Seriously, how did we land De'Anthony Thomas?

[DmoneyDuck]

Not only did we land him, but we did it at the last minute. But the question is how? I never heard his name come up in rumors or potential visitors. Did he initiate contact with us or vice versa? Is there some awesome story just ready to be revealed?

[Zyme]

He is the definition of a recruiting day surprise.

[cordy02c]

it sounds like he initiated contact but don't know for sure

[SeattleDuck]

however we did it, i'm happy as hell to have him aboard.

[dthomas=ddixon]

I was thinking the same thing. This was an epic get. He may be the most hyped LA recruit in the last 5-10 years, pretty much a local celeb down there & was all SC forever. Then last second we get him to decommit & be a Duck? Just incredible. Its a monumental recruiting pull that will go down as one of the craziest steals ever. I'm still waiting for him & Kiff to come out tell everyone its a joke & he's still going to SC .

[greenyellow]

I was thinking the same thing. This was an epic get. He may be the most hyped LA recruit in the last 5-10 years, pretty much a local celeb down there & was all SC forever. Then last second we get him to decommit & be a Duck? Just incredible. Its a monumental recruiting pull that will go down as one of the craziest steals ever. I'm still waiting for him & Kiff to come out tell everyone its a joke & he's still going to SC .

Maybe with him being up here now, it entices other top prospects to come up here. It's going to be hard to get some LA kids to leave but it only takes a couple to get it flowing.

[duckfan96]

sorta like kids from Texas.

[TheMaehlMan]

I was thinking the same thing. This was an epic get. He may be the most hyped LA recruit in the last 5-10 years, pretty much a local celeb down there & was all SC forever. Then last second we get him to decommit & be a Duck? Just incredible. Its a monumental recruiting pull that will go down as one of the craziest steals ever. I'm still waiting for him & Kiff to come out tell everyone its a joke & he's still going to SC .

I'm starting to wonder if that played in our favor. That is a lot of pressure to be put on a young kid, maybe he didn't want that hanging over his head. Obviously the ability to play in Chip's offense is a huge draw as well, but the other may have been a contributing factor.

[Zyme]

I was thinking the same thing. This was an epic get. He may be the most hyped LA recruit in the last 5-10 years, pretty much a local celeb down there & was all SC forever. Then last second we get him to decommit & be a Duck? Just incredible. Its a monumental recruiting pull that will go down as one of the craziest steals ever. I'm still waiting for him & Kiff to come out tell everyone its a joke & he's still going to SC .

I'm starting to wonder if that played in our favor. That is a lot of pressure to be put on a young kid, maybe he didn't want that hanging over his head. Obviously the ability to play in Chip's offense is a huge draw as well, but the other may have been a contributing factor.

Something was coming out when he was crying. IT was like a farewell to the city he loved, but knowing he had to do what was best for him.

[wheaton4prez]

Not only did we land him, but we did it at the last minute. But the question is how? I never heard his name come up in rumors or potential visitors. Did he initiate contact with us or vice versa? Is there some awesome story just ready to be revealed?

Just speculation with little info to go on. But, the probable scenario to me is that family or friends were in his ear late with concerns about the future of USC regarding the sanctions, where they would utilize him and whether Lane Kiffin would even be the HC year after next, etc. They probably encouraged him to at least look around a little and Oregon was an obvious choice with their recent success.

After that, based on him already having a new nickname ("Baby DT") and what he has said about being comfortable, I think he just hit it off with the players that he met.

[nogerO]

Pros Oregon vs. U$C

Facilities-UO
Coaches-UO
Fan Support-UO
Elite team competing for the natty yearly-UO
Not on probation-UO
National Exposure-lately all UO unless you count negatives
Offense tailor mad to suite him-UO
Chance to win the natty NOW-UO
Amazing uni's and promotion-UO
Drugs & Gangs-U$C
Slimeball coaches-U$C
Smog & traffic-U$C
Drive by shootings-U$C
Weather-U$C

[thomas time]

Nobody call the cops on this stealing haha. Who were the players that he met? Cliff?

[headshottzzzz]

Pros Oregon vs. U$C

Facilities-UO
Coaches-UO
Fan Support-UO
Elite team competing for the natty yearly-UO
Not on probation-UO
National Exposure-lately all UO unless you count negatives
Offense tailor mad to suite him-UO
Chance to win the natty NOW-UO
Amazing uni's and promotion-UO
Drugs & Gangs-U$C
Slimeball coaches-U$C
Smog & traffic-U$C
Drive by shootings-U$C
Weather-U$C

Still though, USC has:
Tradition
Hometown advantage (his parents could have gone to all of his games)
Stronger academics
Hotter girls
LA > Eugene (and this comes from a LA kid who goes to the UofO
Stronger pro base
Bigger stage


Say what you want about USC, but the Trojans still have it going on. There's a reason why they signed a top 5 class while on probation. USC is a legit school. I'm a Duck fan who has hated USC for as long as I can remember, and even I can see that. Let's not get irrational over this kind of stuff.

[headshottzzzz]

Pros Oregon vs. U$C

Facilities-UO
Coaches-UO
Fan Support-UO
Elite team competing for the natty yearly-UO
Not on probation-UO
National Exposure-lately all UO unless you count negatives
Offense tailor mad to suite him-UO
Chance to win the natty NOW-UO
Amazing uni's and promotion-UO
Drugs & Gangs-U$C
Slimeball coaches-U$C
Smog & traffic-U$C
Drive by shootings-U$C
Weather-U$C

Still though, USC has:
Tradition
Hometown advantage (his parents could have gone to all of his games)
Stronger academics
Hotter girls
LA > Eugene (and this comes from a LA kid who goes to the UofO
Stronger pro base
Bigger stage


Say what you want about USC, but the Trojans still have it going on. There's a reason why they signed a top 5 class while on probation. USC is a legit school. I'm a Duck fan who has hated USC for as long as I can remember, and even I can see that. Let's not get irrational over this kind of stuff.

[Supreme]

From what I've gathered, his moms wanted him out of the city.