For those of us who are Greybeard age, we recall 30-35 years ago when Washington was a perennial power and crunching Oregon at every turn. I recall an ugly Husky fan calling to tell me to, “just combine Oregon and Oregon State, and maybe then you will have a respectable number of wins.”
Good gosh, the disrespect! But what could we say? They were winning big, and thus could attract the best recruits on the west coast at that time. I remember thinking how UW and USC got all the best recruits, and we picked through what was left. Fortunately, Rich Brooks and Mike Bellotti were exceptional at seeing upside in players, and how they could be “coached-up” to become good conference players.
When the Ducks began to emerge, we did have a slight impact on Washington’s recruiting. HC Don James declared that the Huskies would not offer on a player unless at least two other Pac-10 schools did first. It refined his recruiting search, and allowed him to swoop in and grab the best recruits after their talent had already been identified. The exception? It was learned years later that if James learned that Oregon offered a player, then Washington would take a look, as they respected the Oregon staff for their analysis.
What always stuck-in-my-craw was when Coach James bragged to the press that, “we can get any recruit we want in the Pacific Northwest.” Sadly, at that time, he could. A three-time All-State player in Lebanon, Bo Yates, was also awarded the offensive and defensive player of the year in Oregon by the Oregonian. The Ducks had no chance in recruiting him, and Yates went on to be a star linebacker for the Huskies.
The Huskies could get anyone they wanted, and take our lunch-money as well.
Kenyon Sadiq was a coveted recruit that decided against Washington, and for the Ducks. (Photo by Eric Becker)
It has taken a long time, but the tables have turned as our No. 1 Ducks have been recruiting the state of Washington superbly in recent years, and even flipping recruits who were verbally first committed to Washington. Many times a player deciding has had the Huskies in his final three, but Our Beloved Ducks has won the recruiting battle under Dan Lanning. I was reminded of this evolving trend recently when Oregon flipped one of the best recruits from the 2025 class the Huskies are assembling, and it was pretty sweet.
Some of the nations top tight ends verbaled to Tennessee and Kansas State, so Oregon was scrambling a few months ago as we wanted some high quality at that position with Patrick Herbert and Terrance Ferguson graduating. Hence OBD turned to Rivals 4-Star Tight End Vander Ploog from Fullerton California, who had been verbally committed to the Huskies since June. He is a 6’6″ athlete who will fill out, but actually plays a ton of wide receiver reps as well for his current high school team.
Naturally, the Husky fans were quite displeased, but now are fearful that the Ducks may pluck another Husky recruit in offensive lineman Zac Stascausky who is 6’6″ and 275 pounds at Central Catholic in Portland. While he is a Rivals 3-Star, it is apparent the upside is evident since Georgia has also offered recently, and he is considering a visit to Athens. At the moment–at least one recruiting service believes that the Ducks will flip this coveted player to Eugene.
We will find out at signing day in December, and it is notable that the Huskies have another recruit verballed from Oregon that the Ducks have not shown interest in–even though it is a position of need. Coach Lanning is not trying to put a fence around the state; he simply wants the best players regardless of where they are located. The recruiting of high school players, but in particular the recruiting in the portal has been stellar from Lanning’s staff, and they have made the off-season that much more interesting to follow.
Lanning recruits nationally for players like Ajani Cornelius, No. 65 from Rhode Island. (Photo by Steven Chan)
So has Dan Lanning become what Don James was? I would no, because Don James liked to stay on the west coast with his recruiting. But Coach Lanning has verballed recruits for the 2025 class from Ohio, Texas, Maryland, Illinois and Florida…in addition to the usual recruits from California, Nevada and Arizona. It was a different time for Coach James, and he could afford then to stick to his guns with the relative success of other teams in the Pac-10, versus what Oregon is trying to achieve now.
While Dan Lanning cannot declare that is is easy to get recruits in the PNW as Coach James did, Coach Lanning seems to make it look easy. We all know that he and his staff works very hard, but it is that much more special when recruits are flipped from the Huskies in the same manner as Washington did to Oregon 35 years ago.
Let me know your thoughts in the only free, civilized Oregon Football forum because…
“Oh, how we love to ponder about Our Beloved Ducks!“
Charles Fischer (Mr. FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon
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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…