DSA community,
As promised, I want to provide some context and clarity as to what the plan is moving forward for the site with A.J. stepping back from the publisher role. First, as he outlined, it was purely A.J.'s decision to segue out of the publisher role and I come in with nothing but respect and appreciation for the site and community he's built here.
I'm excited to introduce myself to everybody and lay out what our plans are moving forward.
I've been the publisher of Rivals' USC site for the last 3.5 years and will remain in that role, but Rivals came to me about a month and a half ago with an idea and an opportunity that could benefit everybody. Expecting some publisher turnover within the Pac-12 and wanting to use that strategically to augment and build up our Pac-12 sites further, I was brought into discussions with Rivals' leadership team about the potential of taking on a super publisher role for several of the Pac-12 sites and pooling resources between them to hire a full-time, dedicated Pac-12 recruiting reporter to ratchet up recruiting coverage and content across the sites. I will be managing both this recruiting reporter and a handful of the Pac-12 sites with a priority on providing the best recruiting coverage possible here as well as maintaining consistent coverage on the team side.
There are still some moving pieces to all of it, but we're very excited about the plan. The recruiting reporter has been hired and as soon as that contract is finalized I will be able to give you more details -- hopefully tomorrow. He is starting this month and will have a presence on the board here as well. Both the new Pac-12 recruiting reporter and myself are going to be based in Los Angeles, so we'll have consistent access to all of the SoCal prospects Oregon is involved with, but additionally I will now be contributing Ducks recruiting content as well, as I am frequently on the road visiting prospects, covering camps, showcases, tournaments, all-star games, etc. I'm flying to San Antonio tomorrow for the All-American Bowl and will also be at the Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii later this month, funneling content back here same as I do for the USC site. Basically, we're just going to be able to leverage what I'm already in position to do and feed not one site but several, as well as having another reporter who is totally dedicated to full-time recruiting coverage and content. I think you'll see the benefit very quickly this month.
We will also then have a reporter based in Eugene leading our team coverage. I'm still working to put that person in place -- as you can imagine December was a bit crazy on my end covering the aftermath of a coaching search, working on this transition plan for multiple websites and getting through the holiday season. As soon as I have further staffing details, I'll bring them straight to the board and let you know, but we're going to have a good team and good plan in place to keep things rolling here. What is especially great, though, is that we'll be able to maintain some continuity with the people and voices you're familiar with at DSA. A.J. has generously offered to not only remain a presence here on the board but also be a point of contact with the Oregon athletic department and ensuring a smooth transition in that regard. As I responded to Scott's post yesterday, I want him involved as well. We're talking about what role makes sense within his schedule moving forward, but my expectation is he will continue to contribute in a significant way here. I have a call with Brandon tomorrow as well, and like A.J., he should remain a voice and contributor on here as well.
Between that continuity and our plans to go HEAVY on recruiting coverage/content, I hope we can not only keep everybody here happy and entertained but also grow in the years to come.
As for my background, I graduated from the University of Maryland and started out in newspapers. After interning for USA TODAY, the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun and the Birmingham (Ala.) News through college, I spent four years at the Kansas City Star initially covering high school sports and eventually a little bit of everything, then six years at the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun News covering Coastal Carolina, before transitioning to the online realm in covering the Florida Gators for two years at a short-lived venture called SEC Country. That site did a lot of great things (and had a very talented staff) but unfortunately had the plug pulled on it after a change of leadership at Cox Media/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That's when I took the opportunity at Rivals in the summer of 2018 to take the reins of the USC site and move out to California.
I love covering college football and basketball, I feel like I've now established permanent roots out here on the West Coast and have no plans to leave. I really enjoy covering the Pac-12, I see a lot of potential in this expanded role and what it can mean for this site and others, and I look forward to making more trips to Eugene in the future!
Like I said, there are still a lot of moving pieces in play with everything, but I'm taking over three Pac-12 sites this month -- DSA, Cal and one I can't name yet but will be able to tell you soon -- and then maybe another one later in the spring. Like I outlined, we're going to have people in place at each driving the team content, but I will also be very much involved here. I want to get to know everybody on the board, and I'm highly motivated and driven to make an impact on this site.
I wouldn't have entered into this venture Rivals pitched if I didn't think it could be a positive for each of the sites involved. A.J. has built one of our best Pac-12 sites, though, and I want to honor that standard and make everybody feel that DSA is going in a good direction moving forward.
As you'll get to know me, I'm always accessible and happy to interact on anything. I'm sure there are questions you all may have about this, so please fire away with anything about me, plans for the site, etc. Let's get the dialogue going! Thanks!
