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"The Dirt" On Oregon
AZDuck
Member Posts: 15,381
Trigger warning. I haven't read this yet. I literally saw it, cut-and-pasted, and poasted.
So I've spent the weekend thinking about this column specifically. It actually is one I don't like writing, much to the surprise of many.
To be honest, with as much negativity as I've seen on DuckTerritory of late, I really regretted saying I'd write this update. Because my fear is it will further perpetuate what's already spiraling out of control.
Am I concerned about Oregon signing a 28th ranked recruiting class? Am I concerned about Oregon going 9-4 last season? Coaching turnover, questionable depth chart issues and just a number of... let's call them yellow flags, not red flags.
Yes, I'm concerned. Probably not in the way some of you are slamming the 'panic button' but my eyebrows are raised at the very least. I don't see anything that can't be fixed. In fact, I think if the ship is righted, it's very easy to get things back on track from my perspective.
But a culmination of unfortunate events got Oregon to 9-4. It also led Oregon to one of the biggest losses in Bowl game history. And then followed Oregon on the recruiting trail with the 2016 class.
One of my favorite quotes is: 'Luck is the residue of hard work by design.'
Chip's debut as head coach wasn't exactly ideal.
I'm not suggesting this staff isn't working hard. But what I am suggesting is there are some reasons to be concerned, but not enough to justify full-on meltdown mode at every little tidbit of bad news.
There's been a lot of 'bad luck' that has come Oregon's way in the last two years.
It's pretty fortunate for most of you cooler heads are in charge or else would Chip Kelly have even made it to his second game as Oregon's head coach? But when do you have to analyze where things are going and is it working? Oregon can't afford a massive slide. It's taken too long to come this far and every step backwards is monumental for Oregon.
Without further ado, here's a little bit of 'dirt' for the 2016 recruiting cycle.
The Dirt
Let's start with the 'over-signing' statement by Helfrich. On signing day he announced the class and said Oregon was '1 over.' Which I'm sure is probably sort of true.
Conveniently enough Tyner announced his retirement the next day, something we'd been saying was coming since he didn't enroll last Fall.
What I don't like is the fact Helfrich seems to suggest they were full and wouldn't take any more recruits in the class. Or that Oregon didn't miss on any remaining targets. Well, the staff would have taken Caleb Kelly, Calvin Bundage and Prince Sammons if they wanted to jump on board. So if that would have put them two or three over, they would have figured it out.
Malepeai didn't even let the coaches know he would be signing with USC. (Photo: 247Sports)
The only issue I have is the amount of 'spin control' that seems to be flowing from a lot of these press conferences these days.
Speaking of over signing, Vavae Malepeai might be a sore subject. Most of you read my report indicating he took the trip to USC and didn't tell the coaches. Which is 100-percent true. But Oregon still would have taken him even after the secret trip. Additionally when he committed to USC on National Signing Day, he didn't even bother to call the Oregon coaches to tell them, or decommit or anything of that nature.
Now before we all go piling on a 17 year old kid stuck making his biggest choice. I'll agree it probably wasn't handled to perfection, which ultimately isn't on the kid alone. But secondly and more importantly, how did Oregon let it get that far? Remember when I told you all Oregon would miss Chinander. Guess who was Malepeai's primary recruiter? Who pounded his chest trying to get Helfrich to offer Malepeai in the first place?
Well, it wasn't Campbell.
Did Oregon forget to make one of its prized commits a priority in the late stretches?
I'm willing to assign some blame to both sides, but one source told me "I don't know how it happened, that thing was all done but the ink drying."
So there is one decommit. Oregon also lost Theo Howard, Jared Mayden, Troy Warner and Eddie McDoom in this recruiting cycle. That's about 19 stars in total from that group counting Malepeai. That group would have pushed Oregon into the top 20 around No. 19 overall.
Technically they lost Nigel Knott, Dylan Crawford and Seth Green as well. We all know the story on Green and Oregon picking McDoom over Crawford. Oregon had no issue passing over on Crawford on multiple occasions, whether it be for McDoom or simply holding the spot. McDoom slit his own throat when he said he wanted to visit Michigan. Being as he was not a huge need in this class, Oregon was happy to let him walk.
Jordan Parker's room was filled with Oregon posters. (Photo: 247Sports)
Although a source told me on McDoom, "That kid was so hot for Oregon I have no idea how that even happened."
Did Harbaugh get the best of Oregon as some suggest? Not really. He signed two players Oregon wasn't wild about.
Strange how the 'No Visits' clause works when convenient.
Some of you are wondering why I included Nigel Knott. At one point he was a silent commit. However Oregon knew it was worth about as much as the paper it was printed on. Ultimately he signed with Bama after it became clear his mom wasn't letting him leave the South. Multiple sources tell me Knott and his dad wanted him at Oregon.
