Expectations are a funny thing. The Ducks signed a class full of fast, talented athletes who are excited to play here, but there's a frenzy of misplaced hysteria on the blogs and message boards about who they didn't get. They were close or in the running on a number of athletes who wound up elsewhere, particularly Delvon Simmons, Chris Heyward, Lamar Dawson, and Marqis Lee. To add to the alarm, Heyward, Dawson and Lee all wound up at USC. De'Anthony Thomas is slated to make his announcement just after the evening news, and that one will make a major swing in the perception. It's like tacking on a late touchdown on a 76-yard run.
Anybody check the recent record of Oregon versus USC over the last four seasons? Who's won the conference two years running, and likely to be favored for a third? To read the doom-and-gloom and "fire coach Azz" on the Register-Guard football blog, you'd think the Ducks just finished a couple of seasons like Oregon State or Cal.
In a given season, there are perhaps 10 to fifteen top-flight defensive tackles in the country. There are simply not enough 6-7 high school seniors who weigh 270 lbs. or more and run the 40 in 4.9 or faster. Haloti Ngatas and Igor Olshanskys are not available every season. This recruiting class, the Ducks added a ready-to-play Jared Ebert, a four-star DT from Iowa Western JC, and very significantly, they retained freshman Ricky Heimuli, 6-4, 318. Heimuli, who considered going on his Mormon mission, has a year in the program and appeared in all 13 games last season.
By retaining one and acquiring the other, the Ducks achieved more impact than if they had succeeded in signing Byers, Simmons or Heyward. These two are 1) ready to play and 2) want to be here. Heimuli has adjusted to the Oregon practice routine and learned the system. He'll be motivated by the opportunity to compete for a starting role. Ebert is a solid, athletic 285, preparing to attend spring practice. Wade Keliikipi, 6-2 289, and Taylor Hart 6 6 262 will be redshirt sophomores this fall. Both made the rotation this last season and contributed. Each has the frame and desire to get stronger and expand their role. JC transfer Isaac Remington has had a year to get acclimated and may round out the rotation.
The "fire coach Azz" salvos are the most ridiculous. First, Oregon organizes its recruiting by regions rather than positions, and the entire staff participates in the evaluation process. Azzinaro tutored Brandon Bair, a converted tight end and then defensive end, into an all-league player. Remember all those batted and deflected passes the defensive line had all year? That's technique, taught by a master position coach. His four frontline tackles will all improve significantly in 2011, and so will the entire defense. They've add even more speed and more athletic ability, and some stars of the future with freakish potential.
The real proof of a recruiting class is three years down the road, but there is a lot to like in this one. The Ducks got solid football players and hard workers. They recruited playmakers, including the fleetest, most talented set of wide receivers in school history. WR Devon Blackmon was talented enough to play five positions in high school, including quarterback. Tacoi Sumler is perhaps the fastest recruit in the nation, electronically timed in the 40 at 4.24. 6-5 Colt Lyerla has a 40-inch vertical leap and can take two steps and jump on top of 62-inch high table. Offensive lineman Jake Fisher was a major last minute addition, and should obliterate any suggestion that the coaching staff "failed to close." Coach Kelly said he was athletic enough to play tight end in high school, a kid sought after by Michigan, Michigan State and Florida. The Duck coaching staff picked the kids Oregon needed and wanted. The future of the program is more than safe.
They addressed all their areas of need with this class, wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker. They've brought in five gifted wide receivers and five athletic offensive linemen. There is plenty of reason to be excited about Colt Lyerla, Anthony Wallace, Devon Blackmon, Andre Y, Christian French, and Marcus Mariota. In three years we'll know, but there will be major contributors that emerge from these 23. As we've gotten to see a little of their video and read something of their stories, we see how well they fit the Oregon philosophy and the Oregon program.
It doesn't matter who signed elsewhere. These guys are the new Ducks. Chip summed it succinctly as he always does:
“Great players win games, but great people win championships”
Oregon has signed great players who are great people, and the pride fans feel in this team and this university can only grow.
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