Recruits buzzing about Oregon's spring game

[duckfan22]

Cristobal says all the right things. He checks all the boxes in terms of likability, work ethic, appearing to be sincere and intelligent, etc. If coaches could win championships by looking and sounding the part, the Ducks would be contenders. Unfortunately, the epic bowl game debacle he presided over, after assuring people the Ducks were going to "send a message" and were having their best practices of the season, makes it nearly impossible to take him seriously. Until I see some things taking place during actual games that gives me confidence he has any sort of clue what he is doing, everything else (recruiting buzz, interviews, etc.) goes in one ear and out the other.

And Chip’s even worse debacle at BSU after an entire spring and fall to prepare was what?

What was Cristobal going to do come up with all the excuses why his team
wouldn't be ready ? of course he's going to spin it in a positive direction.

Now he's had a spring and the upcoming fall. Lets give the team a chance before
we pass judgement.

[Phenom]

TBH, my biggest concern was letting Royce be a part of the LV Bowl after he said he wasn't participating. He was a dude that had mentally checked out and I'm afraid it transferred over to the other guys.

That being said, the offense looked 100x better than in the LV Bowl. Especially the passing game. Much more diverse than Willie's screen or deep ball game.

[FlDuckFan]

TBH, my biggest concern was letting Royce be a part of the LV Bowl after he said he wasn't participating. He was a dude that had mentally checked out and I'm afraid it transferred over to the other guys.

That being said, the offense looked 100x better than in the LV Bowl. Especially the passing game. Much more diverse than Willie's screen or deep ball game.

That whole scenario was weird.

[Groundswell]

Cristobal says all the right things. He checks all the boxes in terms of likability, work ethic, appearing to be sincere and intelligent, etc. If coaches could win championships by looking and sounding the part, the Ducks would be contenders. Unfortunately, the epic bowl game debacle he presided over, after assuring people the Ducks were going to "send a message" and were having their best practices of the season, makes it nearly impossible to take him seriously. Until I see some things taking place during actual games that gives me confidence he has any sort of clue what he is doing, everything else (recruiting buzz, interviews, etc.) goes in one ear and out the other.

And Chip’s even worse debacle at BSU after an entire spring and fall to prepare was what?

I almost guarantee you Chip wasn't telling the team how special they were and how they'd had their best practices. I do think fans need to make the coaches prove it on the field before they start buying into the hype.

[Phenom]

Cristobal says all the right things. He checks all the boxes in terms of likability, work ethic, appearing to be sincere and intelligent, etc. If coaches could win championships by looking and sounding the part, the Ducks would be contenders. Unfortunately, the epic bowl game debacle he presided over, after assuring people the Ducks were going to "send a message" and were having their best practices of the season, makes it nearly impossible to take him seriously. Until I see some things taking place during actual games that gives me confidence he has any sort of clue what he is doing, everything else (recruiting buzz, interviews, etc.) goes in one ear and out the other.

And Chip’s even worse debacle at BSU after an entire spring and fall to prepare was what?

I almost guarantee you Chip wasn't telling the team how special they were and how they'd had their best practices. I do think fans need to make the coaches prove it on the field before they start buying into the hype.

No s***?

[Duck07]

"Makes its nearly impossible to take him seriously."

Anyone whom you have that much suspicion for will never truly gain any credibility. Might as well just start a Fire CMC campaign.

[GoDucksIn09]

I do agree that Cristobal has to prove it on the field. He needs to be given a decent chance to do so though. Can make a 100 excuses for the Las Vegas bowl. Let us see what the fall brings.

[Alan]

"Makes its nearly impossible to take him seriously."

Anyone whom you have that much suspicion for will never truly gain any credibility. Might as well just start a Fire CMC campaign.

I wonder who will be the first to call for Mario's head? I like him and I like what he is doing with the coaching staff and recruiting..... that should filter down to his players. The LV bowl was a complete cluster and a near hopeless situation after what slick pulled and in hindsight I'm down on Royce for his stunt.

