Interesting Pac-12 recruiting notes.

[RunLeeRun]

Sometimes a recruit attracts a lot of attention because of the school he is involved with.
Stanford's illustrious history of top QB's from its past is all it takes to peak my interest in
a new QB recruit.


Costello Picks Stanford

ESPN Jr. 300 QB K.J. Costello commits to Stanford.

Harbaugh really wanted that kid, too.

 

[RunLeeRun]

If Wisconsin has to depend on the offensive system they currently use, they will never be major players in the chase for the National Championship. Just look at the record. Wisky finally won a bowl game last season, defeating a 5 loss Auburn team. That Auburn team lost 4 out of their last 5 games. Their only win came against FCS Samford. Before that Wisconsin had lost four straight bowl games. Their record versus non-con Power 5 teams is 3-7 in the past 5 years. That is a record of failure and that is what Wisconsin fans can expect year after year as long as Alvarez is calling the shots. This season Wisky opens against Alabama in Dallas. Does anyone give them a legitimate shot at winning that game? I sure do not. Again, it becomes a question of what fans are willing to settle for. If Wisky fans are willing to settle for 7-10 win seasons and a bowl game, then keep the same system. They have enough talent for that. If fans want to see legitimate shots at National Championships, then it is time for Wisky to change their offensive philosophy.

What kind of offense would you like them to run?

 

[Conan]

Pro-style is such a broad term. But I think people mean it to describe a balanced offense, and less about certain formations. There is a lot of truth that Nebraska leaned on the run game during it's most successful times. But I also think they were slightly more balanced than people give them credit for. The 70-71 teams didn't run much QB-option (maybe 5 times a game). They even ran some no huddle offense, which is certainly Pro-esque. I'd say they were a very I-formation team. In the mid-70's they had a QB that started in a SuperBowl, one Vince Ferragamo, but they weren't as succesfull those years, getting killed by the Wishbone Oklahoma teams that rarely every passed the ball. Again, I have to admit the importance of the run game on the plains (looking at you too Oklahoma). That pushed Nebraska to look to adding the option game from many formations. Nebraska really only ran the option 15 times a game in it's heyday. It was way more power run than anything. And it's philosophical approach to option football was that it was much like a pass. Chances are it was for little or no gain, or a very big gain with a slight elevation in turnover potential. Viewed in that light, under Osborne were are looking at a close to 60-40 run-pass offense. Not quite as lopsided as one might think.

How this relates to Mike Riley? I think he will learn the importance to the run game. He's very open-minded and I have looked his teams over. He does very well at playing to his teams strengths. Given that Nebraska has mostly only mobile qb's, I think you will see "some" qb running built into his jet-sweep scheme. I base that, again, on his history of adjusting to talent, his comments he made while still at Oregon St about need to change things up, about OC Danny Langsdorf comments about learning from Russel Wilson at Seattle and how that run-game killed the Giants, and the fact that Nebraska is actively recruiting QB's that aren't strictly pro-style.

Going back some time in memory, I remember how most of OS's offense under Riley were run first offenses that often featured a top RB in the nation. Quiz Rogers most recently grabbed his share of headlines but when I think back, Stephen Jackson comes out on top. Maybe Riley will get lucky again. He's shown us what is possible with a talented runner. Don't be surprised if he finds one and makes Nebraska's opponents pay dearly.

 

[rivercitybirdie]

As far as Wisconsin being successful in the Pac 12, I really do not see them defeating teams like Oregon, Stanford, USC, UCLA, The two Arizona schools, or even Washington on a consistent basis.

i respect your opinion...... however,

other than oregon, do any of those teams really beat another team consistently? oregon had problems with stanford, stanford has regressed and has current problem with oregon........... the rest are mixtures of 50/50ness against each other. arizona teams have only become good recently too......... so it's a jumble. but i'd put wisconsin behind oregon, similar level to USC and ahead of all others (obviously arizona and ASU has some short-term variability)

teamrankings.com predictive ratings would have them as #5, 3, 5, 3 and 3 in the pac12 (2014 to 2010) the last 5 years......... oregon and stanford consistently ahead of them.......

in this last year when they would have been 5th, they are 2 points from 2nd.. 2nd is 12 points from first..... interesting that pac 12 would have had 7 teams between 12th and 27th. gap of 5.2 points............ so gap of 12 points from oregon to #2 (P12) USC. gap of 5 points from #12 USC to #27 utah.

cliff notes: amazing parity and i think wisconsin would be near the top of that parity... and of course games are played on the field, but i have to assume power ratings correlate pretty nicely to point spreads.

