Siaki Ika leaving LSU, entering transfer portal

[ncduck]

To be fair, it's the tough reality but pushing certain players out is in the best interest of everyone involved.... If you're the 3rd/4th string X position and there will be 3 more people joining the position next year with high ceilings, what are their chances of getting off the practice team next year? For the player, it's better to be told that so they can get actual playing experience somewhere else to do what they like to do....

Back to Ika, I wonder if we actually have a shot since he left LSU because they ran a 4-3 and it sounded like he wanted to play in a 3-4 setup. Our base is a 4-3?? Utah runs a 4-3 too if that helps so not sure if they're in the running too....

Unless the player wants a degree from their chosen school. Then, not best for everyone.

[GoDucksTroll]

Who decides "meaningful results" for the kid just being on the team may be the thing holding their world together. The coaches recruited them and brought them here and now they throw them to the side because they like someone better. Nope can't go there. At the worst, it's four years maybe five. If someone has to pay for poor judgment on an athlete's future I would rather it was the adults that made that judgment, not the kid. Also, many late bloomers don't show until their junior or senior season and then explode we would miss those as well.

I’m going to sound cold hearted but by the time someone is a redshirt junior they are usually a man, close to a diploma if they don’t have one already. McKinley and Holland both graduated this year, took them 2.5 years - which is amazing. A 21-22 year old who has been in the program that long knows what it takes to succeed and haven’t done it. If they didn’t by then, they never will. Unless injuries have been the cause, which does happen.

If they want to continue to study then take a medical retirement. Team would approve it. If they want to continue to play football then a transfer/grad transfer/move down to FCS will give them a chance. They’re taking up a resource that could be used on a recruit or transfer who wants the chance, or awarded to a deserving walk on. It’s just what happens in college football, both at Oregon and other programs.

Looking at this roster I only see one person who qualifies. Poutasi is a redshirt senior who has played a career total of 46 snaps, in blowouts. Walk on Ryan Walk played more at center in his redshirt freshman year. He’s eligible for a scholarship this year. What if Poutasi takes advantage of the extra corona eligibility and wants to come back for his sixth year? Is the university required to cater to that? Brenden Schooler wanted to redshirt last year, but he was told he could play or transfer.

I support the players getting more money and being able to profit from their likeness. I also think that by being a scholarship recruit and maintaining eligibility/adhering to tram rules they should be guaranteed four years of scholarship. But being on the football team is a privilege for those who continue to earn it.

[jimmy12]

I semi agree. Some of the players who were recruited, and given a scholarship, just didn't pan out. This happens in ever program. Being told you cannot redshirt to take a spot next year is different than you need to get out. IMO if you're offered a scholarship AND the team allows you to redshirt, then you deserve 4-5 years to prove yourself worthy to get on the field.

[SuperDuck]

I semi agree. Some of the players who were recruited, and given a scholarship, just didn't pan out. This happens in ever program. Being told you cannot redshirt to take a spot next year is different than you need to get out. IMO if you're offered a scholarship AND the team allows you to redshirt, then you deserve 4-5 years to prove yourself worthy to get on the field.

I agree. Unfortunately, it's the way things are now. Winning is everything, for the Athletic Department, Coaches, fans, etc. This is a multimillion dollar industry and sometimes coaches will have to make tough decisions. It's the future of a few kids each year vs their job security, and the security of their assistant coaches.

If I were a head coach and my job depended on producing a winner, I'd have no choice but to weed out players every year that obviously aren't going to workout. Depending on the timing, being honest can also be better for those kids, as they may be able to find more playing time, exposure, etc elsewhere.

Regarding timing, that's an area where I think there should be window each year for both players and coaches. That way if a transfer does occur, or a player is forced out, it's less damaging to both parties.

Another thing I'd consider making mandatory is giving each player a minimum of two years in the program so they can have a fair chance, as well as being able to get their Associates Degree. Note: I'm no college expert, but I think two years is what that takes.