[greenyellow]

247Sports article about Cristobal's recruiting approach:
https://247sports.com/college/oregon/Bo ... -117696909

[duckfan22]

247Sports article about Cristobal's recruiting approach:
https://247sports.com/college/oregon/Bo ... -117696909

thanks for sharing Green a very good insight into how they approach recruiting

[nogerO]

TBH, my biggest concern was letting Royce be a part of the LV Bowl after he said he wasn't participating. He was a dude that had mentally checked out and I'm afraid it transferred over to the other guys.

That being said, the offense looked 100x better than in the LV Bowl. Especially the passing game. Much more diverse than Willie's screen or deep ball game.

That whole scenario was weird.

I said it then and I'll say it now. If Royce would have played in that game I honestly think we win it. I was chastised for it but I stick by it.

[pezsez1]

I said it then and I'll say it now. If Royce would have played in that game I honestly think we win it. I was chastised for it but I stick by it.

I'm not even remotely "in the know" like some here are... but I just fail to see how Royce's decision to not play could have had any serious negative impact.

I mean, yes, from a sheer "talent on the field" perspective, having Royce gives you a better chance of winning than not having Royce. But this is a guy who gave his body and maximum effort ALL SEASON LONG, even during that painful stretch when Braxton was starting and Slick Willie couldn't game plan the offense out of a wet paper bag.

I'm of the opinion that Royce probably should have shut himself down midway through the season, once it became clear Willie intended to use him as a battering ram for no real schematic advantage. Did Royce playing his senior year honestly help his draft stock? No.

I just can't believe that Royce's Oregon teammates don't understand this. They'd clearly understand everything at stake with his need to be ready for the NFL, right?

I get it that some of these young men are literally months away from being legally identifiable as children, and that my view on this might be clouded by maturity and life experience, but still... I just don't see Royce's absence being an honest negative besides losing his on-field contributions.

[alxtw]

I said it then and I'll say it now. If Royce would have played in that game I honestly think we win it. I was chastised for it but I stick by it.

I'm not even remotely "in the know" like some here are... but I just fail to see how Royce's decision to not play could have had any serious negative impact.

I mean, yes, from a sheer "talent on the field" perspective, having Royce gives you a better chance of winning than not having Royce. But this is a guy who gave his body and maximum effort ALL SEASON LONG, even during that painful stretch when Braxton was starting and Slick Willie couldn't game plan the offense out of a wet paper bag.

I'm of the opinion that Royce probably should have shut himself down midway through the season, once it became clear Willie intended to use him as a battering ram for no real schematic advantage. Did Royce playing his senior year honestly help his draft stock? No.

I just can't believe that Royce's Oregon teammates don't understand this. They'd clearly understand everything at stake with his need to be ready for the NFL, right?

I get it that some of these young men are literally months away from being legally identifiable as children, and that my view on this might be clouded by maturity and life experience, but still... I just don't see Royce's absence being an honest negative besides losing his on-field contributions.

I think after Slick slithered to FSU and with the remaining staff's status up in the air, Royce saw no reason to be loyal to the staff and help to play in the bowl game. He probably saw from Slick wheeling and dealing, that at the end of the day this is a business and made the best decision for himself from a business standpoint. My guess is he stayed with the team and wanted to still be involved on the sidelines during the bowl game because of his loyalty to his teammates and the fans. Had Royce known that the bowl games wasn't going to be a walk in the park, the ugly loss would have huge negative ramifications on recruits flipping or signing with other schools, and the remaining staff would stay intacted at UO, I think he might have risked it and played in the bowl game. Looking back at that time, there was alot of uncertainty around the program and the media portrayed it as about to fall apart. So with not much upside for himself and the program, I think Royce made the best decision at that time.

[Duck07]

Shutting it down mid-season is just poor and the problem with the Vegas Bowl was that he made the decision to practice. He needed to have made that decision before the team left. While not all teams will question the decision, some will.

[GrantDuck]

The Royce Freeman was a distraction stuff is among the stupidest stuff I've seen in message board history.

Royce was a great player for us, who gave everything each time out, came back for his senior season when he didn't have to, and didn't risk his career for an exhibition game but still wanted to be there with his teammates. Nothing more to be said.