Decisions, decisions...

[AugustDuck]

I am leaning toward playing Colt on special teams and middle linebacker, with a special red zone play on offense, using him a TE on a fade into the end zone. I think with his size and athletic ability, he would be virtually unstoppable in that situation vs. a sub 6 foot corner or safety. The game against Auburn showed that just running it up the gut will not work every time.

I would redshirt French at TE this year.

[Sooth]

My personal preference would be to have Lyerla at Kenny Rowe's position. To me he looks tailor made for that spot. I much prefer Anthony Wallace at MIKE. And even though the idea of Colt on offense is intriguing, I think his mentality is best suited for defense.

Whereas last year with Curtis White, his make-up made him a better fit for offense even though the Ducks had a need at defensive end. The few times I saw Curtis in high school he just didn't strike me as a defensive minded player at all.

Christian French also looked the part on defense during the USAAB. But I haven't seen him in an actual game getting on offense so I have no idea if he fits better there or not. I've heard his hands are shaky, but that could just be internet misinformation. I have no idea.

Lyerla and French almost seem interchangeable. And I think Lyerla could be equally dangerous on either side of the ball, so obviously it could depend on where French is better suited. If he's a better fit for LB then that could give the Oregon coaches the luxury of putting Colt on offense.

Another factor is that Colt could have potential to contribute right away, so he could just end up wherever he is needed most. Especially with him coming in the Spring, it would be nice to get him settled at one spot so he could continue to blossom over the summer.

[stromy]

247 sports has TE Jon Davis as a hot for Oregon. He is a "soft" commit recruit with I think Kentucky. Any word if that is a real possibility or not?

[karlhungis]

247 sports has TE Jon Davis as a hot for Oregon. He is a "soft" commit recruit with I think Kentucky. Any word if that is a real possibility or not?

That seems like they just haven't updated Davis in a while. I thought that ship sailed a while ago.

[NCDucks09]

Colt is a very large athlete, I think it would be great to have him at TE or OLB it's very tough decision.

We have Paulson, Williams, and White holding down the TE spot in 2011. So no real need there immediately, but will in 2012.

We have 5 signed LB's this class, one MLB and the rest are small and speedy guys that I'm sure we hope to put 15-20lbs of muscle on by the time they are needed to play. Classic Oregon OLB's.

We have Kaddu, Alonso, Clay, Lokombo, who will be aided by Wallace immediately.

I have to say I think I like the idea of having Colt at OLB, Kaddu graduates in 2011, leaving significant playing time open at the OLB, where we don't have a lot of size. It'd be great to have a big, fast, and strong body blocking for Lache and Company in 2012, but I think White and French will hold that job down.

[Duck07]

Considering we saw glimpses of a new offensive set, the blur wishbone, i'm going with seeing Colt replacing DJ in this formation.


here are the plays we ran out of it


Of the available players next season, who has the ability to replace DJ's blocking abilities while also providing a threat as a receiver/back? That's a lot of speed and athleticism to take advantage back there, and while we saw limited success in the NC game, not every team we play is going to outplay our OL like that. We know that Chip loves his offense and if he can use your talents to exploit the opponents defense (as opposed to exploiting the opponents offense) he's going to do it.

That is my rationale for where I see him spending the bulk of spring/fall practices based on what position he could transition to the fastest as well as his own stated preference (interview during AA practices) that he prefers O to D (its probably about scoring tds ).

I believe though we can all agree that its going to be quite exciting to see him and Wallace smashing people on Special Teams coverage

[vagusnerve]

You could be on to something there.

I love the glimpses of the new offense we saw in the NCG... i'm still not sure if it was the wisest move but it was bold.

One thing's for sure, Colt would thrive as a big nasty WR.

But if that is the case, why take so many other WRs in thi s class? Sumler would play the deep threat position. Vaughn is Tuinei reincarnated (i hope). Blackmon is the Maehl position. And Kelly plays the Davis position with 20 more pounds. Where does Colt actually fit into all that at WR??

[Duck07]

You could be on to something there.

I love the glimpses of the new offense we saw in the NCG... i'm still not sure if it was the wisest move but it was bold.

One thing's for sure, Colt would thrive as a big nasty WR.

But if that is the case, why take so many other WRs in thi s class? Sumler would play the deep threat position. Vaughn is Tuinei reincarnated (i hope). Blackmon is the Maehl position. And Kelly plays the Davis position with 20 more pounds. Where does Colt actually fit into all that at WR??

Huff excelled this year because he was only asked to participate early on as part of specific sets. Same thing applies in that formation where you also have Paulson and either Huff/LT on the outside. With the other wrs, they'll play in our more open sets when we use just James to go with Paulson, LT, Huff and Vaughn/Blackmon (guessing at this point, we'll see who separates themselves and learns the playbook). The reason we take so many is because we need some real burners and CK has no problem being a passing blur offense either and because its the one offensive unit that is most devoid of talent/depth.

[UOducksTK1]

In that picture you posted, duck07, it's amazing how all 3 players in the backfield are looking down field and reading the defense. Every play really does take a full team effort, I love it.

