Yeah I’ve been gone for a minute, I’m sure you all missed me. I wish I had some cool story about ‘finding my inner me’ on some backpacking trip through Europe while having copious amounts of unsafe sex and ingesting any and every drug I was handed, but I don’t. Alas, my computer is a bitch and I crashed into a wall called ‘apathy’ along the way.

What’s weird is that in the two weeks or so I laid low in the blogosphere, like a ton of shit happened. Like, a ton, man. So with all that said, I’m three beers, a cig and a Quaalude deep tonight, so it’s possible I ramble on for longer than this song, so you got that going for you. I guess?

Let me just start off by saying that after the Rose Bowl, I had a “clean month.” No booze, no Nick-o-Teen, barely any sex, went for a couple of jogs, ate carrots and apples, lifted heavy items repetitively. It sucked. I literally feel no healthier today than when I went to bed on January 2 hammered and glowing from the Ducks win in Pasadena. Now I know all that stuff is bad for you, but I’m really starting to doubt it’s actually that bad.  Probably another left-wing conspiracy from that Muslim Obama and his American-hating justices that Newt was talking about. Has to be. Planned Parenthood probably plays a part in this as well, maybe.

So that whole “Chip Kelly to the Bucs” deal was wild. Started off as a tweet from Portland, and BOOM, just caught fire. Of course the easy thing to do was just play it off as a rumor, but come on now. We all know Chipper is better than us. We are dating out of our league here with the Visored one. Hey, I have no problems with that at all, Chipper is bigger than probably 5-6 jobs in America. And I’m not just talking about college football jobs either… I mean Chip is so big, that in the middle of an economic downturn, UW started throwing cash around like D Miles in a strip club and poaching coaches from the Pac-12 brethren like no one’s business. USC got so hard off of pulliing the biggest upset in program history and chinking the kings crown a tad, that they started an actual Heisman campaign for the bumbling Matt Barkley (come on Trojies, you don’t trust him in a big spot either) and have visions of a national title run dancing in their heads. OSU…well…they uh…worked really hard the right way to do whatever they do between rock-paper-scissors competitions. Point being, it was huge news. When he was gone, the entire west coast breathed a sigh of relief, which made his ‘return’ all the more enjoyable. Lots of people woke up that Monday feeling way worse than they did when they went to bed on Sunday…

What started next was weird, it was like class warfare within the Oregon fanbase. All of a sudden if you believed the ‘rumors’ (come on ya’ll, that report not only had legs, but they were already bronzed and sweaty from the Tampa heat and humidity) you were a bad fan. If you thought Chipper was a dick, you were a bad fan. Now I’ve never been divorced, but that’s almost what it felt like. While you were at Wholefoods buying grapes and oats, he moved out with his tennis instructor. And when you get dumped for a prettier lady, I aint gonna get mad if you curse the bum on the way out the door.

But, fortunately for us, the king did in fact return. Glory, glory, hallelujah!

Oh hey, Arik Armstead committed to Oregon.

Yessir, you know you did the exact same thing when the news broke before a world hanging on to his every word.

Signing day came and went, and contrary to some occasional C-Walking, I don’t really get too into it. Oregon signed a good class, blah blah blah. But, it just seems like stalking teenage boys, errr I mean, following recruiting closely will eventually drive a person crazy.

So…how about that hoops team? And no, not the sorry Blazers, those plucky Ducks. Altman has his antagonists sitting thiiiis close to the top spot in the league (though, I’m not sure that’s something to brag about this year) with a HUGE game tonight in Boulder against the Buffs. After the Ducks beat UCLA to get to 6-2 in the league, some tourney talk started to come around. My take was get me to 8-3 in league, then we’ll talk. After vomiting all over themselves against the beavs, the Ducks got it together in the second half and put away the shitty Utes in Salt Lake City. So…beat CU, get to 8-3, talk tourney. But, of course those dick-heads in Colorado had to get a blizzard to blow though and delay the charter flight by about 12 hours. Homecourt advantage is one thing, but getting the nimbus clouds to conspire against your opponent is flat out bush league. There I said it. If Oregon loses, it’s the weathers fault, and the tourney committee will most likely agree.

