Over at Duck Sports Authority, we do a weekly column titled ‘Wednesday War Room’ which originally began as Wednesday Whispers. I like to do stuff like that, just like Friday is ‘Flock Talk’ Friday. I think I want to bring back the whispers right here. This will be my daily thoughts on recruiting – non-premium stuff, of course. After all, I still work for a premium site and I cannot give the farm away for free here and then have no one read my premium stuff!
COACHING WHISPERS
This is not much of a secret – the coaches went on a tour of Oregon just after the Spring Game before heading out onto the road to do more recruiting. While there was some early consternation about the lack of attention the new staff was paying to the coaches around the state, this was always the plan.
The staff did not have a lot of time when they first arrived to build relationships; they were too busy trying to salvage a recruiting class. In states like Texas and Florida, you can kill two birds with one stone. Oregon, though, only had a handful of elite prospects and the coaches made the necessary decision to make that the focus of 2018 and not their 2017 class.
So far. So good.
Now the staff will head out around the nation and continue to look for the absolute best talent they can find. Expect Big Joe to really work as much of his Poly connection and the West coast as much as possible. While the Ducks have been able to use ‘swag’ and ‘juice’ for plenty of skill players, Joe will be in the trenches, so to speak, building relationships.
NEW OFFER: Along that line, also expect Mario Cristobal to return to his roots as he recruits some new offensive linemen. Having secured his top in-state prospect, and made a great impression with Tommy Brown, the offer to Coynis Miller is a signal that he is not going to be content sticking to the west coast. He wants big, physical offensive linemen with that right kind of mean streak – and there are a lot of them in the south.
This offer is only a sign of more to come. Expect him to push very hard during this stretch.
What’s up with Dominick Wood-Anderson? He committed. I don’t think that is a secret; then he went radio silent. He has posted some tweets which cryptically point to his commitment status, but he has not really answered any calls or messages. It’s coming, though, so this is one for Patient Bear.
Just some early morning thoughts. I will have more later.