This past Friday, you saw 2023’s superstar QB Dante Moore commit to Oregon. While I’m ecstatic about the pickup for Our Beloved Ducks, I have some reservations about what our recruiting has said about our team recently. With recruits like these, why aren’t we winning every game against PAC-12 opponents?
Now, of course, this is a huge can of worms that has a ton of different variables. We can get into all of those another time, I just want to single one factor out.
Five years ago, I could only dream of getting a five-star quarterback at Oregon. Now, not only do we have TWO four-star quarterbacks in Ty Thompson and Jay Butterfield waiting in the wings, we now have an incoming five-star commit as well. However, the fact that Moore may not play for a year or two even after he presumably redshirts is MIND-BOGGLING to me.
Just since this spring game, we’ve already lost a four-star quarterback in Robby Ashford.
Oregon as a new power in the west is finally getting significant enough buzz year-in and year-out to get top recruits all over the country. We’ve seen the likes of Justin Herbert, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Penei Sewell now all advance to the NFL as top-10 draft picks. Our recruiting is working. However, the results we should expect with these players are not there yet.
What does this mean? We can put it all on the coaching changes, the offensive/defensive systems, quarterback play, or a myriad of other factors. I believe one of the major shifts in mentality we need to implement is to avoid the transfer portal(particularly, for transferring seniors). I understand we need to craft the best team possible, but is getting a band aid for a position need really the way to do it?
I believe with the staff the Ducks have assembled under Dan Lanning and the roster he inherits, there’s no reason we shouldn’t just build from the ground up. We have the recruiting power now. It’s on us to let the players we invest time and commitment in do the same for us.
I understand that every player has to earn the job to play any position in football, but we’re never going to see what they are if seniors transfer to fill the role over and over again. Veteran transfers should win the job purely based on experience, which ends up pushing out players that we never get to see to an increasingly popular transfer portal.
Overall, playing it safe and taking a mildly better transfer-starter instead of developing your players may keep coaches’ jobs safe, but it doesn’t get us to the College Football Playoff.
Alex Heining
Los Angeles, California
Top Photo By: UO Athletic Department
(Also: absolutely terrible news about Spencer Webb, prayers out to the family. For those who can, send love and support to the family and friends of Webb.)
Alex Heining is an Oregon alumni from the graduate class of 2021. After studying sports business and media studies, he has moved into the field of digital marketing as a copywriter and content manager in the Los Angeles area. Still, he loves his Ducks and goes to local high school games all over the Los Angeles and Orange County area to check out new recruits of the future (and a SoFi game or two with the pros). On any given Saturday, expect to find him doing martial arts, playing the guitar, or screaming at the tv over a missed holding penalty.
