I got jolted from some recent recruiting information, but it is not about the 2025 class that has an incredible Rivals 4.13 average per recruit thus far, with four Rivals 5-Star verbals. It is a rare class that is shaping up, although our national ranking is only No. 12 due to only 15 committed presently. While it is expected to be a smaller class due to a team laden with so many talented underclassmen, I am confident in a fine finish by the Dan Lanning staff.
The quality is unsurpassed in this class, as the most Rivals 5-Stars ever signed before in any one year is two of the coveted 5-Stars, achieved a total of only three times in Oregon football recruiting history. Having four Rivals 5-Stars already committed with the possibility of more shouts to perhaps another recruiting record at Oregon that Coach Lanning will break, or add to.
But I got unnerved by an article in The Athletic by Grace Raynor that posed the question of which team would join the three elite teams in recruiting, referring to Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State. Would it be Miami, Texas or Our Beloved Ducks? All three candidates are coached by Kirby Smart-Nick Saban proteges, and all three have already put some big recruiting numbers up. I would have added another candidate in Lane Kiffin who killed-it in the portal last year, and turning around an Ole Miss program. (Another former Saban assistant coach!)
Now Ms. Raynor was generous in her praise of Lanning, acknowledging the Oregon Brand, and Phil Knight’s assistance, yet it was the locations of the schools that narrowed things down. As we know, Mario Cristobal does not have to even fly to recruits; he can fill a team within easy driving distance from Miami. Like Florida and California–Texas is positively loaded with in-state recruits, and thus an easy advantage for the Longhorns.
Patrick Herbert, No. 88, was one of the rare Rivals 4-Star players in the state of Oregon. (Photo by Craig Strobeck)
It was Texas that she selected as the next one to join the “elite three” because of how impressive Coach Sark has built his team, but also the recruiting skills exhibited in the portal and with high schoolers already. By contrast, Mario’s coaching chops are yet to be confirmed, although he is clearly an elite recruiter. So proximity of so many recruiting prospects is not only a good conceptual reason for her choice, but a factual one.
Then I got my jolt.
She wrote that by contrast to Florida and Texas, “the state of Oregon doesn’t have a single blue-chip prospect in the Class of 2025.” I gulped, but I did not doubt it after watching recruiting for so many years, and then found that it was true. The state produces a few players that can be great projects, and the occasional 4-Star, but for as lush as western Oregon can be with vegetation, the high school football talent resembles the desert of eastern Oregon. There just is not very much to pull from.
Meanwhile Texas and Florida just gush with tons of high school talent, so how does Coach Lanning offset this massive talent discrepancy? Oh wait–let’s not forget the massive geographic disadvantage of being about as far away from the homes of so many of the great players as you possibly can be. Truly it is stacked against this staff, and while they have Division Street and NIL, the aforementioned deterrents are recruiting killers that prior coaches….most coaches would not be able to overcome.
Bryce Boettcher, No. 28, was a walk-on project from South Eugene who has turned into a tremendous linebacker. (Screenshot from Fox Sports Video)
We hear often of Oregon’s NIL budget, flashy uniforms, NIKE connection and Phil Knight as reasons for the Ducks’ recruiting success. The truth is, they are just counter-balances to offset the enormous disadvantages of location, and talent scarcity. Coach Lanning is always playing from behind in recruiting, and it makes his recruiting success that much more remarkable.
Can Oregon become the fourth “elite” recruiting power as considered in the article, or are we destined to always come up a bit short due to the two major handicaps to overcome? Give me your thoughts in the only free, civilized Oregon football forum out there because…
“Oh, how we love to ponder about Our Beloved Ducks!“
Charles Fischer (Mr. FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon
Top Photo by Steven Chan
Share your thoughts about this team in the only free, “polite and respectful” Oregon Sports message board, the Our Beloved Ducks forum!
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Charles Fischer has been an intense fan of the Ducks, a season ticket holder at Autzen Stadium for 38 years and has written reports on football boards for over 26 years. Known as “FishDuck” on those boards, he is acknowledged for providing intense detail in his scrimmage reports, and in his Xs and Os play analyses. He is single, has a daughter Christine, and resides in Eugene Oregon where he was a Financial Advisor for 36 years.
He now focuses full-time on Charitable Planned Giving Workshops for churches and non-profit organizations in addition to managing his two Oregon Football Websites, of FishDuck.com and the Our Beloved Ducks forum. He is a busy man!
He does not profess to be a coach or analyst, but simply a “hack” that enjoys sharing what he has learned and invites others to correct or add to this body of Oregon Football! See More…