Thought Big Joe was supposed to be an ace recruiter?

[GoDucksTroll]

I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

It looked like a decent class, but we all knew that Malcolm Lamar and Jonathan King were Willie and Woodie guys.

Getting DJ Johnson is a huge win.

Where Big Joe's strengths lie is with Poly recruits. 2019 will tell us more about this, as there are studs like 5-star DT Faatui Tuitele out of St. Louis high in Hawaii.

At the same time, I don't really care if we get high 4-stars if he can coach them up. Imagine someone like Hercules Ma'atafa on our DL. His recruiting ranking didn't bother anyone while he was the best DL in the Pac-12 this season.

Hope he gets over to Hawaii soon to recruit those future recruits. USC and clay are already hitting up all the big high schools in Hawaii this week recruiting for the future. We seem to be no where close to favorites for the 5star DT from st. louis, marcus's old HS.

You're right that we need Big Joe working in Hawaii on 2019 recruits.

There are three top-150 level recruits in Hawaii for 2019. The 5-star DT Tuitele, 4-star LB Maninoa Tufono, 4-star OT Enokk Vimahi. We have a really good chance with Tufono, a Duck fan from Punahou.

[Phalanx]

I hear you. I'm suggesting that you wait until 2 years down the line to assess how good of a class Joe signed, because in the past what we've seen from him is that he's ahead of the curve in evaluating prospects.

I would also count DJ Johnson as part of this class, for what it's worth.

According to Johnson, Oregon views him as an outside linebacker.

"To be honest with you, everybody recruited me. It was a group effort, so I can't tell you who the primary was.

They see me as an outside linebacker-type, coming off the edge and also being able to drop off and cover the backside of the backfield or wherever they have me cover.

I'm 6-foot-5, 250-255, but I still got that speed, though."

http://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/in ... fer_d.html

[UOducksTK1]

I hear you. I'm suggesting that you wait until 2 years down the line to assess how good of a class Joe signed, because in the past what we've seen from him is that he's ahead of the curve in evaluating prospects.

I would also count DJ Johnson as part of this class, for what it's worth.

According to Johnson, Oregon views him as an outside linebacker.

"To be honest with you, everybody recruited me. It was a group effort, so I can't tell you who the primary was.

They see me as an outside linebacker-type, coming off the edge and also being able to drop off and cover the backside of the backfield or wherever they have me cover.

I'm 6-foot-5, 250-255, but I still got that speed, though."

http://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/in ... fer_d.html

I really hope he can play next year.

[Groundswell]

No, what I'm saying is it's pretty hard to recruit at WSU. Have to assume he has some misses, or guys who got injured, or don't turn out, or whatever...like all coaches, especially at a college who has to work to find under-the-radar recruits. I wouldn't call that throwing crap at the wall or even attacking the dude. He's a great coach. One of my favorites on the staff. But if we finish with only 2 guys low-ranked, one of them JUCO, that's clearly a disappointing year. Would be under any Oregon DL coach, especially when the staff would like to add more players at the position. But, like I said, signing day hasn't come and gone yet. There could be surprises.

I hear you. I'm suggesting that you wait until 2 years down the line to assess how good of a class Joe signed, because in the past what we've seen from him is that he's ahead of the curve in evaluating prospects.

I would also count DJ Johnson as part of this class, for what it's worth.

One thing I did after your post is go look at WSU commits under Joe. I didn't know that he mostly brought in defensive ends. If you look, he rarely brought in DT. His recruits were almost all low 3 star defensive ends who were just a bit too small to catch the eyes of bigger programs. WSU was able to put a lot of weight on them, but that's why they had/have such fast, undersized lineman, and why they use this shifting fronts. I know Joe is going to produce good players. But to only get 2 DL who are fairly low ranked by even Oregon standards is a disappointment. I think it's ok for Duck fans to point out the obvious. If you want to win National Championships, landing only 2 guys on the DL won't get it done, especially when you had room for more. Expectations for Joe and all coaches have to be at the Natty level. That's the criteria they set, and fans should judge them on. For his Oregon career, I give Joe credit for the Faoliu brothers and Sieone Via-Kava as a recruiter. He'll certainly help Scott and DJ Johnson be monster players as a coach.

If we finish with only those 2 DL, there is no way you can give Joe anything other than a C- for the cycle as a recruiter. We can certainly give him a grade as a coach/player developer/talent evaluator later. But I think that's kind of a different animal.

[Duck07]

For those who are questioning Joe, you have to start with the fact that the entire premise of this thread is wrong. Nobody hired Joe because he is an ace recruiter, he was hired because he is an ace coach.

Secondly, some of those doing that questioning immediately go "Poly Coach=Go to Hawaii and recruit" yet also don't understand the issues Joe had with WSU about those players once in Pullman. Hint, it's part of the reason why he left and why he's got a chance to be the Coach Greatwood of our DL for a long time.

Lastly, has it been that long ago that little willie was the football coach that people forget how much of an impact that's had on recruiting? Would Lamar and King make everyone get all warm inside?

[duckfan22]

For those who are questioning Joe, you have to start with the fact that the entire premise of this thread is wrong. Nobody hired Joe because he is an ace recruiter, he was hired because he is an ace coach.