Back to Altman for one second, you digging him yet? Now, Ernie left a steaming pile of feces in his wake, but I’m still iffy on Dana. What are the Ducks good at? What is his style? In a perfect world, would they score 90 a game, or be a team that slows it down and plays lock-down defense? I honestly have no clue, do you? For his sake, it better be the former, because the latter aint selling here in Eugene. Even if he’s a consistent tourney team. Face it, Nike, Chipper and the Blur Offense have made us even more spoiled than we were a couple of years ago. Oregon is a “sex and cocaine” fan base, and there is nothing wrong with that. We want to be entertained, talked about and get our Pit Bull on at every sporting event. As frustrating as Big Ern was, when his teams were rolling, they were as fun to watch as any. Altman’s teams set offense back 50 years every other game. Maybe winning cures all of that, but I doubt it. MKA isn’t even a year and a half old, and yet no one is going to fill that place up. It’s flat out empty most nights. I’ve only been to three games this year, so I’m as big of an offender as any, but I feel no ‘need’ to go. It’s boring and bad basketball, sorry. And if you look at the roster and who is returning next year, is it getting any better?

But whatever, Go Ducks, don’t want to be a fake fan or anything.

As I finish another beer after ‘dry January’, I’ll leave with some Josh Hamilton stuff. We all know the story, but where do you fall on it? Is it newsworthy? Any of our business? That was a rather heated debate on twitter the other night, to be sure. I fall in the camp of it most certainly being newsworthy. He was out in a bar, no one was poking around his ‘man cave’, so I have no issues with papers/ESPN running with it. His demons with addictions are probably something every single person reading this has dealt with in some way or another. The disease is no longer this ‘hush, hush’ deal that it used to be. Who knows, maybe an embarrassing episode leaking to the media may have extended Mickey Mantle’s life?  I’ve yet to talk to one person that wasn’t pulling for Hamilton 110% to get a grasp on his issues, and his lapse was a sobering reminder to all that there are no ‘off days’ when it comes to fighting off the ugly monster that is substance abuse. His presser Friday afternoon was great, my respect for Ian Kinsler and the Rangers organization that stands behind him at every turn is through the roof.

As an aside, remember when thisguy was like a ‘thing?’

This is our running thread of Oregon’s signees as signing day commences.

We get most of our information from Twitter as Oregon doesn’t announce their letters of intent until Chip Kelly has a press conference whenever he damn-well feels like. Pretty run of the mill for Chip.

The media love him.

The question marks remaining are wide receiver Bralon Addison, a current Texas A&M commit, athlete Bryan Harper, wide receiver Thomas Johnson, a Texas decommit, wide receiver Chance Allen, a current Oklahoma State commit, and whomever else Oregon went after under the radar.

The experts are predicting Johnson goes to Texas A&M, while Oregon has the slight edge for the other three.

Stay tuned to this thread to see if Oregon receives faxes from those guys along with everyone else currently committed.

As the day goes on we will move the commits up to the signee area. Those are the kids who we confirmed (one way or another) sent in their faxes.

Update: Addison and Allen both signed with Oregon.

Update: Only remaining targets (that we know of) for Oregon are Harper and WR Julian Brooks, who is visiting this Friday.

Update: Harper signed with Arizona. Still just Brooks and possibly some more walk-ons to go along with former Sheldon two-star linebacker Dawson Housley.

Oregon’s 2012 Signees

National Rankings:

• ESPN: 18
• Rivals: 15
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): 15
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): 14

Position Breakdown:

• QB: 2
• RB: 1
• WR: 3
• TE: 2
• OL: 1
• DL: 6
• LB: 1
• DB: 4
• P: 1

Offense:

Jake Rodrigues, QB, 6’2″ 210 lbs. Whitney High School (Calif.) *Already Enrolled

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 12-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 5-ranked pro-style QB; No. 165 on Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 17-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 16-ranked pro-style QB.
• Elite 11 Quarterback.
• Video Highlights: Here.
• More Here.

Byron Marshall, RB, 5’10″ 195 lbs. Valley Christian High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 10-ranked RB; No. 127 on ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 8-ranked RB; No. 114 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 18-ranked RB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 95 OVR; No. 8-ranked RB; No. 102 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Brad Kupper

Dwayne Stanford, WR, 6’5″ 195 lbs. Taft High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 35-ranked WR.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 23-ranked WR; No. 164 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 51-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 66-ranked WR.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Liz Dufour

Kyle Long, OT, 6’7″ 290 lbs. Saddleback College (VA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 30-ranked JC player.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 94 OVR; No. 13-ranked JC player.

Chance Allen, WR, 6’3″ 191 lbs. Elkins High School (TX)

• ESPN: Three-star; 75 OVR; No. 141-ranked WR.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 94-ranked WR.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 115-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 84 OVR; No. 120-ranked WR.

