Before I begin … I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Big Fish himself, Charles Fischer. Without going into much detail, there are big changes coming to FishDuck.com. Almost four years ago, I approached Charles about writing about my beloved Ducks. He had a recruiting slot open, gave me a shot, and through some fine tinkering, “Recruiting Update Wednesdays” have …
The Grizzled Ol’ Coach, Mike Morris, has made a number of correct predictions about the Oregon football team and many of their players in our “Skull Sessions” at the FishDuck.com ManCave. It was he, who in June, explained the special skills of Vernon Adams that I wrote about this summer and we now see and analyze. The coach was talking about the following …
News It’s taken around two weeks for Oregon’s top quarterback target, Ryan Kelley (4-Star/Chandler, Ariz./Rivals250) to break his silence following a visit to Eugene. It was worth the wait. “I liked everything about Oregon,” said Kelley. “The stadium, the tradition, the atmosphere and how the players all got along.” While only a junior, Kelley is a front runner in the …
Fall camp is underway, and things have slowed on the recruiting trail. The Oregon coaching staff is now focused on developing the current roster in preparation for the upcoming season. We know, however, the recruiting game never fully stops in college football. Just over a month ago, the Ducks picked up verbal commits from a pair of four-star athletes in linebacker LaMar Winston (Portland, …
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 …
News Not unlike the smoky horizon of the west coast, the ’15-’16 recruiting cycle has settled into a mid-summer haze, seeing several key story lines move into a holding pattern. While much has been made of Bryce Youngquist’s (4-Star/Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rivals250) recruitment rapport with Eugene, the vaunted linebacker has finally given himself a deadline to announce his commitment. This coming …
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 …
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 …
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 …
What once used to be considered a “gimmick” has now turned into a dominant program. Ever since Mike Bellotti transitioned into an up-tempo spread offense team and then handed the reigns to Chip Kelly, the Oregon football program has since been in question. After making a Rose Bowl appearance in 2009 followed by a national championship game appearance in 2010, …
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 …
Once Oregon gets consistently into the Top Five…wins major bowls, becomes one of the top winning programs in the nation–and if the Ducks play twice in five years for the National Championship–THEN our beloved Ducks will recruit like the BEST. Hey you Greybeards. You know who you are in age, and like me, you have thought the above. Heck–I didn’t …
