Page 1 of 2

The Fracas That Was National Signing Day

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 4:00 am
by PhilipNelsonFan
Oregon and Oregon State have received all the desired letters of intent...so let's run through the checklist, shall we?

Highly regarded JUCO DT: Check. (Justin Thompson and Simi Kuli)

Productive small RB from Texas: Check. (LaMichael James and Jacquizz Rodgers)

6-4 offensive lineman from California: Check. (Hamani Stevens and Colin Lyons)

Players from Oregon: Check. (Scott Grady, Jordan Bishop and Tony Wilson)

Players from Washington: Check. (Nick Cody, Colin Kelly and Geno Munoz)

Here are the full lists courtesy of the men of Rivals.com:

Oregon Ducks

Kiko Alonso LB 6-3 234 4.85 5.5 Los Gatos, CA
Kenjon Barner RB 5-10 170 - 5.6 Riverside, CA
LaGarrette Blount RB 6-2 235 4.5 5.9 Scooba, MS
John Boyett DB 5-10 180 - 5.5 Napa, CA
Blake Cantu WR 6-0 191 4.5 5.5 Southlake, TX
Nick Cody OL 6-5 289 5.02 5.8 Brush Prairie, WA
Garrett Embry DB 6-2 209 4.65 5.5 Roswell, GA
Blake Ferras DT 6-5 285 - 5.5 San Francisco, CA
Scott Grady DB 5-10 172 - 5.6 Tigard, OR
Chris Harper ATH 6-2 231 4.45 5.9 Wichita, KS
LaMichael James RB 5-9 180 4.4 5.8 Texarkana, TX
Dion Jordan TE 6-6 215 4.6 5.8 Chandler, AZ
Josh Kaddu LB 6-3 210 - 5.2 Vacaville, CA
Mychal Rivera TE 6-4 230 4.75 5.5 Van Nuys, CA
Hamani Stevens OL 6-4 290 5.45 5.9 Hemet, CA
DeWitt Stuckey LB 6-0 212 - 5.7 Stockton, CA
Zach Taylor ATH 6-4 225 - 5.2 Brenham, TX
Darron Thomas QB 6-4 195 4.52 5.8 Aldine, TX
Justin Thompson DT 6-5 280 - 6.0 Torrance, CA

Oregon State Beavers

Jordan Bishop WR 6-3 195 - 5.1 Salem, OR
Jeremy Francis RB 6-1 210 4.55 5.6 Torrance, CA
Ryan Katz QB 6-2 194 4.7 5.6 Santa Monica, CA
Colin Kelly OL 6-5 250 - 5.4 Kelso, WA
Kameron Krebs DB 6-1 210 4.64 5.2 Mission Viejo, CA
Simi Kuli DE 6-4 270 - 6.1 Torrance, CA
Colin Lyons OL 6-4 307 5.2 5.5 Fair Oaks, CA
Brent McNeil OL 6-3 295 5.2 5.6 Torrance, CA
Geno Munoz WR 6-0 180 4.57 5.4 Tacoma, WA
Viliamu Nau OL 6-6 330 - 4.9 Walnut, CA
Stephen Paea DT 6-2 290 - 5.6 Ephraim, UT
Keynan Parker RB 6-0 183 - 5.5 New Westminster, B.C.
Jacquizz Rodgers RB 5-6 180 4.6 5.6 Rosenberg, TX
Jovan Stevenson RB 5-11 195 4.5 5.5 Tucson, AZ
Ben Terry DE 6-3 240 4.55 5.5 Mission Viejo, CA
Kevan Walker WR 6-1 186 4.5 5.7 Arcadia, CA
Tony Wilson LB 6-1 207 - 5.4 Salem, OR

Portland State Vikings (because we can)