Jeff Lockie, QB, 6’2″ 185 lbs. Monte Vista High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Two-star; 74 OVR; No. 105-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 49-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 84 OVR; No. 19-ranked DUAL QB.

Pharaoh Brown, TE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Brush High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 14-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 3-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 12-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 17-ranked WDE.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.
• Offense-Defense Bowl All American West Team Offensive MVP.

Evan Baylis, TE, 6’5″ 220 lbs. Grandview High School (Co.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 11-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 9-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 9-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 9-ranked TE.

Bralon Addison, WR, 5’10″ 182 lbs. Hightower High School (TX)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 18-ranked WR; No. 129 on ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 18-ranked WR.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 14-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 95 OVR; No. 11-ranked WR; No. 91 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All American “Elite Status”

Defense:

Stetzon Bair, DT, 6’9″ 260 lbs. Iowa Western Community College (IA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 83 OVR; No. 90-ranked JC player.

Oshay Dunmore, S, 6’2″ 195 lbs. Newport High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 65-ranked ATH.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 36-ranked ATH.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 60-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 18-ranked ATH.

Eric Amoako, S, 5’11″ 190 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 31-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 57-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 25-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 52-ranked S.

Photo from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Stephen Amoako, CB, 5’10″ 175 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 39-ranked CB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 62-ranked CB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 82-ranked CB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 35-ranked CB.
• Feature video on both brothers: here.

DeForest Buckner, DE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Punahou High School (HI)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 57-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 17-ranked SDE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 17-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 25-ranked WDE.

Cody Carriger, DE, 6’6″ 230 lbs. Butte High School (MT.)

• ESPN: Not rated; 45 OVR.
• Rivals: Two-star; 5.4 rating; No. 3-ranked player in Montana.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 90-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 87 OVR; No. 38-ranked WDE.
• ESPN camp results: 4.85 40-yard dash, 4.79 20-yard shuttle, 33.6 vertical jump.

Photo by Walter Hinick/Montana Standard

Alex Balducci, DE, 6’4″ 262 lbs. Central Catholic High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 45-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.9 rating; No. 8-ranked DE; No. 97 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 33-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 22-ranked SDE.
• U.S. Army All American.

Brett Bafaro, LB, 6’2″ 220 lbs. Liberty High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 43-ranked ILB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 23-ranked OLB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 62-ranked OLB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 25-ranked ILB.

Terrence “TJ” Daniel, DE, 6’7″ 240 lbs. Bishop O’Dowd High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 102-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 45-ranked DE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 114-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 64-ranked ATH.

Reggie Daniels, S, 6’0″ 170 lbs. Hamilton High School (AZ)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 16-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 23-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 16-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 93 OVR; No. 14-ranked S; No. 231 on Top 247.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.

Arik Armstead, DL, 6’8″ 285 lbs. Pleasant Grove High School (Calif)

• ESPN: Four-star; 83 OVR; No. 3-ranked OT; No. 24 in ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 6.0 rating; No. 6-ranked DE; No. 61 in Rivals 100.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Five-star; No. 1-ranked OT.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Five-star; 100 OVR; No. 1-ranked ATH; No. 4 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All American.

Special Teams:

Dylan Ausherman, P, 6’3″ 180 lbs. College of the Seqouias (Calif)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank JC players
• Rivals: Two-star; 5.4 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Two-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Two-star; 70 OVR.
• Best Punter at the Chris Sailer at the Sailer Kicking Camp.
• No. 2 Punter in the nation, according to Sailer.

With signing day just a few days away, one of the few question marks remaining for Oregon’s 2012 recruiting class turned into an emphatic exclamation point Sunday afternoon.

As I’m sure you’ve already heard, Pleasant Grove High School lineman Arik Armstead committed to play football and basketball in Eugene.

Armstead puts a cap on (so to speak) what was already a solid class, especially at the defensive line position, which is where it’s expected he’ll begin when he arrives in Eugene. I say that because several outlets rate him as one of the top offensive tackle prospects in the nation, while others rate him similarly at defensive line.

Either way he’ll challenge to play immediately. His best chance at that is probably at defense end in the void left by Terrell Turner, but with his size it’s safe to assume he could play defensive tackle too.

Arik Armstead with his parents at his announcement today. Photo from Dan Greenspan's Twitter

I can’t remember who the last guy to play basketball and football at Oregon is, but … oh yeah, it’s Jordan Kent.

“Hey, did you know that Jordan Kent was a letter winner in three sports when he attended the University of Oregon?” said every play-by-play guy on every broadcast Jordan Kent ever played on.