While we're talking about defensive backs. How would you feel about this class if it included Jordan Parker and Chacho Ulloa? Probably a lot better. Those are two players John Neal fought to offer only to be told No by Helfrich. Parker grew up an Oregon fan. So much so his room was filled with Oregon posters and pictures. I'm talking this kid would have been a slam dunk, done deal.
Oregon didn't offer Shurod Thompson due to character concerns. Which were probably legitimately justified. However because he was at Pittsburg when Oregon evaluated him, Helfrich had concerns Parker might have some of the same traits. Paranoid or justified?
As for Ulloa, Oregon saw him last Spring and really liked him. He wasn't a fall-back after Mayden de-committed. In fact Neal wanted to offer him in the Spring but had Warner committed and Mayden was about to be. Once again he was told No by the boss and now Oregon will face him when they play Arizona.
Like Parker, Ulloa was a done deal, slam dunk if Oregon offers. And furthermore, with Oregon missing on Javon McKinley, it would have done Oregon well to sign another Corona Centennial player which has been a good high school to the Ducks. Guess what, 2017 5-Star wide receiverTyjon Lindsey is there now, so you never know how that might have helped.
How good would Aaron Hansford look on Oregon's commit list right now? (Photo: 247Sports)
One last player Helfrich said no to at defensive back was Kenney Lyke. The Michigan State signee was very high on Oregon. I don't want to say he was a slam dunk like Ulloa and Parker, but Oregon probably was the team to beat. Additionally Lyke was an early enrollee.
With Oregon only signing Brady Breeze at defensive back (whom I like), these are the gaps created in recruiting that now plague center and have plagued quarterback.
A pattern or just more 'bad luck?'
Mark my words Michael Pittman is going to be the one Oregon wishes they didn't let get away. Ultimately that was just USC beating out the Ducks. Chinander did all he could to keep him in the boat. The same for Theo Howard, that was just a kid wanting to play in So Cal. There just isn't much you can do about that.
The other one that will hurt is Aaron Hansford, who signed with Texas A&M. Oregon had him in the bag and knew about his preference to play wide receiver much before it was public. Once that became the issue, Oregon (Helfrich) basically moved on from Hansford. So what I'm saying is, he's another guy the Ducks could have in the fold. Will it end up being a good choice or a bad choice? Only time will tell.
Oregon passed on Tyson Rising after he checked in much shorter than the 6-foot-5, he promoted. Ducks liked Tramonda Moore too but there was no way he was getting in academically.
Michael Alves is another the Ducks walked away from. His body shape was less than desirable and additionally he had some quirky personality concerns.
Brandon Bowen tried to commit to Oregon several times. However the staff cooled on him and wasn't ready to take his commitment at the time. I'm not saying this was all on Helfrich in this instance, but these decisions all fall on his shoulders in the end.
Bryce Youngquist, do I even need to say it? Oregon let him walk to Oklahoma. Now the only thing that might keep this one from truly stinging is the unfortunate circumstances around Youngquist and the fact he might not end up playing college football ever.
Multiple sources tell me Brady Hoke thought Connor Murphy would be a tackle, not a defensive lineman. Now once Chinander left, I didn't think Oregon had a shot any more anyways. But we'll see how that plays out regardless as Oregon will be facing him at USC.
This really isn't, 'Dirt' but how in the world does Oregon not recruit Lamar Jackson? An elite safety just down I-5 and you let him walk to Nebraska? And yes, Oregon stopped recruiting him in early January. Otherwise he would have visited.
Lastly and I won't release much more even if I find out the complete truth, but following the Alamo bowl loss, things got ugly internally. And quick. Chinander's sudden departure for UCF, Pellum being demoted instantly from his DC perch.
Those weren't just coincidences.
For those of you that think Helfrich is safe, he is for now. But eyes are watching closely.
And I'm not sure the No. 28 ranked recruiting class in the nation helped the cause much.
Comments
This is the beginning, so it's lame
This article is riddled with someone that doesn't know what the hell they are talking about. Let's start.
Malepeai didn't even let the coaches know he would be signing with USC. He lied to your coaches on the phone and then immediately got on a plane to SC. I posted he was gone...but UO coaches and fans didn't know? F you are dumb.
Some of you are wondering why I included Nigel Knott. At one point he was a silent commit. No he wasn't. Silent commit is the biggest myth out there.
Oregon didn't offer Shurod Thompson due to character concerns. Uh huh.
The pressing issues for Oregon are Hoke and the defense along with the QB transfer. If those pan out, Oregon will do what they have been doing for awhile. If they don't, Oregon will kind of suck. Either way it will be interesting.
And also, because it's kinda fun to see someone else having a bad day. I think the Internet proved that