Fred Anderson DB 6-2 180 - - Santa Clarita, CA
Austin Curran RB 5-11 215 - - San Francisco, CA
Brandon Dunlap WR 5-11 180 - - Stockton, CA
Joe Ma'aseia DT 6-5 280 5.4 - Oroville, CA
David Pedersen LB 6-1 225 - - Wilmington, CA
John Shackford DE 6-5 250 - - Santa Rosa, CA
Tyler Staley OL 6-3 275 - - Valencia, CA
Dustin Waldron OL 6-5 243 - - Eugene, OR

COMMITTED/NOT YET SIGNED Pos Stars Ht Wt 40 RR Video Hometown
Eloka Anyaorah LB 5-11 200 4.4 - Suwanee, GA
Zach Brown WR 6-1 180 - - Keizer, OR
Zach Dias OL 6-5 285 5.2 - Fairfield, CA
Nick Gale DE 6-4 244 - - East Wenatchee, WA
David Gertson DT 6-1 285 - - Portland, OR
Kramer Hagan QB 6-1 210 - 5.3 Sacramento, CA
Jermaine Jacobs DT 6-1 290 - - Ukiah, CA
Dalton Jasso OL 6-3 270 - - Lakewood, CA
Nick Kalpin RB 5-11 212 - - Los Gatos, CA
Cory McCaffrey WR 5-9 181 - 5.0 Sisters, OR
Josh Nakamoto RB 6-0 206 - - Norco, CA
Ryan Rau LB 6-0 208 4.7 - Folsom, CA
Manuel Rojas OL 6-3 280 - - Fullerton, CA
Colton Russi LB 6-2 230 - - Colfax, CA
Zach Todd WR 5-11 177 - - Eugene, OR



The Ducks easily have a half-dozen guys who can probably start next year: Taylor (the long snapper), Thomas/Harper, Boyett, Cantu, Alonso/Stuckey, Thompson. I'd imagine the offensive linemen all get redshirted along with Barner (unless we suffer injuries), Grady, Kaddu and Rivera. Oh, and they also are still recruiting this one kid...he didn't sign today, he's from Pennsylvania...can't remember his name...he might come too. They say he's a QB so that should be interesting.

I know little about the Beavs' class other than 1) Simi Kuli is good and 2) Jacquizz Rodgers is frightening and likely a 4/5-star player if he were a few inches taller. As it stands, look out.

Yeah Portland State! I'm a little pissed the Ducks couldn't get Cory McCaffrey...he was hugely productive and he'll probably see playing time right away.

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 5:17 am
by kdawg32086
Terrelle Pryor.....*prays*

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 6:01 am
by PDXKnight
What a great recruiting year for the ducks! Even if Pryor doesn't go to Oregon, Darron Thomas is a great recruit and should be the face of the team given a couple of years plus there are definitely a lot of starting caliber players on that list. Go Ducks!!! :clap:

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 6:09 am
by Wizenheimer
Oden2 wrote:What a great recruiting year for the ducks! Even if Pryor doesn't go to Oregon, Darron Thomas is a great recruit and should be the face of the team given a couple of years plus there are definitely a lot of starting caliber players on that list. Go Ducks!!! :clap:


They kind of struck out on wide receivers though.

Dion Jordan may be a good one and he's 6'6. But they didn't land any of the 4 speed receiver they were recruiting.

Fortunately, they have that transfer from USC that's been called the fastest wide-out in the country joining the team next year.

edit: and once again...no good defensive ends

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 7:32 am
by breaker91
Too bad the Ducks lost out on this guy. Apparently he made up a big story that he was being recruited by Oregon and Cal. He went as far as to stage a signing in his HS school gym with Cal.

http://deadspin.com/353576/kevin-hart-m ... e-thing-up

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 8:00 am
by The Emcee
Anyone got a good UO college FB forum? I usually go to oregonlive but the Beaver trolls are out of control. Literally can't have a normal conversation.

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 8:03 am
by swede
The Beavers had a really good bunch of players redshirt last year too. The Ducks are trying to be WVU Pac-10 on offense, all super fast players.

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 8:40 am
by Twith
educk.com is the place to be.