 

[1osubucks]

Notice BD that Alvarez jumped in and coached the bowl games when Andersen left...same thing when Bielema left.

Rather than let one of the coordinators lead the team...he jumps in as top dog and takes over.

Amazingly, he billed the school for extra pay for coaching in the bowls. I don't like the guy!

i didnt know he billed school.... what a pig. his ego is bigger then his belly i guess..

 

[Conan]

Aside from Mariota Oregon lost 3 OL's due to graduation. 2 of them were all-Americans plus Ifo Ekpre Olumu to the NFL.

Helfrich has been praised for the job he did keeping his OL more or less in tact despite a rash of injuries that led to 10
different starters on the OL being used in their championship run in 2014.

Out of a total of 22 recruits this season, 11 of them are linemen.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

There is no way that I can praise Helfrich for anything last season. He had a sure fire #1 team and blew it. It was that simple. Having one of your starting players kicked off the team for failing a drug test just days before the big game demonstrates a total lack of control over your team. Once that happened it became obvious that the inmates were running the asylum and Oregon had no chance againstg a very disciplined Ohio State team. Meyer is 20 times the coach that Helfrich could ever be.

I will admit that I really thought that Oregon would be an easy winner last season. What I obviously forgot was that Oregon has come close, but has never won a College Football Championship. Not only does it take some great talent on the field and on the sideline, but the team and school just has to have that something extra that separates the winners from the also-rans. Oregon simply does not have that. It is extremely difficult to win that first NC. The last team to do so was Colorado, who shared a NC with Georgia Tech way back in 1990.

 

[sendacash]

Bottom line is that Oregon just has never had a defense to speak of. Ok, maybe they put a DB or LB or two into the NFL but they are not known for that. The fact of the matter is that they are WAY too focused on offense and running the hurry up. This is a good way to beat up on weak teams , but easy for strong teams to stop. Running the ball with a great D is the formula imo. The Nebraska teams had great defense, so did Oklahoma, even Colorado in their day had really good defenses.

 

[Conan]

Speaking of Nebraska, Riley brought his DC with him, a fellow named Mark Banker. He's done a great job under Riley
going back more than a few years. He is sharp as a tack.

As far as Helfrich goes, he has been focusing on building up his DL. Oregon recruiting in this area has gone well. Don
Pellum is now running the defensive show for Helfrich. You guys that criticize Oregon's DL sound like me talking about
their former DC Nick Aliotti. Old habits die hard. Well he's gone now and Pellum is now the man. I am finally and at last
relieved to see things are changing for the better.

 

[sendacash]

Once USC comes off probation, I think they will likely run the PAC. That was a pretty harsh sentence, probably too much I think they will be pissed.

 

[Conan]

As far as Helfrich goes, he has been focusing on building up his DL. Oregon recruiting in this area has gone well.
Don Pellum is now running the defensive show for Helfrich. You guys that criticize Oregon's DL sound like me talking about their former DC
Nick Aliotti. Old habits die hard. Well he's gone now and Pellum is now the man. I am finally and at last relieved to see things are changing
for the better.

Don Pellum has made himself known in the recruiting side of things, twice winning the Pac-10,-12 recruiter of the year award and recognition
that goes with it. If it's DL's he wants, he gets them himself. (as he already has) I hope what I'm looking for is what I find. I have said for a
decade and longer that if the Ducks ever got their defense clicking the way their offense has been operating, they'll win a NC. Warning, I can
be very rash and crude about AC's I don't like. For that matter, I believe that anyone who thinks USC will be back this season needs to be
Sarkiserized on the hot coals of defeat. I still think Pat Haden should have stuck with Ed Orgeron. Somehow I just don't see the Trojan talent
being enough to influence the 2015 season outcome with Sarkisian in charge. Bet they don't even beat UCLA.