Armstead is also a two-star power forward on ESPN.com, which should tell you he has pretty good feet. That athleticism would serve him well on offense, but Oregon recruited the offensive line extremely well last year and defensive line is a more likely place Armstead could play next year.

He already graduated high school and said he plans to enroll at the UO in March for Spring practices.

The only reason, it seems, that Armstead is going to Oregon is because Tosh Lupoi got hired by Washington after the Cal board of directors denied Jeff Tedford’s application to get him a raise. He was a very solid Cal commit up until that point. Obviously Washington isn’t enough of a draw for Lupoi to keep his grasp on Armstead, despite Washington sending seven coaches out in their last in-home visit last week.

It was reported that Chip Kelly and Jim Mora Jr. were the only coaches who didn’t use negative recruiting, and that Kelly was honest and up front about things, including his own shaky future in Eugene.

Some players appreciate that kind of thing. Armstead’s father, Gus, said Arik is clearly one of those.

The only question remaining is whether Armstead’s buddy Shaq Thompson flips from Cal to Oregon as well. Both of them discussed going to the same school for a long time, but the change at Cal probably changed that. The thing to watch for is that Thompson is a lot more connected to Lupoi than Armstead, so the experts expect Thompson to follow Lupoi to Seattle, despite him still being a solid commit to Cal.

Obviously — getting back to Armstead — a commitment is a lot different than a signed letter of intent, so we’ll see if he actually sends it Oregon’s way.

Stay tuned, I guess. All will be answered Wednesday.

By the way, the plan, as we did last year, is to have our SIGNING DAY SPECTACULAAAAAAAAAAR, where we’ll update the LsOI as they’re reported on Twitter. Remember, Oregon doesn’t announce their signees until a mid-day press conference, so the best anyone can do is pay attention to Matt Prehm, Justin Hopkins, Greg Biggins, and Chris Courtney and whoever else reports that stuff for Oregon on Twitter. Or you can follow our thread on Wednesday because we’ll do it for you.

Arik Armstead, OT/DE/DT, 6’8″ 285 lbs. Pleasant Grove High School (Calif)

• ESPN: Four-star; 83 OVR; No. 3-ranked OT; No. 24 in ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 6.0 rating; No. 6-ranked DE; No. 61 in Rivals 100.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Five-star; No. 1-ranked OT.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Five-star; 100 OVR; No. 1-ranked ATH; No. 4 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All American.

Oregon’s 2012 Commits So Far:

National Rankings:

• ESPN: 21
• Rivals: 15
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): 12
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): 15

Position Breakdown:

• QB: 2
• RB: 1
• WR: 1
• TE: 2
• OL: 1
• DL: 7
• LB: 1
• DB: 4

Defense: 

Reggie Daniels, S, 6’0″ 170 lbs. Hamilton High School (AZ)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 16-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 23-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 16-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 93 OVR; No. 14-ranked S; No. 231 on Top 247.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.

DeForest Buckner, DE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Punahou High School (HI)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 57-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 17-ranked SDE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 17-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 25-ranked WDE.

Alex Balducci, DE, 6’4″ 262 lbs. Central Catholic High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 45-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.9 rating; No. 8-ranked DE; No. 97 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 33-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 22-ranked SDE.
• U.S. Army All American.

Cody Carriger, DE, 6’6″ 230 lbs. Butte High School (MT.)

• ESPN: Not rated; 45 OVR.
• Rivals: Two-star; 5.4 rating; No. 3-ranked player in Montana.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 90-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 87 OVR; No. 38-ranked WDE.
• ESPN camp results: 4.85 40-yard dash, 4.79 20-yard shuttle, 33.6 vertical jump.

Photo by Walter Hinick/Montana Standard

Oshay Dunmore, S, 6’2″ 195 lbs. Newport High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 65-ranked ATH.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 36-ranked ATH.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 60-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 18-ranked ATH.

Eric Amoako, S, 5’11″ 190 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 31-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 57-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 25-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 52-ranked S.

Photo from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Stephen Amoako, CB, 5’10″ 175 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 39-ranked CB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 62-ranked CB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 82-ranked CB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 35-ranked CB.

Feature video on both brothers: here.

Stetzon Bair, DT, 6’9″ 260 lbs. Iowa Western Community College (IA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 83 OVR; No. 90-ranked JC player.

Brett Bafaro, LB, 6’2″ 220 lbs. Liberty High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 43-ranked ILB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 23-ranked OLB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 62-ranked OLB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 25-ranked ILB.