Oregonlive makes me feel like I'm on crazy pills.

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 9:58 am
by PhilipNelsonFan
Wizenheimer wrote:They kind of struck out on wide receivers though.

Dion Jordan may be a good one and he's 6'6. But they didn't land any of the 4 speed receiver they were recruiting.

Fortunately, they have that transfer from USC that's been called the fastest wide-out in the country joining the team next year.

edit: and once again...no good defensive ends


Such a negative Nancy. Blake Cantu will be an excellent role player, and Jamere Holland will fill in nicely once Derrick Jones is kicked off the team. (Please, God.) Jordan sounds like a physical project, but I like his chances.

We also didn't need defensive ends...Kenny Rowe on one side, Will Tukuafu on the other, and Brandon Bair spelling both guys serves as enough manpower. But Thompson should be huge anyone, as good DTs can help out mediocre DEs.

The best thing is that we got three legitimate linebackers and a possible starting safety in John Boyett. Those are huge gets. Depending on whether Maehl moves back to safety or stays at WR (and he's very good at both, from what I've been told), we could be looking at a surprisingly deep secondary...even with both free safeties gone.

Supposedly, all three JUCOs (Blount, Ferras, Thompson), Harper and Thomas will all be practicing with the team in the spring.

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 3:12 pm
by Wizenheimer
PhilipNelsonFan wrote:Such a negative Nancy. Blake Cantu will be an excellent role player, and Jamere Holland will fill in nicely once Derrick Jones is kicked off the team. (Please, God.) Jordan sounds like a physical project, but I like his chances.


They appear to have tight end well manned with Dickson and Keeling. But their primary wide receivers last year were paysinger, colvin, strong, and j. williams. Williams is the only one returning and we know how undependable he has been at making simple catches. So their wide receiver depth is essentially unproven. It looked like they were developing a couple of good possession receivers in pflugrad and maehl. And maybe Drew Davis will emerge. But WR is a big question mark and Oregon was going after severral and didn't get one. To be fair, it's unusual for a true freshman to have a big impact, so maybe even if they would have recruited a couple it wouldn't have made a big difference next year.

PhilipNelsonFan wrote:
We also didn't need defensive ends...Kenny Rowe on one side, Will Tukuafu on the other, and Brandon Bair spelling both guys serves as enough manpower. But Thompson should be huge anyone, as good DTs can help out mediocre DEs.


Tukuafu isn't bad, but Nick Reed is better and I do believe he's returning. Kenny Rowe??...he's listed as 215 pounds which is fairly small. I doubt he'll be effective against the run. He may be a good pass rusher. and oregon needs more of that. Still they need quality and depth at DE and they didn't help themselves in this recruiting class.

I wasn't dissing the class, it appears to be pretty good, but Oregon appeared to finish 2nd on a lot of players they wanted like streeter, boyd, vaughn telemarqe, datone jones, enrique davis, simi kuli and jarret.

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 3:44 pm
by Billy
I have to admit it was a little bummer to lose (or at least hear about losing) two quality defensive lineman from the Ducks class so close to signing day. I think the depth would have been great.

That said I was impressed with this class immensely. Oregon sounds like they are still at least in it for Pryor which would be fantastic, but they certainly aren't looking shabby at QB.

The depth is certainly there at WR this year, but I can understand why Oregon would have liked 2-3 more guys. Like was mentioned, Jones probably isn't going to be on the team much longer and JWill can't be relied upon extensively. Couple that with the weird string of injuries that Oregon experienced last year and I could understand the reasoning to get a few more.

Maybe Colvin can get a medical redshirt?

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 6:22 pm
by The Emcee
Billy wrote:
Maybe Colvin can get a medical redshirt?


I'm pretty sure he doesn't qualify, but I can't give you a specific link right now.