-Ryan Young (@RyanYoungRivals on Twitter)
As promised, I want to provide some context and clarity as to what the plan is moving forward for the site with A.J. stepping back from the publisher role. First, as he outlined, it was purely A.J.'s decision to segue out of the publisher role and I come in with nothing but respect and appreciation for the site and community he's built here.
I'm excited to introduce myself to everybody and lay out what our plans are moving forward.
I've been the publisher of Rivals' USC site for the last 3.5 years and will remain in that role, but Rivals came to me about a month and a half ago with an idea and an opportunity that could benefit everybody. Expecting some publisher turnover within the Pac-12 and wanting to use that strategically to augment and build up our Pac-12 sites further, I was brought into discussions with Rivals' leadership team about the potential of taking on a super publisher role for several of the Pac-12 sites and pooling resources between them to hire a full-time, dedicated Pac-12 recruiting reporter to ratchet up recruiting coverage and content across the sites. I will be managing both this recruiting reporter and a handful of the Pac-12 sites with a priority on providing the best recruiting coverage possible here as well as maintaining consistent coverage on the team side.
There are still some moving pieces to all of it, but we're very excited about the plan. The recruiting reporter has been hired and as soon as that contract is finalized I will be able to give you more details -- hopefully tomorrow. He is starting this month and will have a presence on the board here as well. Both the new Pac-12 recruiting reporter and myself are going to be based in Los Angeles, so we'll have consistent access to all of the SoCal prospects Oregon is involved with, but additionally I will now be contributing Ducks recruiting content as well, as I am frequently on the road visiting prospects, covering camps, showcases, tournaments, all-star games, etc. I'm flying to San Antonio tomorrow for the All-American Bowl and will also be at the Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii later this month, funneling content back here same as I do for the USC site. Basically, we're just going to be able to leverage what I'm already in position to do and feed not one site but several, as well as having another reporter who is totally dedicated to full-time recruiting coverage and content. I think you'll see the benefit very quickly this month.
We will also then have a reporter based in Eugene leading our team coverage. I'm still working to put that person in place -- as you can imagine December was a bit crazy on my end covering the aftermath of a coaching search, working on this transition plan for multiple websites and getting through the holiday season. As soon as I have further staffing details, I'll bring them straight to the board and let you know, but we're going to have a good team and good plan in place to keep things rolling here. What is especially great, though, is that we'll be able to maintain some continuity with the people and voices you're familiar with at DSA. A.J. has generously offered to not only remain a presence here on the board but also be a point of contact with the Oregon athletic department and ensuring a smooth transition in that regard. As I responded to Scott's post yesterday, I want him involved as well. We're talking about what role makes sense within his schedule moving forward, but my expectation is he will continue to contribute in a significant way here. I have a call with Brandon tomorrow as well, and like A.J., he should remain a voice and contributor on here as well.
Between that continuity and our plans to go HEAVY on recruiting coverage/content, I hope we can not only keep everybody here happy and entertained but also grow in the years to come.
As for my background, I graduated from the University of Maryland and started out in newspapers. After interning for USA TODAY, the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun and the Birmingham (Ala.) News through college, I spent four years at the Kansas City Star initially covering high school sports and eventually a little bit of everything, then six years at the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun News covering Coastal Carolina, before transitioning to the online realm in covering the Florida Gators for two years at a short-lived venture called SEC Country. That site did a lot of great things (and had a very talented staff) but unfortunately had the plug pulled on it after a change of leadership at Cox Media/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That's when I took the opportunity at Rivals in the summer of 2018 to take the reins of the USC site and move out to California.
I love covering college football and basketball, I feel like I've now established permanent roots out here on the West Coast and have no plans to leave. I really enjoy covering the Pac-12, I see a lot of potential in this expanded role and what it can mean for this site and others, and I look forward to making more trips to Eugene in the future!
Like I said, there are still a lot of moving pieces in play with everything, but I'm taking over three Pac-12 sites this month -- DSA, Cal and one I can't name yet but will be able to tell you soon -- and then maybe another one later in the spring. Like I outlined, we're going to have people in place at each driving the team content, but I will also be very much involved here. I want to get to know everybody on the board, and I'm highly motivated and driven to make an impact on this site.
I wouldn't have entered into this venture Rivals pitched if I didn't think it could be a positive for each of the sites involved. A.J. has built one of our best Pac-12 sites, though, and I want to honor that standard and make everybody feel that DSA is going in a good direction moving forward.
As you'll get to know me, I'm always accessible and happy to interact on anything. I'm sure there are questions you all may have about this, so please fire away with anything about me, plans for the site, etc. Let's get the dialogue going! Thanks!
-Ryan Young (@RyanYoungRivals on Twitter)