Terrence “TJ” Daniel, DE, 6’7″ 240 lbs. Bishop O’Dowd High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 102-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 45-ranked DE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 114-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 64-ranked ATH.

Bryce Cottrell, DE, 6’3″ 230 lbs. Plano West Senior High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Two-star; 74 OVR; No. 115-ranked OLB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 42-ranked SDE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 50-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 49-ranked OLB.

Offense:

Evan Baylis, TE, 6’5″ 220 lbs. Grandview High School (Co.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 11-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 9-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 9-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 9-ranked TE.

Pharaoh Brown, TE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Brush High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 14-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 3-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 12-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 17-ranked WDE.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.
• Offense-Defense Bowl All American West Team Offensive MVP.

Jeff Lockie, QB, 6’2″ 185 lbs. Monte Vista High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Two-star; 74 OVR; No. 105-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 49-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 84 OVR; No. 19-ranked DUAL QB.

Kyle Long, OT, 6’7″ 290 lbs. Saddleback College (VA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 30-ranked JC player.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 94 OVR; No. 13-ranked JC player.

Dwayne Stanford, WR, 6’5″ 195 lbs. Taft High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 35-ranked WR.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 23-ranked WR; No. 164 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 51-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 66-ranked WR.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Liz Dufour

Byron Marshall, RB, 5’10″ 195 lbs. Valley Christian High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 10-ranked RB; No. 127 on ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 8-ranked RB; No. 114 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 18-ranked RB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 95 OVR; No. 8-ranked RB; No. 102 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Brad Kupper

Jake Rodrigues, QB, 6’2″ 210 lbs. Whitney High School (Calif.) *Already Enrolled

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 12-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 5-ranked pro-style QB; No. 165 on Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 17-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 16-ranked pro-style QB.
• Elite 11 Quarterback.
• Video Highlights: Here.
• More Here.

Wait for it… Wait for it…

BOOM!

Seriously, how does this stuff slip past these gigantic newspapers? And an even more serious question; how/why did I notice the unintentional dong shot on the first look? Paging Dr. Freud…?

Obviously, I have no clue who lays claim to that dong, but I’m pretty sure it’s not Gary Campbell. And let me tell ya, Mike Leach needs to cut whoever that is a royalty check. Because HE lets his sword swing…

Win The Day, tunnel vision, respect all but fear none, blah blah blah. Sure, players should probably fall in line with Saint Chipper and his rhetoric, but I don’t play, so I can look ahead all day long.

I mean take a look at this cupcake schedule:

Sept. 1 vs. Arkansas State
Sept. 8 vs. Fresno State
Sept. 15 vs. Tennessee Tech
Sept. 22 vs. Arizona
Sept. 29 at Washington State (In Seattle)
Oct. 6 vs. Washington
Oct. 13 Bye
Oct. 18 at Arizona State (Thu)
Oct. 27 vs. Colorado
Nov. 3 at USC <–Game Of The Century
Nov. 10 at California
Nov. 17 vs. Stanford
Nov. 24 at Oregon State
Nov. 30 Pac-12 title game (Fri) USC @ Oregon <–Game Of The Century, Part Two

That is too easy. I mean, it’s too easy. That shit. Is. Too. Easy.

Lets just skip over the non-conference schedule, I’ve never even heard of any of those schools.

Oregon plays their first 4 games at home, and the 5th game against the Boogars in Seattle, will probably feel like another home game. The only way Oregon fans are outnumbered in that one is if UW losers decide to come out of the sewer for a night, just to root against the Mighty Ducks.

Oregon will no doubt win like it’s 25th straight against Washington, and Fraud Graham is scaring no one in Tempe. Well, other than the ASU athletic department, who are fearing that any second his 3rd ‘dream job’ comes along, and he bolts the desert.

CoLOLrado.

Now, I know everyone is circling November 3, as the Ducks head down to South Central to take on the Men of Probation. But come on, it’s SC, they always lose to someone they shouldn’t. Oregon could play blindfolded, and stroll into the Coli undefeated, but we all know SC will lose to Syracuse or something before they arrive. Way to screw everything up, Trojans…

Oregon finishes with 4 of their last 6 on the road, but other than SC, they all scream 2 TD+ spreads. We kind of know the drill with Cal at this point, and OSU is still firing Mike Riley a couple years away from being viable.

Has anything ever been a bigger lock than Oregon vs LSU in the 2013 BCS Championship game in Miami?

Gentlemen, today is the day.