All I can say is, I CANNOT wait to see this offense take the field again. Last year it was one of the most exciting things to watch :D

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 7:28 pm
by PhilipNelsonFan
Bellotti, in his press conference, said that Jeff Maehl will probably stick around at WR because of how weak the class turned out. And thank God. Remember that catch he made in the Civil War where he was lit up? Graft his hands (and mentality) onto J-Will's body and you have the most talented CFB WR ever.

If you can call him one, J-Will is the most sure thing, probably followed by Davis, Maehl and Holland. Pflugrad's probably No. 5, Jordan No. 6 and Blake Cantu No. 7. Honestly, I'll take that any day of the week as long as we have a QB to throw them the ball. (An aside: what does Oregon really have with Drew Davis? Supposedly he's built, fast and is a really good person, but no one ever throws him the f**king ball.)

The X-factor in all this is Malachi Lewis, an absolute stud who flew under the recruiting radar last year. He plays RB, FB, WR, and TE...hell, the only thing he DOESN'T do is throw the ball. And he's got 4.5 speed.

Versatility is Bellotti's buzzword and I think he has enough to where he feels he can be successful next season. I do, however, agree that more depth would be nice, but we'll see how things look this spring. I don't think we end up kicking ourselves at all here.

Posted: Thu Feb 7, 2008 7:39 pm
by PhilipNelsonFan
The Statesman Urinal breaks down the Beavs' class in the biased manner only they could.

I raised my eyebrows on a few of those guys though.

Posted: Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:14 am
by Milkdud
Its kind of silly to to call out that article for bias, like 90% of those summary type articles are pretty much the same, just copy paste in different names. Im sure I can dig put a ton of local UO summarys going all ape **** over the incoming class.

Rogers has a chance to be a special player if Riley can find ways to use him in a verity of offensive sets and on special teams. Simi also sounds like a beast from all accounts so who knows. As for the rest of the beaver signings again who knows, OSU has been pretty succesful in recent years without getting highly reguarded class coming in and frankly is part of the success because they bring in hungry players who were passed over by the "elite" pac-10 schools.

Posted: Sat Feb 9, 2008 4:55 pm
by BigOrangeBalls
They have 2 athletic QBs already, and if Pryor signed that would make 3. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the athletic QBs end up at WR at some point... You want your best athletes on the field, right?

Posted: Sat Feb 9, 2008 5:03 pm
by Billy
BigOrangeBalls wrote:They have 2 athletic QBs already, and if Pryor signed that would make 3. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the athletic QBs end up at WR at some point... You want your best athletes on the field, right?


I believe there has been talks that Thomas actually could be a very good receiver and that he actually played that position a bit in HS and did very well. Harper could play anywhere from Running Back to Linebacker. Great position to be in :).

Posted: Sat Feb 9, 2008 8:04 pm
by The Emcee
Even with the two guys we got, imagine the trick plays Chip can come up with where one lines up somewhere other than QB and they shift everything.

Now picture that with 3 QBs in the game at QB, WR, and RB... :clap:

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:00 am
by PhilipNelsonFan
Milkdud wrote:Its kind of silly to to call out that article for bias, like 90% of those summary type articles are pretty much the same, just copy paste in different names. Im sure I can dig put a ton of local UO summarys going all ape **** over the incoming class.


You're right. I just can't stand the Statesman. Forgive me. :P

Milkdud wrote:Rogers has a chance to be a special player if Riley can find ways to use him in a verity of offensive sets and on special teams. Simi also sounds like a beast from all accounts so who knows. As for the rest of the beaver signings again who knows, OSU has been pretty succesful in recent years without getting highly reguarded class coming in and frankly is part of the success because they bring in hungry players who were passed over by the "elite" pac-10 schools.


How many Beavs freshman are likely to play? From the looks of things, Lyons and Wilson will get an early shot, and Rodgers is likely to see a lot of the field, but outside of them I'd have to say the Ducks will receive more contributions from their freshmen than will the Beavers.

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:04 am
by swede
Alot of freshmen are going to play because we had alot of redshirts last year. And we platoon positions alot too.