Another thought, what if the NCAA mandated that schools only have to offer two year scholarships to recruits, and then make each year afterward not guaranteed?

[UofDuck]

Clearly this notion brings in subjectivity, but there should be some threat of losing a scholarship if a player doesn’t put in the work to improve. I’m not cool with a kid working his arse off, only to lose his scholarship because he just doesn’t have the talent. That is on the coaches in either the kid’s original talent evaluation or their weak coaching. However, I’m fine with a kid losing his scholarship if he’s mailing it in and coasting.


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[GoDucksTroll]

I semi agree. Some of the players who were recruited, and given a scholarship, just didn't pan out. This happens in ever program. Being told you cannot redshirt to take a spot next year is different than you need to get out. IMO if you're offered a scholarship AND the team allows you to redshirt, then you deserve 4-5 years to prove yourself worthy to get on the field.

I agree. Unfortunately, it's the way things are now. Winning is everything, for the Athletic Department, Coaches, fans, etc. This is a multimillion dollar industry and sometimes coaches will have to make tough decisions. It's the future of a few kids each year vs their job security, and the security of their assistant coaches.

If I were a head coach and my job depended on producing a winner, I'd have no choice but to weed out players every year that obviously aren't going to workout. Depending on the timing, being honest can also be better for those kids, as they may be able to find more playing time, exposure, etc elsewhere.

Regarding timing, that's an area where I think there should be window each year for both players and coaches. That way if a transfer does occur, or a player is forced out, it's less damaging to both parties.

Another thing I'd consider making mandatory is giving each player a minimum of two years in the program so they can have a fair chance, as well as being able to get their Associates Degree. Note: I'm no college expert, but I think two years is what that takes.

Another thought, what if the NCAA mandated that schools only have to offer two year scholarships to recruits, and then make each year afterward not guaranteed?

Sorry for sidetracking the convo by the way. I hope we get Ika if the coaches want him and have the space.

Just a few FYIs:

* All athletic scholarships are guaranteed for a minimum of four years. The Pac-12 passed that about five years ago. Previously they were renewed each year.

* U of O offers four year degrees, BAs and BSs, associates degrees are a junior/community college thing. Most people get them in four, some do it in three and others in five. It took me five years, but I had two majors, a full time job for most of it, took off for two quarters to travel, and finished with 16 more credits than I needed, and I wasn’t very responsible or hard working.

* All Duck athletes get incredible access to tutoring. It makes it almost impossible to fail. There have been guys who graduated where the nicest thing you could say about their academics is “functionally literate, most likely.” Academic advisors also steer guys into majors where they don’t have to do anything difficult like math, science, labs, CS, finance, etc.

* One of the drawbacks to my plan is APR: you need to meet minimums of players graduating. Transfers hurt that. Not sure about medical.

[punizhr02]

So the argument for is that Jordon Scott will be moving on after this year, and Popo is as close to a true NT as we have on the rest of the roster. At NT, he'd compete with Kristian Williams and Keyon Ware-Hudson, each of whom is perhaps more in the mold of Austin Faoliu than FatMac.

The argument against is that our DL is big, young, and athletic. Does Ika really make a difference there? Would the scholarship not be better being used on a cornerback, a wide receiver, or an OL if some of the incoming class doesn't pan out?

This feels very much like a luxury pickup. With limited scholarships, do the Ducks have that luxury? I don't know. Could be convinced either way.

My initial thought was a luxury pickup. Then I saw LSU fans lamenting him being gone, and looked up his stats: 13 games with 23 tackles, 2.5 TFL, and 1 sack. Solid rotation player as a true freshman on a more talented team than Oregon against a higher level of competition. You tell Isaah Crocker or Chris Randazzo or someone to medically retire and you take Ika. We have enough WRs and OL in this class. More DBs are good, but can’t pass up a great DT/NT.

Frankly, we are going to be push a number of guys out after this season. The issue is not having enough guys to push out, it's that you can only take in 25 incoming recruits in a 12 month cycle. We sit at 23 commits right now so we only have 2 spots for any other recruit or transfer.

