Here is our report from the second day of Polynesian Bowl practices:

The second day of practice is when the coaches start to really implement their schemes and plays. This was a little bit more speed and there was a lot more seven-on-seven drills today than there were yesterday.

Every Duck signee was on the field today and we spent a lot of time watching the drills, one-on-ones, seven-on-sevens and everything that these players did today.

So here are the takeaways from today.

- Justin Flowe is the most competitive dude you are ever going to see on a football field. He is very, very self-critical and hates to make even a small mistake. He had a couple of plays where he got beat in coverage and he was not happy about it. I spoke with him about it and he just wanted to get back and fix those mistakes. He has a great mind for the game and is a leader out there on the defense.

I spoke with former San Francisco 49er OL Jesse Sapolu about Flowe; he recognized that without pads it is difficult to surmise much, but he is really impressed with the manner in which Flowe approaches the game.


- Noah Sewell had a really good day. In drills, you could see that he really has all of the tools as an athlete. In individual drills he shows really good hands. He could easily fill a tight end or running back role and more than hold his own.

He showed well in coverage drills and was another leader for the defense on the other side of the field.


- I got my first chance to watch Luke Hill and Dontae Manning today and I can say that they both really look good in coverage. Both are exceptional at their hip turn and Manning shows a really good break toward the ball once it is in the air. I spoke with both today and they are really looking forward to getting to Eugene and learning from Deommodore Lenoir and Thomas Graham next season.


- I though Kris Hutson had an up-and-down day to some extent; he missed a couple of catches that he normally makes, but near the end he made a really nice catch, in traffic, during redzone drills. Though there were no pads today, there were still some solid hits; he made the redzone catch despite a pretty solid hit on an inside slant route.


- I spoke with Jack Yary today and will have the full interview tomorrow morning. Oregon is still in it for the tight end, so we will find out a little bit more in the next week to ten days.


- Another player who will be visiting Oregon next weekend is Leanord Manuel. The 6-5, 200-pound receiver is currently committed to Florida but did not sign with the Gators during the early signing period. He is the No. 114 overall player in the nation and would be a really good pick up at wide receiver. We plan on getting more detail from him tomorrow.


- Maceal Afaese had a good day as well and it was capped with a special visit from his mother with a birthday cake! Today was his 18th birthday and the staff surprised him with the visit. He does not talk a lot, but showed a lot of promise in drills today.


- Tomorrow we will be talking with legendary coaches Steve Spurrier and Frank Beamer and getting their thoughts on some of the Duck signees and how they have been performing. I met Steve Spurrier’s wife and she is like an encyclopedia of information as it relates to his career. Very nice and loves what the Polynesian Bowl represents.

We should also have the opportunity to speak with some others like Haloti Ngata tomorrow. Will be at practice again tomorrow with a couple more interviews to get done as well as another practice report.

For what it is worth, we should be able to have all 8 Oregon commits interviewed by the end of practice tomorrow.

Interesting quote about the Ducks. I think his offer may be contingent on somebody else so not commitable.

Yary to take a couple officials before NSD announcement

The ravages of stardom:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/14/us/carolina-panthers-luke-kuechly-retirement/index.html

Here is a very nice opportunity to see Duck QB signee Robby Ashford's throwing motion. I like the way the ball comes out of his hand. Looks like a fluid arm.

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The Titans are on a roll. I love me some Marcus, but this doesn't look good for the former Oregon great. I have read some defending Marcus and his lack of support at Tennessee. I don't follow the Titans close enough to have an opinion, but after he got sat down they started winning. What am I missing.

6th, not bad .P12 is lonely at the top.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...ollege-football-early-top-25-2020/4420836002/

Took some short videos during drills today. Sharing them here. Will have more tomorrow!

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Pritchard


https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...etrusev-new-faces-wooden-award-midseason-list

As the OC of the Panthers.
Rhule quietly putting together a very nice staff!✅

Ok, the ducks open the 2020 season against seemingly perennial FCS national champion/runner up, North Dakota State, a team that's beaten numerous FBS foes over the years. Then, it's Ohio State, a team many believe was the best team in the country this year, that returns most of its starters, and which most pundits are putting in preseason top 5. Then, it's Hawaii, easily considered a top-tier G5 program that beat, among others, Oregon State, Arizona, and BYU in completing a 10-5 season this past year. That's the kind of high quality OoC schedule I personally love to see, even if the tradeoff is an early season loss or two (like, imagine the trap game Hawaii would be if the ducks beat OSU and enter week 3 at 2-0!!). I'd rather watch high quality football than blowouts, notwithstanding the potential downside. But again, I think scheduling like this only helps, because an early season loss to a high quality opponent can often be overcome. Either way, looking forward to it. All of it.

Sewell at the 2019 Nike Opening

6’2 266. 4.75 40
4.13 20 yd shuttle
35.7in vert

Urlacher NFL combine

6’4 258
4.61 40

4.18 20 yd shuttle
34 in vert

This is Noah coming out of high school and Urlacher coming out of New Mexico. Just an example of the natural athlete Noah is.

Here is our coverage from day one in Honolulu:

Poly Bowl Practice Report: Day 1

Woody caught up with the Duck commit for this.

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Clack HS dude getting some D1 offers already. Wonder how Maryland found him?

https://www.oregonlive.com/recruiti...-maryland-offer-talking-to-ducks-beavers.html

Top in state guys for 2021 podcast..Brown, Collins et al

https://www.oregonlive.com/recruiti...ool-football-prospects-in-the-2021-class.html

Official now

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Okay, so it is not a done deal. Yet.

But what I have heard through the grapevine is that Moorhead is the top target right now. In fact, I heard that it has gone to the stage of working on numbers. This is not to say that it is a done deal because – as we know – when it gets to discussing numbers there are a host of potential hangups; total dollars, years, buyout, etc. Any of those things could squash the No. 1 choice.

In the mean-time, there will be other names floated and even a couple more visits by those who have already done a preliminary interview with Mario. Some of that is subterfuge and some of that is that you never stop recruiting and that includes coaches.

Worried about Baylor? Don’t be. Arkansas State HC Blake Anderson is a former Baylor player and the likely top target with the departure of Matt Rhule - and Baylor is not going to hire Moorhead right now as HC.

As for Washington, they are all in on Kellen Moore right now, but I don’t think that happens; McCarthy is going to do everything he can to keep him on staff and I think that his affinity for the former BSU folks will be overridden by the reality that he is an NFL coach. After him, I think that their top choice is Chip Long. That would be a good hire for them.

So why have they not made that call to hire Long yet? One, because they like Moore better; but two because Long wants the Oregon job and is No. 2 behind Moorhead. Had Moorhead not been fired by Mississippi State, I would be willing to bet that there would already be an OC in place; but he was and now here we are.

This is also a best case scenario for Oregon because Moorhead is a QB coach and a fantastic recruiter. Is he as good as Long on the trail? No. But he is still really good and will do well, IMO.

NOTE: I AM NOT PUTTING THIS on social media because this is just for our paying members. These things have a tendency to get blown up on social media and that is not my intention. I don’t need the vainglory of getting credit for breaking news; let Bruce Feldman get that. I just want to share with our paying members what I hear.

Ok, having watched the national championship game I have to say that the Pac12 crew acquitted itself well. Were there some close calls? Yeah, but none that I saw that were inarguably wrong. I was pleasantly surprised.