Now I'll say a little bit about Oregon State. The big difference between Riley and Andersen is style and personality. (BFD) They contrast each
other. Riley is very laid back and Andersen is more demanding. At any rate, now that Sean Canfield is a goner, there's a healthy competition
between 3 players and the coach says he will name his starter at the end of spring drills. No last minute drama like a lot of others would do in
this situation. He's got an experienced OL with a 241 lb. Freshman stud fullback who's athletic ability is stunning. Everyone in practice knows
about Ryan Nall. They also have a couple of receivers returning with lots of playing time and some stats to back them. Victor Bolden has made
his presence known in clutch situations and Jordan Vellamin manged to catch my eye a few times last year. Impressive YAC runs. Both of them.
If I remember correctly, Andersen also has a 6'7" TE that weighs 260 lbs. (an athlete from someone's basketball program) I'm sure he will be
snacking on a bunch of little CB's down the road. Andersen says he is creating primarily a running offense and if Ryan Nall keeps up the good
work, this could turn out to be interesting. But Andersen wants to run the option in addition to his multiple offensive sets. Man, the Beavers are
really going to be running option plays. The times they are a changin.

 

[Conan]

Once USC comes off probation, I think they will likely run the PAC. That was a pretty harsh sentence, probably too much I think they will be pissed.

They first need someone like Pete Carrol or (even) Lane Kiffin without one hand tied behind his back. IMHO Sarkisian is a dud.

 

[GoSooners]

They first need someone like Pete Carrol or (even) Lane Kiffin without one hand tied behind his back. IMHO Sarkisian is a dud.

It's early yet, but I think you hit the nail on the head with Sark. I also think USC is getting way overhyped for next season. Their defense is horrible and as stated Sark is an average coach (possible dud) at this point and time. This reminds of when they were preseason number 1 with Barkley and company and ended up being terrible (similar to how this season went for OU).

 

[BigdaddyQH]

If USC is overhyped, what is Oklahoma? USC could play their second string and defeat OU. What we have here is an Oregon homer who will never live down what happened to them last season, and an OU homer who is too busy making excuses for the team to come to terms with what is really happening to that team. Before you two amateurs go passing judgement on head coaches, look at your own two head coaches. One was a complete failure when the chips were down and the other has simply lost it. How many times has Helfrich defeated Arizona? How many times has his Oregon team finished the season with 0 or 1 loss? The answer to both questions is ZERO. As far as Stoops is concerned, perhaps Mr. Sooner homer can explain to us how this team, ranked in the Top 5 in the nation by many rags last season, could finish with a worse record than the very coach he is knocking (8-5 compared to 9-4 for USC)?

Will Sark be better than either one or both of these two head coaches? Only time will answer that question. Perhaps you two guys who love to be loose with your opinions should try to think before you type. Let's give him some time before we go making judgements based on practically nothing. I am sure that Conan would agree with me on this. To be honest, I have no idea what GOsooner is thinking. Ofcourse we know the real reason why you two are so anti USC. It is called jealousy. OU has not been the same since getting that huge butt kicking by USC in the BCS Championship game, and Oregon has never won a championship to begin with, despite two shots at it.

 

[Conan]

Listen creepy guy, I was born in LA and I was rooting for USC while you were busy crapping in your own diapers. What say you homer?
I moved to Oregon about 26 years ago and it took me a while to get behind the Ducks even though most every professional around me
was a duck fan. It took a long time before I started favoring Oregon over USC... but I will never throw the Trojans under the bus. If and
when they manage to put together a winning combination of recruits and AC's, I'll be rooting for them if they can pass Oregon by. I still
think very highly of them but just like everything else, I do try to keep it real. Do you understand that much Mr. "Top Cop."

And just FYI, I have followed Sarkisian for years. You don't think I know what I'm talking about? You are welcome to wager against me
whenever you please. Other than that, you have no business and no reason to attempt to lord over those with many miles on you, you
little twerp. Being unable to appreciate the opinions of others and trashing them for expressing their views is so lame. Why the F**K do
you not see that?

