Big List of Questions

[StevensTechU]

Rather than starting a hundred threads, I'm just going to kick off a conversation by putting most of my questions in one place.

1) What's the plan at cornerback? Where was Avante Dickerson this year?

On paper, the Ducks will return Bridges and Manning, with the latter being a major liability. Behind them, they have a trio of former 4* corners in Jahlil Florence (played significantly in 2022), Avante Dickerson (played in 12 games in 2021), and Jalil Tucker. I almost have to assume Dickerson was injured this year, because he was MIA and not listed on the Holiday Bowl depth chart. There's also Darren Barkins, and some good corners coming in who are unlikely to start but could help the Ducks get back to where they've historically been.

2) Are we helpless at safety?

Bennett Williams is off to the NFL, and Steve Stephens, Bryan Addison, and Jamal Hill have their moments but ultimately are bottom rung in the Pac-12. JJ Greenfield and Bryan Addison are maybe the guys who have the most potential, but I'm not confident in saying that. Daymon David and Khamari Terrell are the next guys up. This seems to me to be a position of need in the portal, but with a new coach coming in, will they wait to evaluate the guys first?

3) Are we running it back at defensive line?

There are lots of good-but-not-great guys on the defensive line, and maybe that's good enough. It always feels like Dorlus is a season away from stardom, but still hasn't happened. Maybe moving him to the edge and having Ware-Hudson and Popo man the middle is the way to go. The DL seems primed for transfers as Maceal Afaese, Ben Roberts, Keanu Williams, Jake Shipley, Treven Ma'ae, Sir Mells, Sua'ava Poti have all gotten limited to no reps but will be in their 2nd-4th years in the program with established guys seemingly coming back.

4) Will 2023 Bo be like September-October Bo or November-December Bo?

Hopefully it was just the ankle. I'll wait anxiously.

5) How do we get down to 85 scholarships?

Current projections are for 92 scholarships, with more commitments are portal targets coming. You have to anticipate that there are going to be 11+ more players leaving the program with eligibility remaining.

6) What's going to happen with Ty Thompson?

My opinion, but he seems like he's just taking up a scholarship at this point, but the Ducks have an empty room experience-wise behind Bo heading into 2023.

7) Will Josh Conerly be ready for primetime in 2023?

He still looks like a high schooler. Going to need to hit the weight room hard this offseason.

8) Will we get to see or hear much of anything out of spring camp?

Though limited, Moseley's practice reports at least gave some indication as to what was happening in the program on the day-to-day. Now it's all just dark.

9) Will we improve more than our opponents will improve before next year?

I'm starting to look around the conference and country, and it's not like we're the only ones adding talent. I hate to see it, but washington has done a very good job of keeping their best players so far and has addressed their holes well.

10) Are we looking at another transfer QB in 2024?

Yes.

[OregonFan4Life]

I have some duck fans that heavily disagreed with me when I said USC and Washington are the front runners next year in the Pac, yeah it was fun when Oregon was ranked 6th and looking at a potential spot in the CFP but with the defense being as atrocious as it was I think most of us knew deep down this wasn’t anything close to a CFP team. I said the defense was far too unreliable after the UCLA game to win out which drew criticism on here, but I felt any non-biased fan should’ve seen that.

I don’t think we realized how bare Mario and his staff left the defensive side of the ball, just imagine last year without Gonzo, Lanning has his hands full with the defense and it’ll take years to fix the mess Mario left behind. I am still really bummed Mama Bowen had to go psycho and control her son’s life cause Peyton would’ve started day 1 and played a very significant role in improving the defense. Hopefully there’s a portal guy.

I suppose if the Bo and offense we saw in October is the Bo and offense we get all next year and if the defense just simply improves from really historically bad to just slightly bad to average at best, then with the offense leading the way perhaps they can compete for a PAC-12 championship, I just don’t see the defense improving enough for Oregon to get there.

I noticed you didn’t address the LB’s, what are your thoughts on that position? That was arguably the biggest liability last season.

[StevensTechU]

I noticed you didn’t address the LB’s, what are your thoughts on that position? That was arguably the biggest liability last season.

I just don't think there's much in the way of personnel questions. If they do anything other than Jestin Jacobs with Bassa/Brown at the other spot, and Jackson and Taggart coming in to provide a breather, I guess I'll be pretty darn surprised.

