Tyner and Twins Top Talented List

As USC took it's victory lap for landing a bunch 5-star recruits, Oregon stuck it's foot out and face planted Tommy Trojan.

Rivals' Winners and Losers List explained it this way.

Winner: OREGON
The departure of Chip Kelly to the NFL sent the Oregon class into a shake-up, but when the faxes came in there was barely any damage done, outside of losing Dontre Wilson. The ability to protect five-star Thomas Tyner and four-star twins Tyree Robinson and Tyrell Robinson was a major victory for the remaining staff. That alone could have been considered a victory, but that was not all. Oregon flipped Rivals250 offensive lineman Cameron Hunt from California and followed by absolutely stealing Rivals250 defensive end Torrodney Prevot from USC. All told, the period after Kelly left may have been more active and productive than the time from the end of the regular season until the announcement was made.


Loser: USC The caveat with every negative to the USC class failure is the top-end success. USC signed more five-star players than any other program, landing five elite-level players. The problem is that it also saw a bevy of them de-commit. The Trojans lost five-star players Max Redfield, Jalen Ramsey and Eddie Vanderdoes, as well as four-star prospects Kylie Fitts, Torrodney Prevot and Jason Hatcher. They could not backfill with five-star Matthew Thomas and then failed in the attempt to land four-star defensive backs Priest Willis and Tahaan Goodman from UCLA as a package. After what looked like a class that many would call one of the best of all-time, it trickled down to a 12-man crew that wound up outside the top 10 nationally and limped to the finish with just four-star Quinton Powell coming aboard. Depth was an issue for USC this past season and, with a limited class like this, it could be again.  

Of all of Oregon's recruits, the primary focus was on only three: Thomas Tyner and and the twins, Tyree and Tyrell. Losing any of them from Chip Kelly's departure would have been disappointing.  

Tyner, you'll recall, is the Aloha High running back who ran for 644 yards and 10 TD's in just one game (No, really!). By the end of the season he had racked up about . . . oh I don't know . . . 87 touchdowns and 34,000 yards (No, not really, but practically might as well have.).  

Oregon's one casualty to Kelly's departure, RB Dontre Wilson out of Texas, is a loss to be sure in terms of talent. He chose to go to Ohio State after he said he felt Kelly's decision to go to the NFL was "wrong".  Ya OK, kid. Welcome to the world of "life isn't fair". Tyner had a different take on it when he said in an interview he was signing to be with Oregon, not Chip Kelly. What's more, Wilson might have seen an even bigger problem -- that of watching classmate Tyner get most of the carries.

I'll bet Dontre Wilson watched this on YouTube and said, "Ya . . . I'll get more love at Ohio State."


The Robinson twins are both four star recruits. Taken together, that's EIGHT STARS!!! They both did well on defense for their high school in San Diego, but at least one could also play receiver. Expect also to see them on the basketball court. And not just on it, but actually playing -- uniforms and everything.  

Speaking of receiver, the Union-Tribune reports the twins are bringing with them a friend, also from San Diego, four-star recruit Darren Carrington Jr. This guy has a tremendous vertical leap and sticky hands. Video of the three of them talking about "the O" here.

Darren Carrington (#7)


One part of this class that would make Vince Lombardi smile is the signing of FIVE offensive linemen. Helfrich isn't forgetting what makes good ball carriers great.

The one curious signee is that of a three star quarterback from Texas, Damion Hobbs. He looks great, but I hope he'll be happy as he likely redshirts, then sits behind current sophomore Marcus Mariota and two redshirt freshman including the highly talented Jake Rodriguez.

The QB position is logjammed with talent. Chris Harper saw that and went to Kansas State. Darron Thomas felt the pressure and left school early. And shortly after the Fiesta Bowl win, Bryan Bennett saw his play time at QB was limited at best and chose to leave instead of switching to another position.

I'm really surprised they even looked for a QB in this class. But Helfrich and Offensive coordinator Scott Frost liked Hobbs, and Hobbs wanted to come despite having offers from other great schools. So . . . all right . . . . good luck.

From the Oregonian, here is the main story, and here is a complete listing of Oregon's signees along with links to each of their profiles.