The day 1917 turns into 2012. The day we take away the “win a Rose Bowl, and then pop-off” argument from the meatballs in Seattle. Today is the day it happens, and today is the day we do pop-off. Hell hath no fury like drunken Ducks ensconced in the velvety warmth of a Rose Bowl win.

I’ve spent the last month assuming the worse, and tepidly hoping for the best. I couldn’t help it, I was like a battered woman, and every time someone raised their BCS stakes, I flinched. But as Sunday night turned into Monday morning, I felt a strange comforting glow around this 98th Rose Bowl Game. I’ve been hit in the grill and cowered to the corner in shame for the last time. This time, I have no doubt the Ducks will fight back after the first punch, and this time there will be no retreat and no defeat.

January 2, 2012 is the day that the Oregon Ducks do something this school hasn’t seen in 95 years. 95 years! On this day, the Oregon Ducks vanquish the demons of years past. In roughly 7 hours from now, our sweet King, Charles Kelly, will have his fingers 4 inches deep in the eyes of all the naysayers in Portland. This is the time to grab the skeletons out of the closet and check under the bed for the boogie man. Give them a pat on the back, wish them luck, and show them the door. Sorry guys, but you’re no longer welcome.

This is the day that our conquering heroes slay the mighty dragon, and we welcome them home with unadulterated adulation. Guys, it’s over. 1917 is a mere few hours away from being nothing more than a memory. History is a motherfucker, today is the day Oregon doesn’t rely on history to shape the narrative, but writes it’s own.

On this day, Oregon leaves beating hearts of the Badgers laying on the ground, and sprays kerosene on them. And if there was a Badger heart on fire, LaMichael and Mamba wouldn’t even piss on it.

Today is our day. Not tomorrow, not next month, not next year. Belief has shaped continents and gotten us to the moon. Today, I believe. And I know you do as well.

As we sit here, King Kelly is being fitted for his royal crown.

It’s good to be the King. The time to is now to pick out your weapon of choice. Be that LaMichael, Kenjon or Mamba, choose wisely. Now, lets go out and pillage the paupers wearing the ugly red “W’s” on their bonnets.

2012.

Oregon might not have the best class it’s ever had when signing day rolls around next year, but the kids who have committed already should certainly raise a few eyebrows and stand head and shoulders above everyone else in the Pac-12 not named USC.

Some of them literally.

Pharaoh Brown, a six-foot-seven 230-pound tight end/defensive end from Ohio, committed to Oregon this week after decommitting from Michigan in November.

Jared Shanker of ESPN.com breaks down his story and decision here.

The gist of it is that Brown played defensive end and quarterback during his junior year and had committed to Michigan to play defense. Then, Oregon offered him a scholarship in May as a tight end even though he had never played the position. Well, he started playing it during his senior year and loved it so much that he only wanted to be recruited at the position. Then, he took his official visit to Oregon (the only official visit he took) in November and decommitted from Michigan, which brings us to where we are now.

Oregon offered Pharaoh Brown from Brush High School in Lyndhurst, OH a scholarship at tight end despite him not having played the position before his senior year. He rewarded them by committing. Photo from 247sports.com

Don’t be surprised if he ends up playing defense at Oregon because he’s a top-15 prospect on both sides of the ball. He was a top prospect on defense coming into his senior year and has since been deemed one at tight end as well. He did say; however, that offense was why he committed to Oregon for what it’s worth.

He finished 2011 with 32 catches for 753 yards and 10 touchdowns on offense and 47 tackles and 12 sacks on defense.

High class problems.

In addition to Brown Oregon got a couple more giants to man the lines in Kyle Long (son of Howie) and Stetzon Bair (brother of Brandon,) both from the junior college ranks.

Long is a six-foot-seven 290-pound offensive tackle from Saddleback College in Virginia. He graduated from high school as one of the top prospects in the country but elected to play baseball at Florida State when the Chicago White Sox drafted him. Then he basically boned himself with a DUII and horrible grades, so he has spent the last couple years working his way back.

Dale Newton does a nice background piece here.

He only has one year to play one at Oregon, so don’t get used to him being around long, but with Mark Asper and Darrion Weems graduating offensive tackle is a spot of immediate need. Expect him to start opposite Jake Fisher next year, assuming he doesn’t drink all his scholarship money in the meantime.

Bair is the brother of recently graduated defensive lineman Brandon Bair, and, like his brother, went on a Mormon mission for a couple years before working his was back into football and transferring to Oregon. Also like his brother he plays defensive line and is a monster. He also went to the same junior college as redshirting defensive tackle Jared Ebert.

