Some people call this “the Dead Zone,” the part of the NFL season where everyone is on vacation, training camp rosters have been filled to 90 and the draft, OTAs and minicamp are over. It’s the boring time when nothing happens, right? I don’t think so. In some ways, this is the most interesting time of the year. Writers have …
Recruiting Update: JUCO Trail Beginning to Heat Up
News Summer is upon us. Life along the recruiting trail is getting its first glimpse of heat rising off the ever-changing national landscape. Oregon’s move into California has been well-documented as of late with increasing interest in standout JUCO corner, Devron Davis (3-Star/Merced, CA). “I really like the offer from Oregon,” said Davis. “Oregon is short on defensive backs and they …
Oregon Can Be the Next Back-to-Back Heisman Winners
In the history of the Heisman Memorial Trophy, only two colleges have had back-to-back Heisman winners — in 1945 and 1946 by Army with fullback Doc Blanchard and running back Glenn Davis winning the award. Then 28 years later when Ohio State running back Archie Griffin won the award twice in 1974 and 1975. Coming off Marcus Mariota’s Heisman Trophy season, could Oregon be the …
Helfrich’s Philosophy for Success
There are many important factors contributing to the winning tradition of the Oregon Ducks. Some of the more obvious factors are hard to miss. The Ducks have been fortunate enough to have some spectacular players dazzle Autzen Stadium and its fans over the past few years. Names such as Dixon, LaMichael, De’Anthony and that Marcus guy will be ingrained in …
Football Gossip from Coaches: Vernon Adams, Nelson and Freshmen
We love Oregon football gossip, as that is the basis of most message boards where fans share their opinions of current and incoming players for the Ducks. As FishDuck, I get the privilege to talk to small college and high school coaches around the nation on a regular basis. They might know a coach who attended a practice, or know …
Football Coaches and Musical Chairs
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out A long time ago I was presented with a riddle that involved a war in the Middle East and went something like this: You take a hand-held calculator and add up or multiply this and that representing the numbers of opposing forces, tanks, aircraft, etc. Based upon the numbers given, you come up with 14,215,469. Then you …
A REVERSE Writer/Editor REVOLT alters our destiny at FishDuck.com
Nevermind! Belay that order! My bad! Back at you … However you want to say it, I, Mr. FishDuck, had things changed on me at this site, FishDuck.com, and it will alter the course of the site permanently. If you think things have been changing weekly, you are right. Who needs TV when you have the drama that I, and the site, …
Flexibility and Versatility are keys to Oregon Football Success
Charles Nelson is a perfect picture of what Oregon football represents. Athleticism, strong work ethic and above all a willingness and ability to stretch himself. The sophomore exploded on to the scene as a rookie, showcasing his physical capabilities as he caught 23 passes for five touchdowns, averaging 14.2 yards per catch. Nelson has spent the offseason training with the defense, …
Chip Kelly Update: The Coach’s Reading List for Players
Football is a nearly year-round endeavor these days, for players, coaches, and (obsessive) fans. Between the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine, free agency, the draft, and OTAs, news keeps flying year-round. Except for right now, and the next 6 weeks. This is the dead spot, the one stretch of solid vacation that coaches and players get. In prior years, Chip …
Recruiting Update: Oregon Plants Flag in Southern California
News With every passing recruiting cycle, Oregon seems to entrench a deeper foothold into once-untamable territory. Almost four days removed since linebacker Darrian Franklin (4-Star/Downey, CA/Rivals250) made his pledge to journey north to Eugene for his college career, the tone of Oregon’s rise in the minds of young west coast recruits is now undeniable; the Los Angeles area is now …
Recruiting Landscape Has Changed
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out When Texas A&M’s Pat Henry complained about Oregon’s “unfair advantage” in hosting the NCAA Championships through 2021, he inadvertently called attention to the changing landscape of college athlete recruiting. Why Henry’s complaint is really about his position in the changing landscape of recruiting — rather than the advantage once on the track — is the subject of this …
Is FishDuck.com Shutting Down? Yes and No…
Is FishDuck.com shutting down? No. Is the site scaling down drastically? Yes. We published five to six articles per day in April, three to four per day in May, and now we will publish six to seven per week. Do check in as the articles we put up will be high quality and we should be publishing something nearly every …