--KB     

ASU, KSU, and CU -- The Ugly, The Bad, and the Just Plain Terrible.

Give ASU credit for switching to the offense of the future. But it'll take time and new players to make it work. Against Oregon, they saw what they one day hope to be. Thanks to pics from the AZ Republic, we can review the ASU football game just by looking at the crowd:

Before game....

... 8-7...

... 22-7 ...

... 36-7 ...

...43-7...

But here's my favorite. These two pics show the tiny amount of satisfaction at least one ASU fan got from the game...

See the ASU fan in the hat, upper center-left with his
hand in a throwing motion. Duck fan #5 lower right.
Between them is what looks like a brown cup-- I'm
guessing at least a 20-ouncer.
"Hey Greenie, you think you Ducks are fast?..."

"Well DUCK THAT! Harrr Harrr Har...."
Oh I remember the days when we Duck fans used to
get doused with beverages -- and we were LOSING!
Today? It's all good. Be a good Duck and let it roll off the back....
...or front, as it were.  

Sure, Oregon scored 43 points in the first half and rushed for over 400 yards over in a cruise past ASU in Tempe.

But obviously, crushing their toughest opponent yet on the road isn't good enough. Once again uncontrollable forces like scheduling and polls move Oregon farther away from the National Championship despite their undefeated record. The Ducks woke up today to discover that Kansas State leapfrogged them to take the third spot in the BCS.

Why? K. State has more wins over quality opponents. Plain and simple -- or is it? Oregon was forced to schedule weak opponent Tennessee Tech this year because SOMEBODY pulled out of a home-and-home series with them two years ago. Who? I'll let Jason McIntyre of BigLeadSports explain it:

Why is Kansas State in such a great spot? The greatness of Heisman leader Collin Klein and brilliant 73-year-old coach Bill Snyder, obviously. But also because of something that happened in 2010: The Wildcats decided to cancel a home-and-home series with Oregon. KSU was going to visit the Ducks in 2011, then host Chip Kelly’s powerhouse in 2012. So what happened? Here’s what the Register-Guard wrote in September:

By 2010, Bill Snyder was looking ahead to his second season after returning to Kansas State; with a reputation for avoiding powerhouse nonconference opponents, Snyder and the Wildcats soon backed out of their game at Oregon.

Wise move, Snyder. Are the Wildcats unbeaten today if they had to play Oregon instead of Missouri State or North Texas? Probably not. DEFINITELY NOT!

Snyder, you wrinkled old slug slimed, goat sucking, puppy kicking, chemical-toilet seat licking, dung beetle of a SON OF A BITCH!!! I hope you're enjoying this time of being ranked over Oregon. Enjoy every second of it. Because a RECKONING IS COMING. Soon, you will RUE THE DAY you chickened out of your appointed butt kicking at the hands of the Ducks.

Like David Byrne once said, "Watch out. You might get what you're after." You want a date in the Natty, Snyder? We'll wish that right along with you, you room temperature sheep cheese DIP!!  Let's hope for both Florida and Alabama to lose. Then Oregon will cash in on the rain check for that date you skipped.

STOP THE WORLD. THOMAS TYNER IS TWEETING!!!!
Amazing Aloha high school running back Thomas Tyner sent aftershocks through Eugene last week when he tweeted he wanted to de-commit to Oregon and look at other schools.

In response, we all got in our fetal positions on the floor, rocked back and forth and focused on images of puppies and kittens. . . . You all did that too, didn't you?

The very next day, after talking to Chip Kelly and running backs coach Gary Campbell, Tyner changed his mind and announced he is "100% certain" he will officially sign with the Ducks in February.

Whew. That's great news, kid. Now could you just do us one favor between now and February?

STOP IT!!  Stop tweeting your mood swings. Stop opening your mouth just to watch ESPN go bonkers. Stop messing around. Stick to tweets like "Happy Birthday to my girlfriend." or "Wow that Spanish test was hard." or "I forgot my locker combination again LOL."

Let's get real for a minute. As of right now, you are NOT a Duck. While the real grown-up Ducks are seriously trying to do something big here, you still need to finish high school. You need to focus on getting a 'B' or better in Math and English. You still need to keep out of trouble. You haven't even taken your SAT's yet, haven't you?