He’s listed at six-foot-nine 260 pounds and has four years to play three, so expect him to add some pounds on a play inside. He’s 21 years old now, so by the time he graduates you can pretty much expect a monster of a human with tons of leadership on the defensive line, especially if he’s anything like his brother.

Here’s a video from December 22 by Rob Moseley and Adam Jude from the Register-Guard which features Matt Prehm from Duck Territory. He’s way smarter and informed than I am about this stuff, so listen to him. On a side note, the R-G Postgame Brew is so much quality it’s ridiculous. Had to put that out there. It’s really good. Also, Moseley needs a cheeseburger. Okay, I’m done.

Here are the guys Oregon got commitments from since my last recruiting post:

Pharaoh Brown, TE/DE, 6’7″ 230 lbs. Brush High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 14-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 11-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 15-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 17-ranked WDE.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.
• Offense-Defense Bowl All American West Team Offensive MVP.

Kyle Long, OT, 6’7″ 290 lbs. Saddleback College (VA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 30-ranked JC player.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 94 OVR; No. 12-ranked JC player.

Stetzon Bair, DT, 6’9″ 260 lbs. Iowa Western Community College (IA)

• ESPN: Doesn’t rank junior college players
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 83 OVR; No. 73-ranked JC player.

Oregon’s 2012 Commits So Far:

National Rankings:

• ESPN: 25
• Rivals: 16
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): 18
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): 18

Position Breakdown:

• QB: 2
• RB: 1
• WR: 1
• TE: 2
• OL: 1
• DL: 6
• LB: 1
• DB: 4

Defense: 

Reggie Daniels, S, 6’0″ 170 lbs. Hamilton High School (AZ)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 15-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 16-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 10-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 93 OVR; No. 13-ranked S; No. 230 on Top 247.
• Sports Illustrated Honorable Mention All-American.

Alex Balducci, DE, 6’4″ 262 lbs. Central Catholic High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 79 OVR; No. 45-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.9 rating; No. 8-ranked DE; No. 99 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 48-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 22-ranked SDE.
• U.S. Army All American.

Cody Carriger, DE, 6’6″ 230 lbs. Butte High School (MT.)

• ESPN: Not rated; 45 OVR.
• Rivals: Two-star; 5.4 rating; No. 3-ranked player in Montana.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Not rated.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 87 OVR.
• ESPN camp results: 4.85 40-yard dash, 4.79 20-yard shuttle, 33.6 vertical jump.

Photo by Walter Hinick/Montana Standard

Oshay Dunmore, S, 6’2″ 195 lbs. Newport High School (Ore.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 74-ranked ATH.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.7 rating; No. 35-ranked ATH.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 59-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 20-ranked ATH.

Eric Amoako, S, 5’11″ 190 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 78 OVR; No. 28-ranked S.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 47-ranked S.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 54-ranked S.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 84 OVR.

Photo from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Stephen Amoako, CB, 5’10″ 175 lbs. Martin High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 35-ranked CB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 62-ranked CB.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 59-ranked CB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 87 OVR.

Jeremy Castro, DE, 6’1″ 240 lbs. Vista Murrieta High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 101-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 21-ranked WDE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 18-ranked OLB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 84 OVR; No. 38-ranked WDE.

Terrence “TJ” Daniel, ATH, 6’7″ 240 lbs. Bishop O’Dowd High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Three-star; 77 OVR; No. 100-ranked DE.
• Rivals: Not rated.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Two-star; No. 87-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 85 OVR; No. 53-ranked ATH.

Bryce Cottrell, DE, 6’3″ 230 lbs. Plano West Senior High School (Tex.)

• ESPN: Two-star; 74 OVR; No. 110-ranked OLB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating; No. 45-ranked SDE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 60-ranked DE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 87 OVR.

Offense:

Evan Baylis, TE, 6’5″ 220 lbs. Grandview High School (Co.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 79 OVR; No. 11-ranked TE.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 10-ranked TE.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 8-ranked TE.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 92 OVR; No. 9-ranked TE; No. 225 in 247.com Top 247.

Jeff Lockie, QB, 6’2″ 185 lbs. Monte Vista High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Two-star; 74 OVR; No. 104-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Three-star; 5.6 rating.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 49-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Not rated.

Dwayne Stanford, WR, 6’5″ 195 lbs. Taft High School (OH)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 21-ranked WR.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 24-ranked WR; No. 169 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Three-star; No. 50-ranked WR.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 88 OVR; No. 65-ranked WR.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Liz Dufour

Byron Marshall, RB, 5’10″ 195 lbs. Valley Christian High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 9-ranked RB; No. 129 on ESPNU 150.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 7-ranked RB; No. 112 in Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 19-ranked RB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Four-star; 94 OVR; No. 11-ranked RB; No. 169 on Top 247.
• U.S. Army All-American.

