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Since the arrival of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator in 2007, Duck fans have seen not only a uniquely dominant offense, but they have seen the football program rise to unprecedented heights culminating in the 2012 Rose Bowl win. Along the way, a couple of special players from parts not normally represented on the Duck roster transformed Oregon football into a national brand.
Last week, Duck Sports Authority began this series on national recruiting by looking at the Eastern Region of the country. In our first two parts to this series, we were able to show graphically, that the Ducks roster now has 25% fewer players from the dominant West Coast Region. Those players are coming from somewhere. Today we continue to dig deeper into regions not normally infiltrated by Oregon. Today, we continue this feature by looking at the Southeast Region.
There are many people who question the wisdom of venturing into territories like the Southeast. While the Ducks have had decent successes in the Midwest, traditional logic is that the southeastern part of our nation is dominated by SEC schools and is not worth the effort as those schools will, by and large, take anyone that they want. While it is true that, generally speaking, SEC schools get the cream of the Southeastern crop, that does not mean that the Ducks cannot find a player or two that can make an impact.
Let us take a look now, at how Oregon’s presence in the Southeast region has changed during Chip Kelly’s tenure.