The best thing about recruiting is that concerns and questions tend to pop up throughout the entire year. My continued analysis of Oregon Duck football recruiting has me asking the tough questions as we begin the month of August. With the tremendous, early start to the 2016 recruiting class, the tough questions aren’t easy to find. With a class ranking …
This is the best start to a recruiting class that Oregon has had in its football history. The potential greatness of the class of 2016 is due not only to the number of highly touted athletes that have committed to the Ducks, but also to the total number of commitments before Independence Day. Twelve verbal commitments before July 4th is a record …
Here I am again with the second installment of the ShrineDog Awards for the football recruiting class of 2015. Part One took us to the University of Texas with PJ Locke, who flipped from Oregon. Part Two takes us to the state of Tennessee where the Grand Ole Opry takes a backseat to no one. The common tie between the first …
Finding an elite defensive tackle is difficult for most college programs. Most high-end prospects are found somewhere in the southeast region of the United States. Pulling one from the South to, say, Eugene, Oregon, is a significant challenge. Oregon rarely gets a serious look from elite tackle recruits, so when a blue-chipper mentions Oregon among his top ten schools, the fans get a …
Last year I introduced the ShrineDog Awards to the FishDuck public in an article here. This year, the ShrineDog is back with fresh faces that will make you laugh, cry, or simply scratch your head. Each year I look at the recruiting classes after all letters of intent have been faxed in to their designated universities. Most of the time, each school …
The importance of linebackers is somewhat unnoticeable until the unit becomes inefficient. The 2015 recruiting class saw Oregon bring in three linebackers — one true freshman inside linebacker, Fotu Leiato (who may end up on the outside, or even at safety), and two junior college outside linebackers, Jonah Moi and Paris Bostick. Obviously, there will be a need for outside linebackers in two …
If Oregon Ducks football recruiting was put on that rating website, hotornot.com, its average score would be well over nine. It’s not just West-Coasters that show tons of interest in Oregon. Athletes all over the country are eyeing the likelihood of playing for Coach Mark Helfrich. The 2015 recruiting class brought in some great talent. None of the film was any …
Let’s get greedy! Oregon played for the national title and picked up a top-20 recruiting class in 2015. Now is the time to use that momentum to bring in a boatload of top prospects for the next recruiting cycle. Top 10 recruiting classes in the Helfrich era may start in 2016 and be similar to the 2011 top 10 class, which …
If you are looking on the Parade All-America Team for members of the newest class of Oregon Ducks, you will not find a single name representing the Ducks on the list. However, Oregon still signed a class that ranks in the top 20 nationally. Head coach Mark Helfrich knows where the needs of the team will be in the near future …
With limited official visits Coach Mark Helfrich is making the most with what he’s got, but is running out of time. The Ducks may have three more commitments available for this 2015 recruiting cycle after getting two commitments in the last week. Signing day is February 4th and that leaves little time for Coach Helfrich and staff to attempt to snag …
With about two weeks left until the national letter of intent day (NLI) or signing day on February 4th, who is not looking at the prospects and trying to figure out how to get key commitments to Oregon from players and juggle the limited official visits? Due to sanctions, Oregon lost one scholarship in each of two years (limiting the …
Did it start in 2012 when the Ohio State Buckeyes robbed the Oregon Ducks of highly touted all-purpose back Dontre Wilson right under their noses? Or did it begin before that when Ohio State out-recruited Oregon for top high school prospects? Either way, the 2015 recruiting class will not be different, with the Buckeyes winning this contest by a large margin …
