11 days until National Signing Day.
The Ducks are going hard for some great kids that are still uncommitted, but seem to be falling just short on all of them. They’re making the top three and top five on Trey Williams, David Perkins, Shaq Thompson, Arik Armstead, Jaydon Mickens and Thomas Johnson, but it’s looking like they’ll miss out on each for a variety of reasons. Negative recruiting is an insidious force, and opponents hit the Ducks on the specter of NCAA sanctions and the lingering possibility that Chip Kelly might be lured to the NFL. Distance and climate always remain a factor for some recruits, Oregon’s immovable, periennial challenge in the recruiting wars.
Photo left: three years from now, Duck fans won’t remember the kids Oregon missed out on in 2012. They’ll remember the ones that came, including Hawaii defensive end DeForest Buckner, right, and linebacker Bryce Cottrell.
Of the verbal commits, most appear solid, but Ohio State is pursuing strongly on 6-5 Cincinnati, Ohio wide receiver Dwayne Stanford, and defensive end Jeremy Castro is taking an official visit to UCLA this weekend, a school with a new head coach in Jim Mora, within driving distance of his home in Murrieta, California. Both student-athletes remain committed to the Ducks, but could be swayed the other direction in the closing days.
To counteract the negatives, Oregon has to beat the odds with evaluation and development, just like they always have. Turn sharp kids into bigger, better prepared winners. Use the scholarships wisely, emphasizing achievers and competitors. Look up and down the class, and the Ducks don’t have the five-star guy, but they have a number of three and four-stars with athletic ability and the right stuff.
Alex Balducci, Oshay Dunmore and Byron Marshall are the stars of the class and a solid foundation. Oregon didn’t land the big defensive tackle everybody wants, but in the strong, agile Balducci, an Army All-American, and the tall, lean, mature, hard-working Stetzon Bair, the got two coachable guys with great motors, and Oregon and Jerry Azzinaro have a tremendous track record in coaching up guys with that kind of raw material.
Under Chip Kelly, the foundation values in recruiting have been speed, athletic ability, intelligence, work ethic, athletic ability and agility, motor, and coachability. This is his third class, and all three have scored high in those areas. It beats the star system, producing a TEAM that works for results and is adaptable and poised under pressure. Kelly’s squads have a high degree of unity and commitment to team values and goals. It isn’t an accident. This year’s Oregon class may finish no higher than Top 25, but the quality and character will make the class an excellent foundation for continuing the burgeoning tradition.
A year from now, with the NCAA ruling behind them and Aloha’s Thomas Tyner as the jewel of the class, a 1700-yard tailback with state champion sprinter speed, the Ducks are likely to return to the Top Ten in recruiting, particularly if they earn a fourth BCS bowl appearance. This year, they are losing a few close battles, but their strategy is sound and has staying power.
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