Photo by Brad Kupper

Jake Rodrigues, QB, 6’2″ 210 lbs. Whitney High School (Calif.)

• ESPN: Four-star; 80 OVR; No. 11-ranked QB.
• Rivals: Four-star; 5.8 rating; No. 7-ranked pro-style QB; No. 148 on Rivals 250.
• eDuck (Scout: Fox Sports): Four-star; No. 14-ranked QB.
• DuckTerritory (247 Sports): Three-star; 89 OVR; No. 13-ranked pro-style QB.
• Elite 11 Quarterback.
• Video Highlights: Here.
• More Here.

For all non-Beaver Oregonians, it was in fact a good day. In no special order…

The Duck squad dropped 90 in a route over some unsuspecting  Cougs in the conference opener up in Spokane(not Pullman). The final was 92-75. They basically played a perfect game on offense shooting 60%, with everyone contributing. Get used to the name Kingma, folks. The kid rains threes with ease. It’s early, but it looks like the Civil War(s) could actually mean something this year.

Notre Dame lost in the Catholics vs. Criminals bowl in typical Irish fashion. FSU outscored ND 15-0 in the 4th quarter to win 18-14. Someday they will be relevant again, someday. Brian Kelly is always one step closer to reaching Mike Stoops status, which is not good status. A couple more losses and a couple more temper tantrums and he’ll be there.

The Blazers beat the Nugs to go  3-0 to start the year. Nate is letting them run and it’s working. We’ll see if it still working in 5 months and how many times they can give up a hundy and still win. It was nice to see Rudy in mid-season form, chucking threes off the iron and not playing defense. Have fun with that garbage, Denver.

Sark and Co. couldn’t outscore Baylor as they lost 67-56 in one of the most pathetic college games ever played. UW gave up 480 yards and 8 td’s on the ground. And the reason they were in the game was because Baylor’s defense was almost as bad. Congrats on a stellar 7-6 year, UW!

ESPN insider, OldDirtyBraga, also reported on Thursday that Oregon received a 4-star commitment. TE Pharaoh Brown had originally committed to Michigan, but had a “change of hart”

And lastly, the Skyrimjob simulator is predicting a 46-37 Oregon victory over Whisky.

The only thing worse than the Husky defense might be these clowns-

Every 26 hours when the University of Nike rolls out a new set of shiny football uniforms, it’s a huge day for NikeBlog.com and the bros that call them “fierce”, “HAAAARRRRRDDDD” or “Icey.”  Unfortunately, it’s also just one day closer to having facemasks that look like duck bills and a purple and orange color scheme.

Meh, I’m kind of over the whole deal. Was never one that really played the tradition angle, as Oregon has none, but it’s just tired at this point. And I get it, I really do, it’s kind of Oregon’s ‘thing.’ Can’t win a big game, but none of that matters when you give your fanbase a new HAAAARRRDDDDD look every three weeks. It’s smart really, as Nike doesn’t really do dumb. It’s like when Kobe gave the now ex-Mrs. Bryant that $7 million dollar purple diamond. Sure, she would probably take him not raping having really aggressive sex in Colorado with a young woman that wasn’t her, but a nice gaudy jewel will placate her for a minute.

Same thing here, all I would like to see is Chimmick Kelly and the Ducks not choke on their own vomit on a big stage, but a helmet with a series of machetes on them will probably just have to do. I mean hey, when your school hasn’t won a Rose Bowl since 1917, you better show up dressed to impress. We all know they gaudy and goofy prom dress will end up covered in bodily fluids as you run home crying, but boy did it sparkle!

It’s fitting that the school running the coveted offense based on speed, tempo and misdirection, has just run a classic smoke screen on all of us. Don’t pay attention to 1917, look what’s under the tree this year!

Here’s to another 95 years of looking flossy, but falling flat in January.

It’s that time of year again, folks. The time of year where every person with a computer and a mic decides to get their ‘B Rabbit’ on and just start flowing about the humdinga in Pasadena, if you’re a clock, Ducks gonna clean ‘ya. De’Anthony, Kenjon and LaMichaelllll…, that’s more than just a hand fulllll… (see…)

Is it wrong that I legitimately laughed out loud when DJ WeedLove cracked back on Maldonado?

Ducks like ‘Mighty’, we just might be scoring ninety.