Mario said he hired Andy Avalos after he was impressed by the defense that beat him.
Repeat.
If you think this is a stupid way to find new coordinators... You’re right. But at least he didn’t hire the Willingham Search Firm.
Avalos' body of work was pretty solid. I don't follow them closely enough to quote stats and rankings; but from a dead reckoning standpoint, they seemed to have gotten better on his watch.
The issue with Oregon, then and now, relates to what somebody else wrote about Washington's roster: while there is clearly elite talent at several positions on the field, there are also holes. In Oregon's case, they don't have enough above-average D linemen, and it's been an obvious hole in their recruiting. Note I'm not including Tibedough in that assessment. He's a beast. But if Jordan Scott is still in your starting lineup, you know you have a short-fall at that position.
And that's an important point IMO: over the years of watching cfb, it has been my rather obvious observation that impact D linemen make everybody on the field behind them, as well as all the coaches in the booth, look good. Yeah Avalos had other good players, but Oregon's ability to bring pressure on the interior line, and stuff the run, has been average at best the last few seasons.
Mario should be all in on that position; problem is, unlike DBs and linebackers, great D linemen do not grow on trees.
The recruiting there is good enough. It’s that 11/14 DL are in the last two classes.
Mario said he hired Andy Avalos after he was impressed by the defense that beat him.
Repeat.
If you think this is a stupid way to find new coordinators... You’re right. But at least he didn’t hire the Willingham Search Firm.
Avalos' body of work was pretty solid. I don't follow them closely enough to quote stats and rankings; but from a dead reckoning standpoint, they seemed to have gotten better on his watch.
The issue with Oregon, then and now, relates to what somebody else wrote about Washington's roster: while there is clearly elite talent at several positions on the field, there are also holes. In Oregon's case, they don't have enough above-average D linemen, and it's been an obvious hole in their recruiting. Note I'm not including Tibedough in that assessment. He's a beast. But if Jordan Scott is still in your starting lineup, you know you have a short-fall at that position.
And that's an important point IMO: over the years of watching cfb, it has been my rather obvious observation that impact D linemen make everybody on the field behind them, as well as all the coaches in the booth, look good. Yeah Avalos had other good players, but Oregon's ability to bring pressure on the interior line, and stuff the run, has been average at best the last few seasons.
Mario should be all in on that position; problem is, unlike DBs and linebackers, great D linemen do not grow on trees.
You don’t need great talent from a skill set at interior line. Just recruit a 350-375 pound fat ass, and let him be an immovable object.
Agree that DT is mostly a size, strength, and motor position. A problem for most schools including UW and Oregon is finding 300+ pounders that actually play hard every down and don’t get tired after 5 plays. There aren’t very many, especially on the West Coast.
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