He hasn’t coached any games – or even conducted a practice session — yet, but I’m thinking most of us already have a positive opinion on the hiring of Head Coach Willie Taggart. As he, his staff, and players now prepare for spring practice in April, there seems to be a lot of rational enthusiasm being felt by almost all …
Willie Taggart has settled into his new role at Oregon quite well. Despite the “hospitalized players” drama, hiring a new coaching staff and the pressure to bring Oregon back to compete for a PAC-12 championship, Taggart has delivered a solid 2017 recruiting class. His ability to bond and forge relationships with players has really shown during this offseason. The biggest takeaway I got …
Many Oregon fans are so pleased with the recruiting results of Head Coach Willie Taggart that an argument could be made that he was almost heaven-sent perfect for our beloved Ducks. But look, nobody is perfect. My title is true, and this is not meant to be the beginning of a “Canzano-type” hit article, but simply my observations–with which many might …
The title of this article isn’t meant to be phony; it really is true. 10 other conference members heard the “swoosh” sound of Duck feathers flying by them in recruiting … and they are whipping their heads around, looking towards Eugene and saying, “WTF?” Oregon is ahead of all of them but USC in Willie Taggart’s first recruiting season! Sure, …
I have been around recruiting as long as Oregon football has been on the web, and frankly, I am stunned at what I am seeing with Oregon football recruiting currently. This is not meant to be a “feel-good” article/analysis, because, as in the past, I am calling it as I see it, whether good or bad (and I cannot believe …
Just as surely as Oregon Men’s Basketball has established a winning culture around Matthew Knight Arena, the football program is set to bring its recruiting game to a whole new level. Head coach Willie Taggart has brought in some incredible talent at the coaching positions, along with elite defensive recruits. National Signing Day is Feb. 1, and there is still a …
It’s now Friday morning, Jan. 27. With letters of intent due in a week, and Ducks fans then having their first opportunity to view, and evaluate the work of, Willie Taggart’s [possibly] entire new staff of assistants, it’s a good time to talk about how things are going for this coaching staff as we head into a very important final …
This article will be mainly conceptual – not anecdotal. I wrote a book with dozens of stories to illustrate the concepts I’m going to talk about here. But this isn’t the place to cite a lot of those anecdotes. Mike Morris (Grizzled Ol’ Coach) My concept is stated in my title. It’s based on 30 years of being a high …
Come on Oregon fans, ‘fess up! If you are reading this it is because you are an extraordinary Duck football fan that cares about the team far beyond all reasonable time that should be given to such a hobby. Like yours truly, you love reading about your beloved Ducks and want them to not just win, but someday win the …
It’s been a wild journey this offseason in the landscape of football recruiting. Head Coach Willie Taggart has seen multiple class of 2017 recruits commit and/or decommit. That pattern is likely to continue as signing day approaches. Taggart’s plan to get Oregon back on track has some players looking elsewhere, while others appear on board with his ideology. A huge piece of …
Ever have one of those moments when you highly praise someone or something to a lot of people – and then when they see that someone or something, it’s, admittedly, pretty awful? As a highly opinionated [about most everything] old man, it’s happened lots of times to me. My most recent humbling experience came Dec. 29 in the Alamo Bowl [What …
As the Oregon men’s basketball team continues its impressive season, beating two undefeated Pac-12 teams, the Ducks 2017 recruiting class is starting to take shape. So far, it looks promising. The biggest news has been the signing of Troy Brown Jr., a 5-star small forward recruit from Centennial High School in Las Vegas, NV. Brown is the 17th-ranked player in the country, …