Oregon recruiting: breaking down the Oregon defensive line class

Special Guest Post by Michael “pdxforlife” McCoy

[Editor’s note: Michael McCoy is a lifelong Duck fan who lives in Southern California and follows recruiting closely. This is his second feature for The Duck Stops Here, and he’s a frequent and valued contributor in our comments section. In this story he analyzes the Oregon recruiting class at defensive line, which has a been a bugaboo and a bone of contention among fans for many years. “Why can’t Oregon recruit any more stud defensive lineman?” fans ask, but as McCoy points out, this year they may be doing exactly that.]

Photo left: Oregon d-line coach Jerry Azzinaro teaches with a fierce heart, bonding with his players like few in the country. The former martial artist is a master of technique, having molded Dwight Freeney and Brandon Bair into NFL players (247sports.com photo).

Defensive Linemen to be excited for:

1. Jeremy Castro: such an awesome motor. He’s should be awesome at Turner’s position. Good speed and solid technique at shedding blocks and getting to the ball handler. Should be a beast with some Radcliffe work and time under Azz’s tutelage. Already 6’3″, 245 lbs. Could be a solid 260-265 lbs and wreak absolute havoc. Great steal from the Dawgs and is pretty underrated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PSuZh1ibk

2. Stetzon Bair: still can’t believe this kid went under the radar the way he did. Can’t believe we’re getting this kid as a 4 to play 3. Count on PAC12 coaches to start scouting this Iowa CC to see which gems Oregon is stashing for development. Already 6’9″, 275 lbs. We could be talking a 300-320 lb monster when it’s all said and done. Great ranginess and speed for a big fellow of his size. You can see his wrestling background in his moves and the way he takes down ball carriers. Impeccable bloodlines as well. Oregon coaches hit an absolute home run with this kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q_AWDmh7e58

3. Alex Balducci: 6’5″, 265 lbs. Not particularly fleet of foot for a DE, especially in Oregon’s system. Would not be surprised to see him move inside but could also see some time potentially at Turner’s position. Get this get this kid in the 285-290 range and he could be a very formidable player for the Ducks. Has good moves and could be very effective with a few years in the system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NC4kNJ21jA

4. TJ Daniel: 6’7, 240 lbs. Hard to tell how good his moves are from his highlights because the scrubs he’s going against literally never block him. Still tho, the kid has good speed for the incredible size he has. Slightly slower but stronger Dion Jordan. (Read fishduck’s analysis of our D to get an idea how a kid like Jordan operates so well. http://fishduck.com/2011/06/fish-report-oregon%E2%80%99s-new-defense/). This kid should be a very solid rotational kid for us.

5. Cody Carriger: 6’7, 230 lbs. No tape on him and hearing from lots of sources he’ll end up at TE.

As far as recruiting going forward, if we land Deforest Buckner (likely), Arik Armstead (decent shot), or Ellis McCarthy (unlikely), you can book this as the best DLine recruiting class Oregon has ever pulled (assuming they all qualify which 2007s could not). [100% of Chip Kelly’s first two recruiting classes qualified academically and successfully enrolled at Oregon-ed.]

For those of you who think that Jerry Azzinaro is a poor recruiter DLine recruiter, I think it may be time to give a little bit of a break. The dude might not be the most charismatic in the PAC12 but he’s going to continue to get better (had zero ties to the West at all coming in. CK would not have brought him in if he didn’t think he could handle it. For the record, I also love the idea of bringing in a dude like Terrell Turner later on for recruiting. He’d be unstoppable).

Azzinaro will be able to continually point to the great success in his kids as the CK recruiting classes mature and we start getting more recognition for DLine play. He’s working at a disadvantage versus USC, CAL, and UCLA and his unit is producing more sacks than any other in the PAC12 and is 3rd nationally. Oregon is becoming a national brand and it won’t be long until recruits will have grown up seeing Oregon as a dominant program their entire time as college football fans.

Allioti, Pellum, Azz, and Neal have something special building on defense and it’s just beginning. The depth we’re seeing is unbelievable and the speed is going to be fantastic between our DLs, LBs, and DBs. The best is yet to come. Cannot believe we’re going to get this kid for 4 years. Watch out PAC12. Oregon with a dominant defense is going to be an awful thing to go against.