[lmduck]

Nothing is ever as good as it seems or as bad as it seems......

Yes there is work to do and the coaches know it very well. Mario did not exactly leave things in a good state on the defensive side of the ball and Dan knew this very well before he even accepted the job. He knew that would be an Achilles heel.

Something worth noting per some people closely involved with the program, Cardwell, McGee and Flowe leaving were a good thing from a locker room culture perspective


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[dthomas=ddixon]

Just seems like we’re in an awkward spot as a program. There’s lots of talent on the team so expectations are high, but a lot of that talent hasn’t been actualized so Dan and co need to revamp the roster.

This next freshman class is going to need a year or two before they’re seriously contributing, so we’re still reliant on the veteran players who maybe aren’t that great or don’t fit what Lanning wants to do.

I think we’re still a season or two away from being as good as fans think we are. When you have entire position groups that don’t have 1 quality player then it’s going to take a few seasons to fix. Obviously the portal will help speed that process up but fans need to give this staff some time.

[buckmarkduck]

I have some duck fans that heavily disagreed with me when I said USC and Washington are the front runners next year in the Pac, yeah it was fun when Oregon was ranked 6th and looking at a potential spot in the CFP but with the defense being as atrocious as it was I think most of us knew deep down this wasn’t anything close to a CFP team. I said the defense was far too unreliable after the UCLA game to win out which drew criticism on here, but I felt any non-biased fan should’ve seen that.

I don’t think we realized how bare Mario and his staff left the defensive side of the ball, just imagine last year without Gonzo, Lanning has his hands full with the defense and it’ll take years to fix the mess Mario left behind. I am still really bummed Mama Bowen had to go psycho and control her son’s life cause Peyton would’ve started day 1 and played a very significant role in improving the defense. Hopefully there’s a portal guy.

I suppose if the Bo and offense we saw in October is the Bo and offense we get all next year and if the defense just simply improves from really historically bad to just slightly bad to average at best, then with the offense leading the way perhaps they can compete for a PAC-12 championship, I just don’t see the defense improving enough for Oregon to get there.

I noticed you didn’t address the LB’s, what are your thoughts on that position? That was arguably the biggest liability last season.

UW D is even worse than ours, and their running game is meh. They also lose a lot on the OL. Calling them a favorite, is basically an easy way to not want to get excited about Oregon 2023. And UO was one back snap from playing in the conference title. OS will end up being better than UW. The civil War will be for a trip to the conference title game.

[OregonFan4Life]

I have some duck fans that heavily disagreed with me when I said USC and Washington are the front runners next year in the Pac, yeah it was fun when Oregon was ranked 6th and looking at a potential spot in the CFP but with the defense being as atrocious as it was I think most of us knew deep down this wasn’t anything close to a CFP team. I said the defense was far too unreliable after the UCLA game to win out which drew criticism on here, but I felt any non-biased fan should’ve seen that.

I don’t think we realized how bare Mario and his staff left the defensive side of the ball, just imagine last year without Gonzo, Lanning has his hands full with the defense and it’ll take years to fix the mess Mario left behind. I am still really bummed Mama Bowen had to go psycho and control her son’s life cause Peyton would’ve started day 1 and played a very significant role in improving the defense. Hopefully there’s a portal guy.

I suppose if the Bo and offense we saw in October is the Bo and offense we get all next year and if the defense just simply improves from really historically bad to just slightly bad to average at best, then with the offense leading the way perhaps they can compete for a PAC-12 championship, I just don’t see the defense improving enough for Oregon to get there.

I noticed you didn’t address the LB’s, what are your thoughts on that position? That was arguably the biggest liability last season.

UW D is even worse than ours, and their running game is meh. They also lose a lot on the OL. Calling them a favorite, is basically an easy way to not want to get excited about Oregon 2023. And UO was one back snap from playing in the conference title. OS will end up being better than UW. The civil War will be for a trip to the conference title game.

I don’t care if Oregon is projected to go 1-11 next year, I will always be excited for duck football. I know we’re supposed to hate them but I think you’re underrating Washington, and I forgot about Utah who could potentially threepeat next year. Oregon State is losing a lot and sure DJ U will probably be an upgrade but if he doesn’t improve he’s not gonna be there much of an upgrade. He had some awful games for Clemson, that’s a big if and risk for Oregon State to count on.