[Elduderino]

Considering we saw glimpses of a new offensive set, the blur wishbone, i'm going with seeing Colt replacing DJ in this formation.


here are the plays we ran out of it


Of the available players next season, who has the ability to replace DJ's blocking abilities while also providing a threat as a receiver/back? That's a lot of speed and athleticism to take advantage back there, and while we saw limited success in the NC game, not every team we play is going to outplay our OL like that. We know that Chip loves his offense and if he can use your talents to exploit the opponents defense (as opposed to exploiting the opponents offense) he's going to do it.

That is my rationale for where I see him spending the bulk of spring/fall practices based on what position he could transition to the fastest as well as his own stated preference (interview during AA practices) that he prefers O to D (its probably about scoring tds ).

I believe though we can all agree that its going to be quite exciting to see him and Wallace smashing people on Special Teams coverage

Is it sad that just the screenshot alone was enough to make me wince? Can't move on.....

[Boom]

Considering we saw glimpses of a new offensive set, the blur wishbone, i'm going with seeing Colt replacing DJ in this formation.


here are the plays we ran out of it


Of the available players next season, who has the ability to replace DJ's blocking abilities while also providing a threat as a receiver/back? That's a lot of speed and athleticism to take advantage back there, and while we saw limited success in the NC game, not every team we play is going to outplay our OL like that. We know that Chip loves his offense and if he can use your talents to exploit the opponents defense (as opposed to exploiting the opponents offense) he's going to do it.

That is my rationale for where I see him spending the bulk of spring/fall practices based on what position he could transition to the fastest as well as his own stated preference (interview during AA practices) that he prefers O to D (its probably about scoring tds ).

I believe though we can all agree that its going to be quite exciting to see him and Wallace smashing people on Special Teams coverage

Josh Huff & Brandon Williams look like a good fit.

Maybe even Curtis White?

And what about Nick Cole & Blake Cantu? been awhile since I've heard anything about them.

[duckfan96]

Does Colt have good hands? If so would CK play him at WR? Speed, size, strength and a fairly good leaping ability(sarcarsm) sounds like good attributes for a wr.

[MacDuck]

1. 2011: we know Colt is NOT going to RS. Is he "needed" at TE? If this coming season was 2012 and it was his FR year, then I'd say yes, but it's not. IMO he is NOT needed at TE considering we'll have Paulson, Williams, and White. BTW, everything I have heard re Curtis White is he is not going to be moved to the DL.

2. 2011: since we know he's not going to RS and we also know it's very likely he'll be used on special teams, then where should he play?

3. 2011: we know he's going to play this coming season and he's really not needed at TE. He is an athletic freak who we need to get the most out of we can in likely only 3 years. At TE he isn't a significant fixture on every play, though we know he'd be a killer blocker. On defense he's much more likely to impose his will on a lot more plays than he would on offense.

4. 2011: do we need him at OLB considering who we have coming back? Maybe. The 2011 LB group will consist primarily of Clay, Kaddu, & Lokombo. Alonzo, if he heals properly (reports are good) will be in the mix as well. Hard to say of the 4 guys who ends up where, but we know that Kiko & Michael are inside guys and Bo & Josh are more outside. I could also see 1 of the 2 between Bo & Josh moving over to Paysinger's spot. So with those 4, along with an experienced guy like Dewitt Stuckey and up and coming OLB Derrick Malone, I'm not sure Colt just leap frogs all of these guys, except for possibly Malone

5. 2011: where could Colt provide our defense w/the most help? I really think the greatest need, and he already has the size to play there, is Rowe's hybrid DE/OLB spot. Reports are Colt is already up to 240 or so. We know he has the height & strength to play that spot. Obviously the learning curve is the greatest challenge, but from what I've heard, it may be easier to learn that spot than a pure 100% OLB. Last season I'm not 100% sure who backed up Rowe there as he didn't come out that much. I believe it was Brandon Hanna. Some are talking about Dion Jordan taking that over, but he played more on the strong side along with Turner. If that's correct and Dion stays there, then Hanna could be the starter for Rowe to open the season and Colt could be in the rotation and let game time experience & performance dictate how much he plays.

6. 2011: offense - I do want Colt to play defense, but one area where I could really see him help this team right away would be as a very part time offensive player in a much needed power package. We saw the glaring weakness of not having a goal line & short yardage power package in the NCG. With Colt's experience as a RB in high school he knows how to carry the rock. Though we will have Dontae Williams available in 2011 and Tra Carson as well (but he likely RSs), think what a 240 lb Colt Lyerla could provide when we need that super important 1 yd to either score or escape our own 1 foot line? CL's leaping ability is greater than Sam the Bam Cunningham and he's definitely got the power to simply bull his way through. Put him in a deep I power package w/Thomas under center. Sure teams will know what's coming, but you think they'll stop him? Maybe 1 in 10 times.

So, my final hope is he plays the hybrid DE spot, special teams, and gets to play some occasional offense in the power package described in #6. I rest my case.

[Boom]

Is Colt really 240lbs?

[RanDux]

I'm just hoping Colt has a "wherever the team needs me" attitude.