 

[GoSooners]

Listen creepy guy, I was born in LA and I was rooting for USC while you were busy crapping in your own diapers. What say you homer?
I moved to Oregon about 26 years ago and it took me a while to get behind the Ducks even though most every professional around me
was a duck fan. It took a long time before I started favoring Oregon over USC... but I will never throw the Trojans under the bus. If and
when they manage to put together a winning combination of recruits and AC's, I'll be rooting for them if they can pass Oregon by. I still
think very highly of them but just like everything else, I do try to keep it real. Do you understand that much Mr. "Top Cop."

And just FYI, I have followed Sarkisian for years. You don't think I know what I'm talking about? You are welcome to wager against me
whenever you please. Other than that, you have no business and no reason to attempt to lord over those with many miles on you, you
little twerp. Being unable to appreciate the opinions of others and trashing them for expressing their views is so lame. Why the F**K do
you not see that?

Conan, I put Mr. Last Word I'll Show You on ignore a couple weeks ago. It's never been more pleasant in here not having to read the shit this knucklehead spews out.. You should do the same...

 

[Conan]

Here's the bottom line on Sarkisian...

He's a nice guy who has no killer instinct. I've thought about him for years and I'd say he has a lot to learn.

 

[TyBounce]

Conan, I put Mr. Last Word I'll Show You on ignore a couple weeks ago. It's never been more pleasant in here not having to read the shit this knucklehead spews out.. You should do the same...

Yeah ol' big daddy can be a little rough , he's what i call a sexual intellectual (fucking know it all) but i wouldnt want to put him on ignore (especially during the off season) b/c he posts a lot of new and usefull info. ... and the RX is the best forum for cfb off-season.

...But it is tough to speak an oppinion that Sark is overated and then you suck , your team sucks , and youve never won anything. hehe you've got to have thick skin around here (or keep oppinions to yourself)

...But at least he didnt call Sark a mongoloid that is the product of cousins getting together.(like hudspeth) Folks can be tough around here.

 

[REDEYE]

If USC is overhyped, what is Oklahoma? USC could play their second string and defeat OU. What we have here is an Oregon homer who will never live down what happened to them last season, and an OU homer who is too busy making excuses for the team to come to terms with what is really happening to that team. Before you two amateurs go passing judgement on head coaches, look at your own two head coaches. One was a complete failure when the chips were down and the other has simply lost it. How many times has Helfrich defeated Arizona? How many times has his Oregon team finished the season with 0 or 1 loss? The answer to both questions is ZERO. As far as Stoops is concerned, perhaps Mr. Sooner homer can explain to us how this team, ranked in the Top 5 in the nation by many rags last season, could finish with a worse record than the very coach he is knocking (8-5 compared to 9-4 for USC)?



Will Sark be better than either one or both of these two head coaches? Only time will answer that question. Perhaps you two guys who love to be loose with your opinions should try to think before you type. Let's give him some time before we go making judgements based on practically nothing. I am sure that Conan would agree with me on this. To be honest, I have no idea what GOsooner is thinking. Ofcourse we know the real reason why you two are so anti USC. It is called jealousy. OU has not been the same since getting that huge butt kicking by USC in the BCS Championship game, and Oregon has never won a championship to begin with, despite two shots at it.

With all of the injuries the Ducks suffered last year, with O line & skill positions, Helfrich did a great job to get this team a Pac 12 championship , and a playoff win...By the championship game we had no WR's left that could get any separation to help Mariotta. Not sure how he could have done much better of a coaching job. Probably the administration saw this too and gave him a nice extension.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

Red, the bottom line is simple. Hlefrich did not have control over his team. They did just fine against Florida State. Then they started to believe in what the rags and experts were saying. They thought they could not lose. One of their defensive starters gets kicked off the team for failing a drug test just days before the game. Now I know that the HC cannot control everything, but that is just inexcusable. Meyer did not have that problem. The difference is that Meyer and Ohio State have been there, done that. Oregon has never done that, and certaily lost all chance of winning a NC in the near future.