so I think we have a big question mark at qb going into spring ball and next season. I agree Nix may be an insurance policy against a complete meltdown against Georgia. He might also be a great leader for the young guns beneath him to learn from. Nix was probably a very shrewd move to help insure a smooth transition to better recruitment and development of talent at the qb position. Putting an inexperience qb in against Georgia is most likely a recipe for disaster. Nix should probably start the first game, and then maybe we can ease in the next great Oregon qb as the season progresses. My hope is we do see a transition to one of the young guys as the season progresses. A program needs to develop talent to sustain a healthy culture. Best case scenario is we, again, become a destination for great qb recruitment and development. I don't just mean 5* talent, we need to again, see the diamonds in the rough along with the highly touted and develop them! Transfers should want to come here, but we should no longer rely on this for our starter, just back-ups ready to take over if the injury bug hits. It will be fun to see if one of our backups really is the real deal. I think this staff may be able to figure this out, hopefully!

Genetic, but watching Prefontaine, and the Kamikaze Kids made it a way of life.

Great point and perspective on when it can happen. It was interesting to read about one of the greatest shooters of all time hitting his first game winning shot this year. I don't think anyone would say Steph Curry wasn't clutch, but he made his first game winning 3 in January of this year. There is time to make that clutch shot, and I agree Richardson is everything right about college basketball so he deserves to make the next one!

Runs track and has a stiff arm already, already love this guy. One of the most coveted prospects to come out of Southwest Florida in recent memory. A one-cut-and-go type of running back that’s powerful enough to get it done in-between the tackles. Excellent vision and overall feel for the position allows him to get up field in a hurry and attack holes. Outstanding contact balance combined with an effective stiff arm makes it extremely difficult for high school defenders to bring him to the ground. Has experience working out of single back, shotgun and pistol formations. Limited context when it comes to pass blocking, but should be able to chip away at college-sized defensive linemen given his size and physical nature. Track background shows up on Friday nights as he’s consistently pulling away from defenses. Catches the ball well and should be able to move the chains via the screen game, if those type of plays are on the call sheet. Wear and tear not much of a concern at this stage in his development as he’s averaged only 12 carries a game his first two years of high school. Likely to emerge as an impact player for a Top 25 program given foot speed and ability to shed would-be tacklers. Will be on the radar of NFL scouts one day if everything comes together. Also runs track. Ran an 11.14 100 as a sophomore after posting an 11.09 100 and 22.01 200 as a freshman. Posted a wind-aided 10.89 (3.3) as an eighth-grader. 2021: Totaled 1,755 rushing yards while averaging 9.0 yards per carry. Helped Lehigh go a perfect 3-0 in district play and make second round of Sunshine State's 7A playoffs. 2020: Appeared in nine games for a Lehigh Lightning team that went 5-5. Missed Florida's 7A state playoff game against Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas due to injury. Ended up carrying the ball 100 times for 980 yards and eight touchdowns. Eclipsed the 200-yard mark rushing twice (Riverdale, Sarasota). Entered the season Ranked No. 1 in The News-Press/Naples Daily News Big 15. 2019: MaxPreps Freshman All-American. Totaled 854 yards and six touchdowns on 111 carries for a Lehigh Lightning squad that won a district title.

Bold move, looking forward to more!

More likely is it will open up kids to loans from agents and owe agents more than their rookie contract by the time they leave school. Oh and, of course they will have spent all the NIL money. Call me a skeptic, maybe even cynical on this one, but that kind of money in most student athletes hands isn't going to end well. Kind of ironic, but I think many of these kids will end up owing money, with less education, and worse football outcomes after many of these NIL deals end. The idea of student athletes making a little extra cash is going to turn many colleges into Grand Lakes University. One of my favorite Rodney movies.

