Let's stop and think about this

[jasnwip]

Guys dthomas brought up a good point and I wanted to expand on it a bit. Please forgive me as I may get a little long winded here. I know we are all very dissapointed in losing Wheaton, Boyd, and a few other guys we felt we may have gotten but I wanted to bring up a couple of points. I don't believe we could have dreamed just a few short years ago to have the success that we have had this year in recruiting with the huge changes that we are going through. We get rid of two of our coaches, announce that the man that has lead us to unparralled success the last 15 years is stepping down, Chip who we all love but two years ago I had never heard of( and I am a huge college football guy) is taking over, we have had some major quarterback injury problems the last few years and with all of that we still landed one of the highest rated corners in the country, a couple really highly rated LB's, a stud safety(who because of admissions we lost), another highly rated corner, probably the best punter and kickers in the country, and maybe Gaines and Jackson at wideout. We also were one of three finalists for one of the top 3 QB's in the country and are still in the running for the #1 overall player in the country. I really believe that if we step back and look at what we have accomplished this year with all of the changes that are going on we did really well and have set ourselves up for a huge recruiting year next year. I do believe that next years success is dependant on us living up to expectations on the field next year. I am all in all very excited about things......Go Ducks!!

[briarduck]

Well said and I completely agree!

We just need to keep winning and the rest will take care of its self! I just love the fact that recruits all over the nation (TX, FL CA ect.) are getting excited about the prospects about playing at The O!

I think recruiting next year will be amazing if we have another 9+ win season and win our bowl game in exciting fashion!

GO DUCKS!!

[ivegottabigduck]

That is a very long paragraph.

[ducksvb6]

Jasnwip,

Absolutely the right attitude. We are gaining momentum every year.

While it might not seem like it's related the potential for an indoor track facilty could be a huge advantage for football as the football / track sprinters would have a place to practice. Many choose warm weather schools because it is very difficult to avoid injuries in cold weather. Also the baseball program will attract dual sport athletes after the stadium is complete.

"penjamin" keeps posting be "O Positve", I am. We should dream big but also accept that our standards are at a new level. We are competing with the best for recruits and the best are hard to beat. We could probably get every two start athlete we wanted but we are pursuing 4s and 5s. There are fewer at that level and the competition is fierce.

[jasnwip]

yea, yea. I knew there would be at least one wise guy in here.

[dthomas=ddixon]

Thanks for giving me credit janswip I have actually been really impressed with the recruiting work our coaches have done. The non-qualifiers that were coming here but had to go some where else, normally have been devastating. Along with, not just having coaching changes but also not getting any replacements in the meantime. I think that is the most impressive thing, to take those hits & just keep plugging away & getting other guys. Great job by Chip & co.

[woundedknees]

I think we need to give the coaches credit for analyzing some of the lesser known, lower rated guys, as well.

I think there is strong evidence that when they do pass on some higher rated kids, it is because the coaches see something the rest of us may not be privy to... i.e. LaMichael James and LaGarrette Blount.
Admit it... Before Oregon started recruiting those guys, none of us had a clue who they were. Now they are household names around here.

[Pontius]

I am disappointed with how recruiting has gone on this year. I refuse to blame any of the shortcomings on what has transpired with the coaching staff. The end result is still a class that will rank in the middle of the Pac-10. Oregon has done well in finding talents and coaching them up, but I'm also not blind to what can happen when recruiting classes aren't up to par, i.e. Oregon from 2002-2004. We will see how this class turns out but I don't see reason to sugarcoat the failures in recruiting. How well these players are coached up will go a long way towards future success and I'm also not blind to the fact of that possibility. I'd also imagine that the coaches aren't exactly thrilled with how recruiting has turned out this season and I doubt they are rationalizing to themselves the successes of this year when they've missed on so many recruits that they spent time on.

But finding reasons to be positive is not a bad thing. There are plenty of reasons to be excited with the talent on hand and the high-caliber interest from the 2010 class.