It looks like we are putting the full court press on three propsects: JTT, Bryce Foster, and Ika. I think we'd be thrilled with any 2 of those 3.

[GoDucksTroll]

Any updates on Ika? Utah and BYU fans think he’s heading back home, but those two fan bases have enough delusions to fill a tanker ship so I’ll take that with a grain of salt.

He did retweet the Poly uniforms yesterday with a fire emoji.

On the JTT front it looks like Ohio State leads with us and Alabama still having a shot.

[lukeyrid13]

For JTT, if he wants to stay on the west coast we get him. If we wants to be a package deal with Egkuba, then he will go to tOSU.

[GoDucksTroll]

For JTT, if he wants to stay on the west coast we get him. If we wants to be a package deal with Egkuba, then he will go to tOSU.

Thank you for the update. Latest I saw on Egbuka was this week, and he had eliminated Clemson while still trying to to take an unofficial to Oklahoma - which has three of four WRs committed. It didn’t sound like he was enthused about Washington’s new ground based offense. So it still looks like Ohio State for him.

[buckmarkduck]

Darn, but I think the two positions we lack talent at are DL (specifically the interior) and RB. All the rest of the positions have multiple guys headed to the league (now or in the not too distant future).

This is false. Unfortunately we are sticking with less talented upper classman, instead of playing the better, more talented Fr and So on the DL. Scott has been a major disappointment this year, but Williams and Dorlus show flashes when they get their shot. I think our backups are better than the starters,, we are just being loyal. I alao believe next year our DL will be really good.

[alxtw]

For JTT, if he wants to stay on the west coast we get him. If we wants to be a package deal with Egkuba, then he will go to tOSU.

Had they been talking about playing together?

[GrantDuck]

Darn, but I think the two positions we lack talent at are DL (specifically the interior) and RB. All the rest of the positions have multiple guys headed to the league (now or in the not too distant future).

This is false. Unfortunately we are sticking with less talented upper classman, instead of playing the better, more talented Fr and So on the DL. Scott has been a major disappointment this year, but Williams and Dorlus show flashes when they get their shot. I think our backups are better than the starters,, we are just being loyal. I alao believe next year our DL will be really good.

SlimmedMac and Faoliu have been the largest disappointments on the defense(along with Pickett).

Supposed to be senior leaders but stinking up the joint.

Problem with the young kids is they're running themselves out of plays constantly since we didn't have their normal reps as young guys this year.

[alxtw]

Darn, but I think the two positions we lack talent at are DL (specifically the interior) and RB. All the rest of the positions have multiple guys headed to the league (now or in the not too distant future).

This is false. Unfortunately we are sticking with less talented upper classman, instead of playing the better, more talented Fr and So on the DL. Scott has been a major disappointment this year, but Williams and Dorlus show flashes when they get their shot. I think our backups are better than the starters,, we are just being loyal. I alao believe next year our DL will be really good.

SlimmedMac and Faoliu have been the largest disappointments on the defense(along with Pickett).

Supposed to be senior leaders but stinking up the joint.

Problem with the young kids is they're running themselves out of plays constantly since we didn't have their normal reps as young guys this year.

Pickett has probably been the worse of of the returning players and actually regressed from last year. Been exposed even more, now that three of our four top DBs chose to opt out.

[OregonFan4Life]

For JTT, if he wants to stay on the west coast we get him. If we wants to be a package deal with Egkuba, then he will go to tOSU.

Just what tOSU needs with their already monster class, two top 10 players! Gotta love recruiting. Even though Mario has done amazing things for Oregon recruiting it'll still be hard to match what the likes of Bama, tOSU, and Clemson do. Maybe someday, but those three teams recruit at a level that's currently impossible for Oregon to match.

Still hoping for Oregon to land Ika and either Foreman or JTT! Landing Ika would feel like a 5 star recruit.