Oregon Football: Ducks' Recruits Promise Bright Future

Matt Kilby — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:59:52 -0500

Oregon continued its trend of signing consistently better recruits Wednesday.

Head coach Mike Bellotti inked one five-star recruit, seven four-star recruits, nine three-star recruits, and an additional three two-star recruits.

The 2008 class has the opportunity to secure Oregon as the second major Pac-10 competitor for a national title. The players that will wear lightning yellow and thunder green for the next four years come from across the nation. The recruits’ hometowns range from Scooba, Missouri to Brush Prairie, Washington.

Arguably Oregon’s most highly-touted recruit this year is Wichita’s four-star Northwest High School quarterback, Chris Harper. Harper is Oregon’s lone ESPN 150 athlete and was recruited by offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

Harper is known for his evasiveness as a quarterback in Kansas high school football but
will mostly likely switch to play wide receiver once the 2008 college football season comes around. Oregon beat out Michigan, Missouri, and other top schools in the country to recruit Harper.

Oregon’s second quarterback signing is Aldine, Texas’ Darron Thomas. Thomas
passed for over 2,500 yards and ran for an extra 904 in his senior year at Aldine High School. He may also switch to wide receiver in 2008 depending on the commitment of Terrelle Pryor.

El Camino Junior College defensive tackle Justin Thompson is Oregon's only five-star recruit. El Camino won the 2006 California state championship. In 2007, Thompson proved his line penetrating ability by making 52 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, eight batted down passes, six sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one blocked field goal, and a safety.

Thompson was named to the All-California team and earned an honorable mention in All-American consideration. Nineteen other plays from El Camino will be playing Bowl Series football next year.

Oregon also managed to recruit three of the nation's best running backs. Texas high school phenom, LaMichael James signed his letter of intent to Oregon after a season which included 2,043 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. James is most often compared to former Heisman trophy winner, Reggie Bush.

Oregon’s second signed running back Kenjon “Speedy” Barner has also been on the
receiving end of comparisons to Reggie Bush. During his senior year at the prestigious Notre Dame High School in California, Barner rushed for 1,759 yards and scored 26 touchdowns.

Last but not least, junior college running back, LaGarrette Blount has received many comparisons to Jonathan Stewart. Blount has a similar build to Stewart; he stands at 6’2" and weighs 235 pounds. In his two years at Eastern Mississippi Community College, Blount ran for 2,360 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. Blount is expected to make a severe impact on Oregon football in the upcoming season.

The only negative scar on this year's recruiting class is the lack of Oregon natives. The 2008 class broke the record for the lowest amount of Oregonians in Duck football history.

Oregon’s lonesome home-bred player is Tigard High’s Scott Grady. Grady was ranked as the best defensive back in Oregon this year and it has always been a goal of his to wear an Oregon uniform.

These are anything but the only standouts on Oregon’s 2008 class. Other highly esteemed players include:

Blake Cantu, WR from Southlake, Texas. 2,749 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns in three years of varsity football.

Dion Jordan, TE from Chandler, Arizona. 804 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in
one year of varsity football.

DeWitt Stuckey, OLD from Stockton, California. 204 total tackles, 134 solo tackles, 8.5 sack and three forced fumbles in one year of varsity football.

Hamani Stevens, C from Hemet, California. Younger brother of UTEP lineman, Tevita Stevens.

Oregon Football: Ducks Dress to Impress

Matt Kilby — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:21:53 -0500

Two entities are rapidly changing the game of college football: the spread offense and inner city urban culture. No program is taking more advantage of these resources than the University of Oregon.

Nike CEO Phil Knight, head coach Mike Bellotti, and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly are doing all they can to coordinate these tools as the major assets of the soon-to-be powerhouse club.

The inner city culture privileges the flashiest and hippest program in deciding which to attend. Oregon provides 384 unique jersey combinations, the most impressive locker room in the nation, and a defense that feeds off emotion and hard hits. Plus, the new age program is capped off by the infamous "22-second offense."

Without these special extras, Oregon's Mike Bellotti would find it hard to recruit players like Wichita's Chris Harper, Aldine's Darron Thomas, and Sunnyvale's Kelly Page. Oregon has become a magnet for nationally acclaimed athletes who will lead the team to become a powerhouse. In the decades to come we will see Oregon and Southern California fight for Pac-10 supremacy.

The players who are drawn in from far away see Oregon as a fresh alternative with endless opportunities to offer the college athlete.

Fans outside of Oregon criticize the 384 jersey combinations as "unclassy" and a "disgrace to the history of football." But take a look at the teams without modernly styled jerseys: Penn State, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Stanford. It would be hard to find anyone jealous of the offerings at these programs.

Now take a peek at the teams making an effort to create a new, hip atmosphere: Florida, LSU, Boise State, Hawaii, Clemson, and even Oregon State. These are all programs on the ascent, increasing efforts to invest money in the aesthetics of the program.

And the aesthetic concerns don't stop at the jersey stylings. Oregon, funded by Nike, has been able to build some of the nation's best facilities.

The Casanova Center on the campus of the University of Oregon boasts a weight room open to all university sports and a football locker room that is described as "second to none" by athletic director Patrick Kilkenny. The locker room includes multiple multi-screen televisions, x-box game consoles, a world-class sound system, lockers enabled with cable internet, and an HVAC air-flow ventilation system.

Nothing like a little bit of luxury, hey?

The jerseys and facilities are comparable to something out of "The Jetsons," but it is the on-field side of the program that takes this modern day spectacle to another level.

Chip Kelly has implemented the "22-second offense" as the most innovative offensive strategy the game has ever seen. The concept easily confuses the defense and is not terribly difficult to implement and enforce.

When one play is over, the team rushes to the line of scrimmage and Kelly reads the defensive alignment from the coordinator box. Then Kelly radios down to Mike Bellotti who gives the signals to the quarterback who may then manipulate the call. Most calls involve four wide receivers and one split back. The play starts with a "quarterback choice," followed by the quarterback's decision to pass or run, rendering the method an invincible offense.

This is a bling-bling-esque approach that fits perfectly into what the urban culture is looking for.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Matt Kilby

Oregon Football: Ducks' Recruits Promise Bright Future

Oregon Football: Ducks Dress to Impress