[Greenblood]

C'mon, Pontius: Sugarcoat! Sugarcoat!

[MFRDuckFan]

It's okay to delve into the disappointment momentarily, then move on and be positive about that which you can have influence over. Point being we don't want to be anyone's consolation prize. We want to be the brass ring for the kids that will give us everything they've got. It's kids like that that will bring us all of the wins we seek and take this team to the next level. Nobody heard of Masoli or even LGB for that matter. Looks like they've turned out pretty darn good. I will welcome this new class with open arms & be a great Duck fan of support. They chose the Ducks, they're top of my list!! For those that did not commit to us, it's their loss.

[way2krdn8d]

Exactly. Who knows? maybe the 2 JC DT's and L.Tunei (sp?) will be like T.scott or LGB or Jmasoli. Maybe we land gaines. Maybe BLittle- is an absolute force and becomes an AA.

You never know.... my guess is that L.Tunei contributes in a big way right off the bat...

[NCDucks09]

I think we need to give the coaches credit for analyzing some of the lesser known, lower rated guys, as well.

I think there is strong evidence that when they do pass on some higher rated kids, it is because the coaches see something the rest of us may not be privy to... i.e. LaMichael James and LaGarrette Blount.
Admit it... Before Oregon started recruiting those guys, none of us had a clue who they were. Now they are household names around here.

Last year when Oregon was recruiting L.James and L.Blount, they were huge grabs! I was following James' commitment to us to the point of hearing a pin drop. Blount was a 4 Star JC guy, and we all knew he would replace the Thunder that just left (Snoop). Watching highlights of the jitterbug with break-away speed in L.James was enough to sell me. He's a little small, but can put on weight.

I'm really looking forward to Ethan Grant, that kid is going to be ELECTRIC!

Bryce would be the guy to start for 3-4 years then go Pro, and would be complimented by James and Grant. Grant may even be converted to WR if we got Brown.

One under the radar guy we all should look forward to watching next year is Tuinei, 6'5", 200lbs, and runs a 4.5s 40. Big grab, underneath everyone's noses.

[neezy3]

Jhop said it best "second place in recruiting means nothing" i think the coaches kinda let us down this year imo... yeah we had to replace a couple coaches and mike b might be stepping down but this jc stuff has got to stop. we've lost like 5 kids the last two years because they dont know what the requirements are. We could have waited till Loi day before announcing all of this stuff and maybe things would have been different but im glad we did it and they can move on and find other jobs. They've done a good job filling positions of need, but things are only getting tougher in socal with all the competion. After looking at last years class compared to this one and the season's we've had i think we took a step back. Glad to have what we got and best of luck to these kids though, we'll have to wait a couple years before we can really say. GO DUCKS

[VinnyKnuckles]

I think we need to give the coaches credit for analyzing some of the lesser known, lower rated guys, as well.

I think there is strong evidence that when they do pass on some higher rated kids, it is because the coaches see something the rest of us may not be privy to... i.e. LaMichael James and LaGarrette Blount.
Admit it... Before Oregon started recruiting those guys, none of us had a clue who they were. Now they are household names around here.

I hear what you are saying, but like NCDucks09 pointed out, James and Blount weren't lower rated guys. James was a 4 star player on Rivals and ranked the #12 all-purpose back in the country, ahead of players such as Jizz Rodgers. Blount was a 4 star player and considered by many to be the #1 JC running back in the country.

Guys like Dante Rosario and Igor were truly lesser known guys that turned out to be very good players for the Ducks. Hopefully Keaton Arden, another player that was completely off the radar screen, follows that same path.

[ncduck]

At some point we should be stop blaming the coaching staff for the academic failures of JC student athletes. If they can't muster the desire to meet standards, how can they be trusted to have the desire to be competitive on the feild against D1 talent.

Yes, keep going after the JC guys if needed. However, I would prefer to have them coming learning the system here at Oregon instead of a JC for two.