If my math is correct each player currently on the roster will get about $4k. Not the money an O-lineman will get at Texas, but a nice baseline for all players to be able to have some money for life as a college student. It also sets up a system where players are all getting some cash, which seems like the healthy thing to do for a program. When a freshman O-lineman for Texas comes in fat and slow with $50k from the program while other players are working their tales off, culture will be a problem. I'm grateful Oregon seems focused on how this will affect the culture of the program. Players need to know they are valued from the bottom up. Once there is output there can be more money available. It will definitely be an interesting thing to watch. So far I give our program an A, Texas a C-, and Texas A & M an F. Paying kids big money while at college before seeing any return is a recipe for disaster. I could, and have been wrong before, but I like Oregon's move on this.

NFL receivers drop Justin's passes, much like they did at Oregon, but at a lower rate. Justin also came on campus with talent which just needed to opportunity to grow into NFL skill level. Justin was like Josh Allen, a multi-sport athlete who didn't go to the camps, play football year round. Both of these guys should be studied by recruiters and scouts to figure out what they have been and continue to miss on qb recruiting, evaluation.

Going from a prevent defense to a havoc rate driven defense is an amazing step. I can only imagine selling student athletes on coming to play under that guidance is a much easier sell than the previous focus. A defender is hard wired to want to stop, destroy, dismantle, ruin the opposing offense. Being given license to create havoc with a definition and metrics has to fire up the players. I can only imagine being told to go out there and prevent, or go out there and create havoc. The new Oregon defense is going to be rockin, and players are going to be lined up to perform and take part in taking apart opposing offenses! Great article and something completely new to ponder as the season approaches. Now if we can only get rid of the prevent offense. I am sure that is on tap too. Maybe havoc rate on defense and explosion rate on offense?

Seems like Chase may have figured out Mario before anyone did. For that we can't blame him. He might also be one of the first to understand how amazing Coach Lanning's staff is. For that we may be grateful too. I like, agree with both decisions.

You could see what is wrong with the rating system by watching Brock Purdy against Tyler Shough. One guy looked like the prototypical NFL qb while standing still. The other looked like a dynamic college qb who can create, read a defense and make throws. The scouts loved the statue, and sold that to our program. The astute coach saw a player and built a program around him. We need a coach who can, again, see a player, not just the statue of a great player. Purdy and Shough are the perfect example because they played high school ball against each other. Purdy never lost to Shough, but that did nothing to quell the excitement over the measurables the scouts wanted to see, and knew they could sell to the top programs. Programs who are buying what scouts are selling rather than doing the work will continue to suffer. There are 5* players who we should be fighting for. This should never take the place of doing the hard work of figuring out who has the talent, potential and fire to lead a program.

Agree completely about the pay for stars route with QB's. This is why Herbert was a 3* but threw the prettiest ball from the get go. Herbert played basketball, and baseball, didn't even go to spring camp and lived in Eugene. I think there is more to a qb between the ears than the measurable the rating services tout. You almost need a guy who could pass the Seal Team test to be your qb. There are plenty of guys who can pass all the Seal Tests, but not The Test. Great, great subject and hopefully the new Oregon coaching team will be more adept at picking qb's who have 'it.'

I always look at it as what would happen over 10 games. In 10 games Oregon wins a few, there was a chance, a pretty good one with Joey leading the way.

Iron sharpens iron, but iron against iron dulls the blade. In the weight room and the practice field we want to see iron against iron. On the field we want to see that iron chopping wood. Break those opponents apart and set them ablaze with our sharpness. Every once in a while we can see iron against iron, but then you need time to sharpen the blade again. This is why an 8 game conference schedule is important. It is also why Alabama plays New Mexico State late in the season. They know you need time to sharpen the blade and going against top competition every week doesn't do it. I think the Oregon Program needs to understand better what it takes to sharpen and what it takes to beat elite competition. Playing Stony Brook was brilliant after the tosu game. Playing a 9 game conference schedule isn't so smart. If the Pac-12 wants to put one or more teams into the playoffs, and be successful there needs to be structural changes. Hiring great coaches and putting money into facilities helps. We also need strong, shrewd leadership from the commissioner, and I haven't seen too much of that, yet. The time is now to makes some moves, George!

