And talks about it here:

One by one, we are seeing talented players (mostly on the defense) reluctantly enter the portal. These were highly sought after recruits when we signed them 1-3 years ago. Players who made fans feel giddy when they committed here suddenly aren't good enough to be a Duck. In search of more playing time elsewhere, they say goodbye to coaches, staff, fans...the entire Duck nation.
It feels sad. Does anyone else feel that way?
Yes, I know things are different now with the portal enabling coaches to bring in experienced players who can make an impact from Day One. I guess that's what has to happen if we want Georgia- or Alabama-caliber talent.
Still, I can't help but feel sad for these highly rated recruits whose lives are being uprooted because they're told, essentially, that they are no longer good enough. It would be nice if Lanning or some of the coaches, would at least acknowledge how difficult this can be on these young men.

All Oregon has left this spring is Saturday's spring game, and Thursday was an energized practiced as the Ducks are already getting into game mode. Gabriel writes about today's practice as Oregon players and coaches look ahead to Saturday's action. Read his full story at the link above and watch the post-practice videos from Thursday below.

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Coach Lanning understands what his job is as a leader, Coach Prime does not.

Nothing personal, but I don't want to copy and past all of the profile links again, so probably easiest to check out the list in the story. Also, there are more visitors likely to be in Eugene, but not all of them are in the system and many of those probably do not have a committable offer, so I did not list some of the lesser known prospects scheduled to be in town.

First, I am excited for this season. Two, I hope I'm wrong.

I wish we had a more experience of line.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Head Coach Tyson Helton has announced the hiring of Andre Crenshaw as the Hilltoppers' new running backs coach.

Crenshaw comes to The Hill from South Dakota State where he served as running backs coach during the team's run to winning the 2022 FCS National Championship

"I am truly blessed and excited to be a part of a program that has seen the amount of success that Western Kentucky has," said Crenshaw. "Year after year, I've watched Western Kentucky produce one of the top offenses in the country. Now having the opportunity to be a small part of that legacy is a blessing. Thank you to Coach Helton and his family for being so welcoming. He is a true man of faith and a tremendous leader of men. I'm ready to get to work."

Hired ahead of the 2021 season, Crenshaw spend two seasons with the Jackrabbits, leading one of the best running backs rooms in the country. In his first season with SDSU, he mentored Pierre Strong Jr., who led the FCS in rushing with 1,686 yards. Strong went on to be selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. During the national championship season, Crenshaw's star pupil was Isaiah Davis, who produced 1,451 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.

Before arriving in South Dakota, Crenshaw coached running backs at Southeast Missouri State during the pandemic-shortened season. Despite playing only eight games that year, Crenshaw helped running back Geno Hess gain 708 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns.

Crenshaw began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Dakota Wesleyan before moving on to Morehead State for two seasons and spending the 2017 campaign at Tennessee Tech. In 2018, he moved to Missouri Western where he helped the Griffins average 219.5 rushing yards per game, ranking among the top-25 of all Division II programs.

A native of Lancaster, California, Crenshaw attended the University of Oregon from 2006-09 where he played running back and earned his bachelor's degree in sociology. He later earned a master's degree in educational policy and administration from Dakota Wesleyan in 2015.

Justin is now the Offensive Coordinator at Furman University in Greenville (SC). Took him a couple of years after graduation to gravitate to coaching, but he is doing well for himself:

Announced on Jan. 11, 2022, as Furman’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Justin Roper in just one season has made a profound impact on Paladin football.

In Roper’s first year Furman’s offense flourished, producing 33.3 points and 421.9 yards per game as one of the most balanced units in the FCS, all while keying Furman’s 10-3 campaign that netted a second round playoff appearance and consensus FCS Top 10 final rankings. Included in the season, Furman’s winningest since 2005, was a run of seven consecutive victories and five straight road triumphs — the most by the program in over 30 years.


Roper directed a unit that out-gained FBS 5th-ranked Clemson and one that thrived under the direction of first-year graduate quarterback Tyler Huff, who accounted for nearly 2,900 yards in total offense and 23 touchdowns. In addition, Furman produced All-SoCon performer Dominic Roberto (1,120 yards, 11 TDs).

Roper came to Furman following two seasons at Holy Cross, where he served as offensive coordinator, helping the Crusaders to back-to-back Patriot League Championship and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff appearances.


In 2021 he was instrumental in Holy Cross going 10-3 and advancing to the second round of the FCS playoffs. The Crusaders’ offense, which he coordinated, averaged 32.2 points and was one of the most balanced in the nation, averaging 203.8 rushing yards and 201.5 yards passing per game.