You're not a star. Not yet at least. As of right now, you are just a distraction. You want to sign with the Ducks? Fine.  You want to shop around? Great. Do it. Just keep it to yourself for four more months.

HELLO, COACH KELLY? THIS IS COACH JON EMBREE AT COLORADO....YA, I'M DOING GREAT. SAY LISTEN, WOULD IT BE OK IF WE JUST MAIL IN THE LOSS AND SAVE OURSELVES THE TRIP?
Oh if only they could. Coach Kelly has to dig a little deeper in explaining to the team that this is Oregon's Super Bowl of the week.

How bad is Colorado? They let a mediocre USC hang 50 points on them last week. . . . No, my tongue is not in my cheek. I'm completely serious.

The one important thing about playing Colorado is that more than any of Oregon's previous opponents, they best resemble USC's offense. An interesting article in the Oregonian shed light on a coincidence in Oregon's schedule. All the teams Oregon has played to this point have been in the process of playing more like Oregon -- spread option, little or no huddle.

From here on out starting with the Buffaloes (or is it Buffalo?), Oregon will be facing primarily traditional pro sets. So this will be a good scrimmage before the following week's game at USC.

THE MOST UNDERRATED ASSISTANT COACH IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
I think he would make an excellent head coach anywhere, including Oregon. Of whom do I speak, you ask? John Canzano wrote about him here.

Colorado game time Saturday, 12 noon on the Pac 12 network. The first half should last about 90 minutes, after which you should enjoy the rest of your Saturday with family and friends, maybe touring the country side and enjoying the fall colors, or preparing the kids Halloween costumes.

I quoted him. So I better play him. CRANK IT!


--KB

ASU Football Team Fully Functional

Right you are, Admiral Ackbar. Oregon's trip to ASU is the trappiest of trap games on the schedule. The Devils represent an away game against a team Oregon has beaten seven consecutive times. They're not USC. The Ducks have annihilated all their previous foes thus far. What could go wrong?

Everything.

If ever Coach Kelly needs to bang on his "Our next game is a Super Bowl" mantra, it's now.

Besides Arizona, ASU is the other Pac-12 team that has dedicated itself to begin playing like Oregon, training like Oregon, and winning like Oregon. Their new coach Todd Graham has it figured out in that he began conditioning his team to a faster pace on day one in the Spring, and not the week before they play the Ducks.

Read the bulk of this Arizona Repubic article: ASU Football Counts on Fitness vs. Oregon Ducks. Tell me if anything rings a bell.

....But there is one really big difference between the Sun Devils under Todd Graham and the past several teams under Dennis Erickson, including his 2011 team that started 6-2 and then imploded.

They're in shape.

Yeah, it seems pretty basic. But although Graham publicly hasn't said much about it, privately members of his staff were taken aback by the physical condition in which they found the Sun Devils when they took over the program.

Tired players make mental mistakes and commit stupid penalties. And they're apt to quit when a game or a season turns bad. Does that sound familiar?

We all saw just how bad it had gotten when linebacker Vontaze Burfict showed up at the NFL combine in terrible condition and embarrassed himself so badly that he went undrafted.

To his credit, Burfict got back to work and made the Cincinnati Bengals roster as a free agent.

And to the credit of Arizona State's players, they have bought what Graham is selling. And selling. And selling.

"Look at this," linebacker Brandon Magee instructed. "When it comes to the second half and the fourth quarter, we're dominating. We're in better shape than we've ever been.

"The fourth quarter starts, and I feel great. I'm not even tired at the end of games. So we just keep giving the ball to our offense, and with their tempo the other team wears down."
Sound familiar?

It's true. The Sun Devils have outscored opponents 98-30 in the second half this season and 64-7 in the fourth quarter.

Of course, that isn't apt to happen against the never-blink Ducks. This is the first real measuring stick for the Sun Devils and their pedal-to-the-metal approach.

"Oh, it's huge," Magee said. "They want the same thing in the third and fourth quarter that we want. But I think we're going to be fine. It's going to be a lot of fun."

It will be more fun if the Sun Devils can rise, as Graham said they must, to "a different level" against an Oregon team that will test their conditioning and resolve.