Welcome Mr. Cota, back home. I welcome anybody Coach Lanning wants, until his recruiting proves worthy of question. Back in the day he was recruited, offered by Alabama, and Notre Dame, and decided on UCLA. After 4 years of schooling he sees the light!

Oregon is a coach maker, but the success seldom translates to greater glory. We have seen it repeatedly where a coach has success at Oregon, and turns it into a massive contract, opportunity elsewhere, then struggles. Chip is just, maybe, the best example. If I was a coach I would give anything for an opportunity to coach at Oregon. We can only hope Coach Lanning is a coach who both sees the opportunity, and is mindful of the pitfalls of leaving such a unique situation. Is Oregon the one hit wonder of the coaching world?

One word, speed!

It would be nice to see him as a thorn in sc side. If he can keep the 50/50 win record against SC then I will root for him to stay. UCLA is kind of the pullman to the dawg program. The cougs always look to beating the dawgs, and when they do it is a good year.

I actually think you are right, and that is one of Cristobal's strengths. He had a way of keeping the athletes believing almost to the end. The recruits buy into his schtick, and then keep buying it. That is a gift, few have.

Saban lays it out on why you need to be ready as the next man up. This will be another item which will make or break Oregon next season. Do we have the depth and is that depth ready to step up? Every player needs to be part of the process of being ready for tomorrow, next week, next month, next opportunity to become better, not just the outcome of showboating your skills. DJ Johnson is the poster boy for this mentality on the Oregon Football Team, and we will need more of it.

Some programs are leading the way for the Pac-12 to make more money with the next tv contract. Some programs are waiting until the money is in hand and they pay off some debts. UCLA is firmly in the camp of waiting to see the money before they put any more cash towards football. It isn't the haves and have nots, it is the will spend and those who won't.

Putting metrics to the season ahead is like chasing a ping pong ball around a table in an open warehouse. It can be a frustrating task. If you love the game you will still persevere and play the game. As I chase the ball to a far corner of the warehouse I still feel the offense will bring back the Autzen excitement. I still don't know what the total outcome will be but I am excited to get back to the table to see just what happens. After the first few games many will believe their predictions way off, or spot on. Then the games will really come alive and the precision will renew the enthusiasm for insightful predictions. Midseason the data will begin to roll in and everyone will be surprised. We will then know where it should have been all along. Which begs the question what bounce of the ping pong ball will be the most surprising? I think it will be our running game. Once again I think the running game will lead to passing production. We have the backs and with a good scheme they will run around and through the holes we use to see.

The great teams also have capable, dynamic back-ups. The SC-Oregon rivalry may come down to which team has the best back-up. Oklahoma certainly proved that the past couple years. The magic is can Caleb turn an amazing freshman season into a heisman worthy college career. He may just prove a one hit wonder like Rattler did before him, under Riley. They actually have similar situations, sophomores coming back after exciting freshman years. Rattler was the Heisman candidate, but replaced by Caleb. This year who is going to replace Caleb and keep the magic going, if needed? I doubt both Oregon back-ups will transfer, but the battle through spring, summer may create a casualty which could be damaging to Oregon's depth and strength at qb. I am not sure how Cristobal kept all the talent happy while putting a product on the field which didn't reflect what he promised, but Lanning will need to keep that contentment going. It will be a dance through fall camp to have a strong starter and capable, happy back-up or two. The portal does seem to be the new way to get qb candidates. Last year there were a few 5*, and multiple 4* qb's finding new programs. We need to show we can develop our qb's, but there seems to be a new way. The trick this season is to keep at least two top guys in the program so we can be ready for what develops as the season progresses. SC has a few backups, but nothing exciting, one is 5' 9" 170lb. senior who has never played. They better hope these guys never get see the field or it could be a long season for the trojans.