THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA

For those that only read articles on the front page, there was some news we shared on the message boards this week.

Starting today, I will take over as the publisher for Duck Sports Authority. My mission was simple when I asked to take on this role: return Duck Sports Authority to what it used to be.

The difficult reality is that the recruiting world today is vastly different than it was a decade ago. Recruits are building their own brands and often break their own news. We can still get inside information, but the staff at elite football programs are doing a much better job at keeping some things quiet. So, we adjust and move towards what we can bring of value to our customers and I think that is more and better recruiting content.

As we start to grow, we will be able to get more content. More interviews. More information. We will also get a new breed of subscribers and I want to invite as much interaction as possible. They will be different in the manner that they communicate and there will certainly be some more personalities. That’s okay. Change is scary for most people, but to thrive we must embrace the changes that are ahead.

We will still have game coverage, of course, and my post-game Fifth Quarter articles are staying. While I will not be able to attend most practices, I am planning to partner with those who can be there. Given the limited amount of time we have to view practice and the lack of reliable information we can glean, the value of money is better placed elsewhere than via paying someone to be at practice to get very little substantive information. Partnering with others is our best method to get coverage.

I will continue to work on building a community on Duck Sports Authority. The best thing about this site used to be our analysis – and that will continue; but if we become more engaged with each other discussing those analyses, we will be better than ever. Thank you all for believing in this vision enough to stand with us as we go down this new path.

OREGON MEDIA DAY

It is sort of ironic that we made this change on Media Day for Oregon as the Ducks also enter the new era joining the B1G Conference this week. There were 44 different player interviews on Monday – some better than others, but all listed on our First Duck Club.

There were two overarching themes to a lot of what we learned Monday. First, this team believes it is physical and deep enough to make a deep run into the playoffs and contend for a national championship. This is one of those times where it does not feel disingenuous by the players, if the offense gels quickly – including an offensive line replacing the Rimington Award winner and a two other players with extensive experience from one of the best offensive lines ion the nation last year – this might be the best Oregon team top to bottom in history.

The second thing that stood out is the number of true freshmen that are standing out to some of the team veterans. Trent Ferguson, Da’Jaun Riggs, Roger Saleapaga, AJ Pugliano, Ify Obidegwu, Dillon Gresham, Ryan Pellum, JacQawn McRoy, Elijah Rushing and Aaron Flowers were all mentioned during the open periods of media day Monday as having stood out for their play so far. It really shows the outstanding job that this staff did on the recruiting trail to have so many true freshmen standing out early in their careers.

WEEKLY RECRUITING ROUNDUP

SNL Round up: Monday we talked about several players that stood out during the event. Elbert Hill , Immanuel Iheanacho, Jonas Williams , Caden Jones, and Josiah Molden all stood out. Molden is the youngest son of former Duck Alex Molden – and he might just be the best of all Molden’s. By the time he arrives on a campus he is going to be an instant impact defender. This is a legacy recruit that I know the staff does not want to lose and they will continue really working hard and not taking for granted that his last name will get him to Oregon.

There are several upcoming commitments at which Oregon will be prominent. On Wednesday we made some predictions with the feeling strong that Jonas Williams picks Oregon this weekend.

I did pick Aaron Dunn to go to Utah – but the Ducks are quietly working very hard to get back into the picture and there are some sources inside the program that feel as if they may be in better position than we have heard. I still have my pick in for Utah, but that could change between now and Saturday so stay tuned.

I still hear really good things about Trey McNutt and Oregon, and I am still ready to make a prediction for Oregon just a few days away from his announcement.

2026 LB Offered

We also spoke with 2026 Lakota West High School in West Chester (OH) linebacker prospect Cam Thomas about his offer following SNL. I like this offer a lot, but there is still some time to go as he will focus mostly on his season. He will be in contact if he is going to visit Oregon during the fall so I will update that if and when we get the information.

All for now!