“One bad snap from playing in the conference game”, maybe it’s just me, but last year for Oregon to make the conference title game the offense had to be great every single game. In college you’re gonna have a game or two where mistakes are made and the offense doesn’t click, we’ve seen this historically from even the best Oregon teams. In those games you need the defense to step up, which they actually did twice this season against Utah and North Carolina. But still, against Washington, offense made mistakes, some bad playcalls from Dilly, and we just needed the defense to make a stop or two, and they simply could not against an offense with a pulse. Our defensive personal was awful last year. I have faith in Lanning to improve the defense just think it’ll take a couple years. Mario left when he did for a reason, he saw how terribly he recruited on defense and knew this would be an issue and he bounced to Miami at the perfect time after giving us fool’s gold with the Ohio St win. This isn’t me trying to be overly critical or not excited about Oregon football, I just believe Lanning needs more time to make the defensive good enough for Oregon to compete for the conference and possibly even the national championship, and I’m confident he’ll get us there.

[buckmarkduck]

Is Rising returning? Also I think OSU returns like 19 starters.

[Phalanx]

I don't know if this is the right thread to bring this up, but I thought Lanning had a really telling quote in a presser recently; something about how significant it was to him that despite the large number of recent entrants into the transfer portal, none of them were players he had recruited. I'm curious what a Mario recruit listening to that might think, especially as he watches the scholly player total soaring over 90+ with no signs of letting up. I kinda get the feeling a lot of former 4-star recruits are finding themselves in an uncomfortable position this offseason. Maybe we should be looking beyond the current 2-deep for some of the answers to these questions.

[alxtw]

I dont think UW and USC are as good as they're hyped up to be. Both teams are one QB injury away from being mediocre teams.

I think our team is also in that category, but to a lesser degree. At least we have a good run game and OL. Defense wise, we are no worse than UW and USC. I think in the pac12 only Utah has a great defense and they, by far, get the most bang out of their talent on hand.

[Duck07]

1 - CBs - I'm hopeful that the same development we saw over the year with Bridges will occur with some of these younger Fr/So CBs we've got. Hopefully one of the incoming freshman looks the part out of the gate and/or Khyree Jackson finds himself a starting spot.

2 - Safeties - Definitely an awkward spot with the upperclassman having not really established themselves consistently and a need for a new Safeties coach. I like Tyler Turner but I don't know if he or DeCambra are ready Day 1. I think one of them is enrolling early too.

3 - DL - IF we start Dorlus - Popo - Rogers I think we've got a stout DL that will handle the run game and help the LBs by eating blockers as well as providing a veteran presence for all those young DLers to learn from BUTtThe Pass Rush is where they all seemingly need a Dude on the defense who can get after it. I don't think Ware-Hudson is going anywhere (with all the coaches kids, take em off scholarship and pay the 5K$ in tuition...) but I'm not sure about any other DL that's been in the program for more than a year as some seem likely to transfer out.

4 - Which Bo - I think the Will Stein offense is going to give him more opportunities to be a down-field passer. I also think the benefit of not playing UGA game 1 and over a year of throwing and playing with a lot of the same guys will be beneficial to our OOC as everyone learns the new system. I think he'll take a drop in his completion % but I think his yards/TDs will be higher.

5 - Scholarship limit - Let's call it 3 WRs (Chapman, Brevard, Crocker), 3 DL (Shipley, Williams, Afaese), 2 DBs (Hill, Addison) and I still lean towards Ty Thompson leaving but not as strong on that anymore. 9 guys out would allow for another 2 to enter.

6 - Ty Thompson - I think he's here still because of the Depth Chart and because there isn't another school itching to have him. Hopefully Will Stein can teach him to get rid of whatever apprehension he seems to play with it and he just starts ripping it all over the field. He's been a good kid while here, same as our Week 2 opponent in Tyler Shough and in that vein, hopefully a new coach/system brings out the best in him.

7 - Josh Connerly - I admit we're putting a lot of stock in his ability to be the Week 1 Left Tackle for someone who largely played as the 6th OL but I also didn't see a guy who looked lost when he played and I recall seeing him talk with his Guard quite often after a play. Having George Silva to push Connerly (and Cornelius) is what makes me feel better about our Tackle group as the Interior OL should be a force.

8 - Spring Camp News - How does that Bo Nix meme-quote go about he's healthy and playing the best football of his life? Im expecting that level of news that's all sunshine pumping.