Secondly, some of those doing that questioning immediately go "Poly Coach=Go to Hawaii and recruit" yet also don't understand the issues Joe had with WSU about those players once in Pullman. Hint, it's part of the reason why he left and why he's got a chance to be the Coach Greatwood of our DL for a long time.

Lastly, has it been that long ago that little willie was the football coach that people forget how much of an impact that's had on recruiting? Would Lamar and King make everyone get all warm inside?

spot on

[karlhungis]

some of those doing that questioning immediately go "Poly Coach=Go to Hawaii and recruit" yet also don't understand the issues Joe had with WSU about those players once in Pullman. Hint, it's part of the reason why he left and why he's got a chance to be the Coach Greatwood of our DL for a long time. ?

Can you elaborate on this? I thought he left WSU because we offered him more money and a higher profile position. What background issues are you talking about?

[greenyellow]

some of those doing that questioning immediately go "Poly Coach=Go to Hawaii and recruit" yet also don't understand the issues Joe had with WSU about those players once in Pullman. Hint, it's part of the reason why he left and why he's got a chance to be the Coach Greatwood of our DL for a long time. ?

Can you elaborate on this? I thought he left WSU because we offered him more money and a higher profile position. What background issues are you talking about?

He felt the Pullman police were constantly going after Poly players after a couple minor incidents and that the administration didn't do anything to stop what he felt was racial-profiling/harassment. That played a big part into him leaving WSU.

[maxduck]

He (and his wife) felt some of his players were unfairly targeted by the Pullman police. From a Spokane Spokesman-Review article last year...

Even more so than most assistant coaches, Salave’a had a paternal role for the players he recruited, many of whom were living far from home and unable to see their families for years at a time.

At various points throughout his four years at WSU, Salave’a made comments that he had a duty to shepherd those players he recruited through college and ensure they graduated. Because he is widely respected in coaching circles he had opportunities to leave, and reportedly turned down overtures from USC and Washington.

But 2016 was a hard year on Salave’a and his wife, Josie. Four of the players he recruited from American Samoa, and took into his home frequently, were arrested for various crimes over the summer prior to the 2016 football season.

The controversy broiled for much of the season. Barber was expelled and then reinstated. Logan Tago was suspended, but his case is now under review. Head coach Mike Leach and other members of the WSU staff felt that football players were being targeted by the Pullman police, making it harder to sell Salave’a’s vision of Pullman as a safe place for American Samoan football players to study and play the game.

Josie Salave’a spoke on Barber’s behalf at a board of regents meeting, saying the controversies had been particularly hard on the Salave’as and the Polynesian community.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/j ... for-orego/

[Groundswell]

For those who are questioning Joe, you have to start with the fact that the entire premise of this thread is wrong. Nobody hired Joe because he is an ace recruiter, he was hired because he is an ace coach.

Secondly, some of those doing that questioning immediately go "Poly Coach=Go to Hawaii and recruit" yet also don't understand the issues Joe had with WSU about those players once in Pullman. Hint, it's part of the reason why he left and why he's got a chance to be the Coach Greatwood of our DL for a long time.

Lastly, has it been that long ago that little willie was the football coach that people forget how much of an impact that's had on recruiting? Would Lamar and King make everyone get all warm inside?

I totally dig what you're saying, and, yes, I think of him as the Greatwood of the DL. But I really liked Lamar and King. Hard to say how different they could be that what we got. However, had things stayed the course with Taggart, I'd bet we would have added to the DL haul an Lamar and King would not have been all. Now, this is just a this cycle perspective. I have total faith in Big Joe as a coach. But as a staff, they have to figure out a way to recruit better along the defensive line. I consider it the single most important position group once you take quarterback out of the equation. You should over-recruit at the position and pull a sure thing or two every year. It's hard to do at Oregon, but that's what needs to get done. This year, if it remains the same, isn't cutting it.

Edit: DJ Johnson sort of counts for this year, and he's a great start in the direction we need to be heading. Scott too. We got some guys, but we just got to keep adding and getting depth and getting studs.

BTW: the one knock on Greatwood is people complain his O lines were too small and weak once we played the big boys. The same could be said for Big Joes D lines at WSU.

[karlhungis]

He (and his wife) felt some of his players were unfairly targeted by the Pullman police. From a Spokane Spokesman-Review article last year...

Even more so than most assistant coaches, Salave’a had a paternal role for the players he recruited, many of whom were living far from home and unable to see their families for years at a time.

At various points throughout his four years at WSU, Salave’a made comments that he had a duty to shepherd those players he recruited through college and ensure they graduated. Because he is widely respected in coaching circles he had opportunities to leave, and reportedly turned down overtures from USC and Washington.

But 2016 was a hard year on Salave’a and his wife, Josie. Four of the players he recruited from American Samoa, and took into his home frequently, were arrested for various crimes over the summer prior to the 2016 football season.

The controversy broiled for much of the season. Barber was expelled and then reinstated. Logan Tago was suspended, but his case is now under review. Head coach Mike Leach and other members of the WSU staff felt that football players were being targeted by the Pullman police, making it harder to sell Salave’a’s vision of Pullman as a safe place for American Samoan football players to study and play the game.

Josie Salave’a spoke on Barber’s behalf at a board of regents meeting, saying the controversies had been particularly hard on the Salave’as and the Polynesian community.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/j ... for-orego/

Thanks. I had no idea.