"You could play 65 snaps against these guys in a half," Graham said. "It's a huge, huge challenge Thursday."

When Graham took over and popped in tapes of last year's team, he knew he had a different challenge.

"Oh, no doubt," he said. "We knew we had to get in a lot better shape, and (strength and conditioning coach) Shawn Griswold is the very best at doing that.

"But I'm telling you we're not even close to where we need to be. We can't run the tempo we want to run. But we were pretty fast last game, and there's only been about five plays on defense all year where guys were saying "Coach, I'm about to fall over.' So that's pretty amazing."

Maybe more amazing, the Sun Devils are seeing in opponents what their opponents used to see in them.

"It was huge in the Illinois game," senior tackle Brice Schwab said. "You could look over and see their defensive line was dying. Same with the Cal game. If you look at the whole season, the second half has been ours. We kick it into gear."

"To be honest, we were just an all-around undisciplined team. We're in a whole lot better shape this year. We wouldn't even condition during a bye week before. We were doing a lot of conditioning during our bye week this season."

Senior Andrew Sampson, who starts at guard alongside Schwab, has seen it, too.

"I think the focus that came in with Coach Gris and his staff really turned things around," he said. "Their mind-set changed our mind-set. You can't take any plays off. Not in games. Not in practice. Not even in warmups or training. Never.

"It's the advantage of our no-huddle offense. It wears them down. It's nice when they're dead, and you're not dead, and you can see it."

The first sign, Magee said, usually is silence.

"They're talking so much smack at the beginning of the game and then in the third, fourth quarter I'm like, 'Are you guys still there or what?' Are you still playing?' " Magee said, smiling. "It's kind of funny."
Oregon players say stuff like this all the time.

A fast, deep, well-conditioned Oregon team isn't going to break like some of ASU's earlier opponents did. Yet the Sun Devils are still eager to test their left-lane, hammer-down approach against the Quack Attack.

"We're not doing anything different against Oregon," Sampson said. "It's the same way we do things against everybody. It's not like we're going to try to go faster than usual. We're always trying to go faster, so it's going to be a high-tempo game. And we're ready for it."

And then there's the defense
Forget Arizona, Coach Graham has installed the new Desert Swarm at ASU. As explained in this excerpt from today's article in the Oregonian:  
The Sun Devils' defense will test all that [Mariota] the redshirt freshman quarterback has learned to date with an eclectic array of schemes and blitzes.

"That's probably the best defense we'll have faced all year," Mariota said.

And they will be coming for young Mariota, who turns 19 on Oct. 30.

"They bring everybody from everywhere," offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. "I think they've brought literally every player at some point."

How is Mariotta and Co. to handle the Devils' aggresive defense? I have the answer in two magical words:

SHOVEL PASS.

That's right. Anytime they blitz from the edges as the article says they are often wanton to do, just shovel it to DAT up the middle and "Whoop! There it is.".

And just to remember that you heard it from me first, let's make the rule that whatever beverage you're sipping through the game Thursday night, you have to chug the whole container whenever Oregon pitches the shovel.

Breaking News:
Aloha's Thomas Tyner decommits from Oregon Ducks

Oregonian Sports, October 16, 2012 10:11 p.m.
Record-setting Aloha running back Thomas Tyner has decommitted from Oregon to take other recruiting visits, the website Duck Territory reported Tuesday night.

After the news was reported, Tyner posted a message on his Twitter account: “How do I know where I'm truly happy if I haven't put myself out there yet? Still love my ducks. Gotta do what I gotta do.”

Tyner made national headlines this season when he ran for 643 yards and 10 touchdowns in a win over Lakeridge. In seven games, he has rushed for 2,328 yards, averaging 12.7 yards per carry for the Warriors (7-0).

Tyner is rated as the No. 4 senior running back in the nation by Scout.com and No. 6 by Rivals.com. He orally committed to Oregon in November.

Aloha coach Chris Casey said Tuesday night that he wasn’t aware of Tyner decommitting from Oregon, but that schools have continued to pursue him, as well as Aloha senior lineman Brayden Kearsley, who committed to Brigham Young in Sept. 2011.

“He and Brayden have stayed open to those schools, so people are going to stay on them,” Casey said.