9 - Strength/Improvement of Pac - No doubt about it, the Pac will be stronger next year than this year. Things that do give me hope are some of the serious Coaching Blunders that Lanning had this year that in hindsight cost us games. Don't do those things and we likely beat the Poodles for example. Same with the Beavers. So while those teams will be better, I think Lanning's ability to improve from his 1st year Coaching to his 2nd can provide a major boost for us in addition to the growth we need to see from the Defense.

10 - 2024 QB - Here's the scenario for not getting a transfer QB. Novosad stays with TT, one of the 2 shows promise in back-up action and we get another top HS recruit giving us 3 guys in the room. In the Portal age though, it seems like planning 1 year at a time is about the best you can do though.

[lmduck]

1 - CBs - I'm hopeful that the same development we saw over the year with Bridges will occur with some of these younger Fr/So CBs we've got. Hopefully one of the incoming freshman looks the part out of the gate and/or Khyree Jackson finds himself a starting spot.

2 - Safeties - Definitely an awkward spot with the upperclassman having not really established themselves consistently and a need for a new Safeties coach. I like Tyler Turner but I don't know if he or DeCambra are ready Day 1. I think one of them is enrolling early too.

3 - DL - IF we start Dorlus - Popo - Rogers I think we've got a stout DL that will handle the run game and help the LBs by eating blockers as well as providing a veteran presence for all those young DLers to learn from BUTtThe Pass Rush is where they all seemingly need a Dude on the defense who can get after it. I don't think Ware-Hudson is going anywhere (with all the coaches kids, take em off scholarship and pay the 5K$ in tuition...) but I'm not sure about any other DL that's been in the program for more than a year as some seem likely to transfer out.

4 - Which Bo - I think the Will Stein offense is going to give him more opportunities to be a down-field passer. I also think the benefit of not playing UGA game 1 and over a year of throwing and playing with a lot of the same guys will be beneficial to our OOC as everyone learns the new system. I think he'll take a drop in his completion % but I think his yards/TDs will be higher.

5 - Scholarship limit - Let's call it 3 WRs (Chapman, Brevard, Crocker), 3 DL (Shipley, Williams, Afaese), 2 DBs (Hill, Addison) and I still lean towards Ty Thompson leaving but not as strong on that anymore. 9 guys out would allow for another 2 to enter.

6 - Ty Thompson - I think he's here still because of the Depth Chart and because there isn't another school itching to have him. Hopefully Will Stein can teach him to get rid of whatever apprehension he seems to play with it and he just starts ripping it all over the field. He's been a good kid while here, same as our Week 2 opponent in Tyler Shough and in that vein, hopefully a new coach/system brings out the best in him.

7 - Josh Connerly - I admit we're putting a lot of stock in his ability to be the Week 1 Left Tackle for someone who largely played as the 6th OL but I also didn't see a guy who looked lost when he played and I recall seeing him talk with his Guard quite often after a play. Having George Silva to push Connerly (and Cornelius) is what makes me feel better about our Tackle group as the Interior OL should be a force.

8 - Spring Camp News - How does that Bo Nix meme-quote go about he's healthy and playing the best football of his life? Im expecting that level of news that's all sunshine pumping.

9 - Strength/Improvement of Pac - No doubt about it, the Pac will be stronger next year than this year. Things that do give me hope are some of the serious Coaching Blunders that Lanning had this year that in hindsight cost us games. Don't do those things and we likely beat the Poodles for example. Same with the Beavers. So while those teams will be better, I think Lanning's ability to improve from his 1st year Coaching to his 2nd can provide a major boost for us in addition to the growth we need to see from the Defense.

10 - 2024 QB - Here's the scenario for not getting a transfer QB. Novosad stays with TT, one of the 2 shows promise in back-up action and we get another top HS recruit giving us 3 guys in the room. In the Portal age though, it seems like planning 1 year at a time is about the best you can do though.

Can you clarify #8? Not understanding what the essence of that one is.


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[Duck07]

Can you clarify #8? Not understanding what the essence of that one is.

Here it is!

Embedded Tweet

In essence all I expect to hear from Rob/Media is how wonderful everything is.

[buckmarkduck]

Chapman isnt on scholarship.

[Duck07]

Chapman isnt on scholarship.

Good to know. I wonder how many guys will not be on scholarship but get a NIL package that covers those costs like BYU did for their walk-ons.