5-Star Oregon basketball commit Tyler Dorsey continued a recent trend of elite high school athletes not signing Letters of Intent (LOI). Dorsey told The Oregonian he is 100% committed to Oregon but will not be signing a LOI. The Oregonian’s Andrew Nemec reported the precedent as recently as February’s National Signing Day for football recruits. “ESPN four-star linebacker Roquan Smith committed to UCLA on …
What you see above is a $60 million high school football stadium. It is not located in the state of Oregon. Not a total surprise…. Ducks 2015 recruiting class does not include any Oregonians. Earlier this month Oregon closed a solid recruiting class. This was Oregon’s best recruiting class according to 247 Sports, ESPN, and Rivals since Chip Kelly’s last class …
As some of you may or may not know, the title refers to a formerly (currently?) popular book by Dale Carnegie that apparently taught more than 15 million people how to make friends. Unfortunately, Mr. Carnegie died before writing what would surely be his second most popular book: How to Win Recruits and Influence Players. As Duck fans know, winning recruiting battles, particularly …
National signing day is officially over, but the Ducks appear to be just getting started. You may have noticed the Ducks getting a steady influx of beastly recruits over the past few months, both on the gridiron and the hardwood. Your eyes do not deceive you. Oregon has been racking up talent left and right along the way to the 14th …
Oregon’s 2015 recruiting class just got its first five-star recruit, according to ESPN and Scout.com, and it didn’t even take a flipped prospect or a new commitment. Punahou School Defensive End and Oregon verbal commit Canton Kaumatule picked up his fifth star last Wednesday, making him officially the best prospect in the Ducks’ current class. Kaumatule’s physical tools were impossible to argue (the kid …
One of the most amazing aspects about this year’s Oregon team has been their ability to overcome injuries. Lost to significant injuries this season have been starting left tackle Tyler Johnstone, starting right tackle Jake Fisher, primary backup offensive tackle Andre Yruretagoyena, starting wide receiver Bralan Addison, running back Thomas Tyner, starting tight end Pharoh Brown, All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, …
Looking ahead to Ohio State, the Ducks are obviously up against a solid team and a historic program. How did Coach Urban Meyer assemble this team? How did the pavement-pounding days on the recruiting trail translate into a title game experience? The rich history of Ohio State ranges from coaching great Woody Hayes to seven Heisman winners: Les Horvath (1944), Vic …
Coming out of the closet. This is a trend in athletics that has caught many off guard, some not so much. One thing is for sure, though, that the announcements of high profile players that they are gay has stirred plenty of debate and commentary across the board. Some are for the announcements, some against. The more troubling trend, though, …
“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t …
Over the past five recruiting classes, dating back to the 2009 recruiting class, Oregon leads the nation in an unregistered recruiting category – percentage of prospects signed that make it to campus. Contrast that with South Carolina, which will reportedly have eight players of 24 signed to this class who are not eligible. In Oregon’s case, this is not by some …
“Inebriate of air am I, And debauchee of dew, Reeling, through endless summer days, From inns of molten blue.” This is the second stanza from Emily Dickinson’s “Poem # 214.” Often referred to by the first line of the first stanza, this poem delves into what provides happiness to the soul. The voice of the poem is drunk on …
Is Mark Helfrich a better recruiter than Chip Kelly? That question has slowly crept into the minds of Duck recruiting fanatics as the early commitments have seemingly poured in over the last few weeks. Earlier this week, writing for Duck Sports Authority, I talked about the change in early commitments not being significantly different for the Ducks. At the time …