OK. Let's all just take a breath. Nobody panic. Chip Kelly can't talk about recruits; but what would he say? He would say that every recruit should explore all his options before making a final decision. That is how DeAnthony Thomas changed his mind about USC and came to Oregon.

Tyner is doing the prudent thing. He's not saying 'no' to the Ducks. He's just making sure all his avenues have been explored -- the sign of a smart man.

But I swear, if he decides to go to Washington, USC, Oregon State or any SEC team, . . . well as Master YoDuck would say:



Have fat angry kittens I will.


Gametime at ASU, Thursday Oct. 18th, 6pm Pacific on ESPN.

Can we start this season now?



This would look good over the fireplace. By the Oregonian's Bruce Ely.


I wouldn't say this game had no drama. Tennessee Tech scored first, so it was technically a come-from-behind win.

TT did their part and served as a good sparring partner. The Ducks' real competition was themselves and their own mistakes. They improved in some areas. Got worse in others.

These are the best looking of the new helmets.
Apologies to those who called me a "pansy" for
caring too much about the uni's. But there just isn't
much to say about the actual game.

The first string offense and defense both played better than in weeks past. The backups were much better. Mistakes were made, no doubt. Bryan Bennett threw a terribly ugly interception. So did Mariota. DeAnthony Thomas fumbled another punt. He also slowed down and was coasting into the endzone for what would've been his second TD when he was stripped from behind. His offensive lineman recovered in the endzone.  

And what was with all the penalties? Lots of late hits and roughings of the passer. The offensive line kept illegal proceding.  I have a feeling the team was getting bored with beating up on weaker foes. Once they feel challenged in the second half, they'll hopefully tighten up.



Yes, you've got your Mariota, your Barner,
and your DAT. But the make or break of Oregon's
success this season will rest on the large shoulders
of D-linemen like Dion Jordan.

Still they can't score 63 points without doing something right. Mariota was 21 for 28, 307 yards and three TDs. DAT had over 200 all purpose yards in rushing, receiving and punt returns. One interesting DAT stat: In three of the last four games including the Rose Bowl, he has scored a TD the first time he has touched the ball.  And none were one-yard hops across the goal line. They were all jail breaks from midfield.


NEXT YEAR, DAT WILL BE THE SLACKER

Funny thing though, the big talk around the Oregonization was about a Duck running back who is still in high school.

Thomas Tyner is a firm Duck commit and a senior at Aloha High School near Portland.  He is ranked as the 2nd or 4th prep running back in the nation depending on who you ask. That is, he WAS ranked as such before last Friday when he ran for 643 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Understand, those aren't his current season stats. That was ONE GAME. For the season -- which so far only amounts to three games -- he's run 1243 yards and 18 touchdowns, according to the Oregonian. Word of his performance was spread by ESPN and Sports Illustrated. 

Tyner is bigger than DAT at 6-0, 207 pounds. But the video below shows a speed gear much like DAT's. Looking like a man amongst children, his red zone starts around the 50 yard line. Following are highlights of all of his 18 TD's to date.

The future looks bright.


TRAVELER STUNNED TO DEATH

Matt Barkley stayed for his senior season at USC because, as he said it, he and the team "have some unfinished business". Well last Saturday evening on The Farm, their business was finished.  No. 2 USC played like a big stinky steaming pile of number 2 as they looked downright mediocre to Stanford's defensive pressure.

Losing 21-14, the Trojans fell out of the sky from their #2 perch and crashed to #13. Stanford was rewarded for their gritty win and jumped from #21 to #9. The upset raised Oregon to #3.

Barring any more upsets, November 3rd is setting up to be a very interesting date. While Oregon will play at USC on that Saturday, #1 Alabama will be squaring off with #2 LSU. If Oregon wins, and one of them loses . . . . . . Naaa. Let's not go there. Too many things can happen between now and then. And who's to say Georgia or Florida State might not leapfrog Oregon by then?

Besides, as Coach Kelly would say:  



"Killer Bee, what are you doing?
You know we don't look ahead.
We don't care about the polls.
Next week is our Super Bowl.
Win the day. We can't change
what we can't control. If you're
 nervous, you're not prepared. If
you get it, see a doctor and get
rid of it. "

Next: Arizona.
--KB