He spent the 2019 season as the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa, where he helped the Panthers to a 10-5 record and trip to the FCS playoff quarterfinals thanks to the development of freshman quarterback Will McElvain, who completed 203 of 382 passes for 2,778 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Prior to his stint at Northern Iowa, Roper served as the offensive coordinator at Slippery Rock from 2016-2018, during which time The Rock posted an overall record of 26-10, including an overall mark of 11-3 that featured a trip to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in 2018. Two of his understudies, quarterbacks Tanner Garry (2017) and Roland Rivers (2018), earned All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors.


From 2014-2015, Roper coached quarterbacks at Valdosta (Ga.) State, helping the team to an overall record of 19-6 and two trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Blazers’ offense averaged 439.0 total yards and 34.3 points per game during his two years on the staff, with quarterback Jake Medlock collecting second team All-Gulf South Conference laurels in 2014.

Roper began his coaching career as running backs coach at the University of Findlay (Ohio) in 2013. The Oilers went 8-3 during his lone year on the staff, with running back Daiquone Ford earning All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors.


A former signal caller, Roper played at the University of Oregon from 2007-2008, throwing four touchdown passes in a 56-21 victory over South Florida in the 2007 Sun Bowl. He went on to play at the University of Montana from 2009-2010, helping the Grizzlies to an appearance in the 2009 football championship subdivision championship game.

Over the course of his collegiate career, he threw for 3,788 yards and 36 touchdowns.


Roper also spent time in the Arena Football League with the Chicago Rush and the Orlando Predators, and was a member of Montana’s basketball team that advanced to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.


Roper is a 2012 graduate of Montana with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He is married to the former Kaci Vandergrift.

He's locked his official visit for June 16-18 to Oregon. The Ducks are still believed to be the leader even though he's slowed things down in his recruitment as the other QB dominoes get worked out.

Kwame Evans Jr. finishes at No. 17 in the rankings and Jackson Shelstad at No. 19:

I will be adding to this as other names are announced

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Watching You

A year ago at this time, the offense was light years ahead of the defense in practice. At the time, many thought that was really good news for the team as the defense was expected to be better than the offense – especially given the questions at quarterback last spring.

Fast forward to 2023 and there seems to be less distance between the two. People who have seen some closed portions of practice have said that this defense seems to be on a different level and playing with the kind of tenacity and fire we did not see as much a season ago.

But these are also somewhat scripted coach-speak moments that come out to us generally and there is a reason that the defense may appear ahead of last year – changes on offense. Though the QB is much more settled, the running backs as deep as Oregon has ever seen, and the receiving corps looking very good, the offensive line is a very new unit as a whole. While the players on the two-deep are as talented – maybe even more so than last year’s group – they also lack the consistency and cohesion of that group. That is not a reflection on talent, coaching, scheme, or even teamwork; instead, it is the reality of a group of athletes who have not played together as much and do not have the same level of communication and cohesion as a team that was very, very good a season ago.

On the plus side, this offense has not been prone to turnovers or sacks, it is just that there are fewer big plays, and the team is not being as effective in the moments that they were a season ago.

By the time this offense gets to mid-season in 2023 – if they are healthy – I think that the offensive line is better than last season, but there are going to be some growing pains with the offensive line. I think it is a good season to break in a new offensive line because they will have time to work out those kinks before getting to the meatier part of their schedule.

We may not see those kinks early because the Ducks offense should be able to score plenty of points against their first four opponents and that will help to disguise any flaws.

On the other side of the ball, we should see how far the group has come much earlier as Texas Tech has a good offense that will test the Ducks on the road.

The Distance

I don’t know that I have ever seen a Duck running back group as deeply talented as this group. Given that the 2011 team had LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, Tra Carson, and De’Anthony Thomas on the team, that sounds almost absurd to say.

I am not sure that anyone in this group wins a Doak Walker award like James; or breaks Kenjon Barner’s single-game record, Royce Freeman’s career or single-season rushing record, or career touchdowns record. I am not sure that anyone in this group will have the explosive capacity of Thomas, but as a group, this is a very deep set of running backs.

We already know just how good Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington were last season – and they look even more comfortable this season. Jordan James – from all reports I have heard – is much better this season and is going to be more than a short yardage back. He is now an every-down back capable of making big plays and carrying a bigger load. Dante Dowdell is already turning heads and looks like he could be an elite running back and somehow, four-star Jayden Limar is also catching a lot of praise.

It will be interesting to see how running backs coach Carlos Locklyn manages the carries for this group and keeps them all engaged throughout the season.

Much more here: