Wednesday War Room: 2/15/2017
COACHING WHISPERS
We are two weeks past signing day and still in wait-and-see mode for the final position coach on the offensive side of the ball. The Duck staff threw a curveball at fans last week with the hiring of Marcus Arroyo as the QB coach and passing game coordinator. So where did this name come from? After all, it seems Arroyo has no real ties to Willie Taggart or Mario Cristobal having never crossed paths with either.
Well, Duck Sports Authority did some digging and it turns out that Arroyo does have shared history with one coach on the Oregon staff; Joe Salave’a. Arroyo worked together with the current defensive line coach for the 2008 season before moving on to Wyoming. That team was led by former Arizona Wildcat coach Dick Tomey – who happens to know Willie Taggart having served as an associate athletic director at South Florida in 2015-2016. Much has been made of Taggart’s affinity for his good friend Jim Harbaugh, but it could be the mentorship of Tomey that makes the most difference for the Oregon staff in 2017 and beyond.
As of last weekend, we had heard that Dameyune Craig made a visit to Eugene to check everything out. While sources went silent in the last day or so, the last we heard was that it was ‘in the hands of HR.'
If something should happen and Craig is not the next wide receivers coach for the Ducks, there are some names to keep an eye out for. Andrew Hayes-Stoker is a fabulous coach; and probably a pipe dream. He makes similar money at Illinois to what Jimmie Dougherty made at Oregon. He has been with Lovie Smith for much of his career and is firmly established with the Illini. If he has the notion of upward mobility, however, he has worked with Arroyo in the past at Tampa Bay.
Another receivers coach with a connection to Arroyo is Kevin Daft at Harvard. The two never actually coached together as Arroyo arrived at Cal (Berkely) the year after Daft left Tedford’s staff. Both coached with former Cal running back coach Ron Gould.
Looking at the other co-coordinator, there is a name to watch with direct ties to Mario Cristobal. Dennis Smith is currently the running backs and special teams coach at McNeese State. Smith played under Cristobal at Miami (FL) and spent a season as a graduate assistant with the Hurricanes before following Cristobal to Florida International. He has held a variety of roles and is another excellent recruiter helping FIU bring in the top recruiting class in the Sun Belt Conference in 2011 and 2012.
RECRUITING WHISPERS
When Willie Taggart took over the Duck program, he mentioned putting a fence around the state of Oregon’s top talent. He is seemingly a man on a mission in that regard. So far, he has offered at least 8 in-state prospects for the class of 2018 and is looking at a potential ninth offer.
We told you last week that the staff really wanted Travis Spreen to make a trip down to Eugene this weekend; and for good reason. First, we have been told that the coaches want to make an offer in person; they are well aware of Spreen’s affinity for the program. There is another reason, however, that they wanted it to be this weekend. The staff has set up their first junior day for the 2018 recruiting class and there is a heavy emphasis on Oregon prospects. We confirmed that Braden Lenzy will be in attendance yesterday.
Two names we have been told will be unable to attend due to prior commitments are Travis Spreen and Draco Bynum. Spreen had already made a commitment to attend the Washington junior day being held at the same time. That situation is still fluid and could change between now and Saturday. We will definitely update you if Spreen is going to make it down for this event.
Bynum will be attending the first Under Armour Invite only camp in Los Angeles this weekend. As he told us direct it is ‘too expensive to change flights’ at this point. Nonetheless, it should prove to be a popular concept moving forward to have multiple junior days, with one focusing on in-state talent.
RECRUITING INSIGHTS
We heard as an endless stream of Florida prospects in the 2017 class raved about the number of athletes living in Florida who truly want a chance to go to Oregon and were simply not recruited. Taggart and his staff recruited the state aggressively this past cycle. We have been talking to many coaches in the southeast and the theme remains the same; the Ducks have hit an oil well with the Florida connections that is not likely to dry up any time soon.
We have heard from coach after coach, and player after player, that they want to hear from the Ducks. Taggart is listening and has continued to mine the state’s top talent. Keep watching as the staff builds even stronger relationships.
Does this mean that the staff will ignore their backyard, bread and butter, Claifornia? Absolutely not. The coaches have already shown that they will work as tirelessly on the West Coast as the East coast. Relentless. That is the best word to describe this staff’s approach to acquiring talent.
SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT
Once again, it would take several articles to discuss all of the new offers Oregon has made this week. Instead we focus on some key new offers.
Tommy Bush – The Texas standout has all the tools to be a premier receiver in the Pac-12. The kind of receiver normally reserved for other schools, Brown has his eyes open with the new energy. If the Oregon offense can produce on the field, their chances will see some improvement.
Dominick Anderson – The area of most need that went unfulfilled will become a heavy priority for the Ducks. We first spoke with Anderson on signing day. He is listed in the database as a 2017 JUCO recruit from Arizona Western, but will actually be an early enrollee for the 2018 class. He is scheduled to graduate in December and currently sits at a 3.0 GPA. Arizona Western has been good to the Duck program in the past and if the Ducks can snag this talented tight end, it could go a long way toward easing the pains of the 2017 recruiting misses.
Douglas Johnson – Keep an eye out for the talented team mate of Anderson at Arizona Western. He has speed and good hands. He is more of a slot receiver and the Ducks may not take any of the 5-9, 180 pound receivers in this class, but should they decide to do so, Johnson might be someone to watch this season. He says he has dreamed of an Oregon offer and thinks he would be a perfect fit for Taggart and the new offense.
Stephaun Peters – Another name out of the blue, but he has really started to rise up some recruiting boards. He has very good size at 6-2 and 185 pounds and has consistently clocked in the 4.4 range in the 40-yard dash. After an impressive performance at the Valdosta MVP Camp recently he began to hear from SEC powers Alabama and Georgia. "Stephaun has been interested in Oregon since the moment Taggart became coach,” we were told by a family member. “He (Taggart) is a good coach. We are originally from Florida and we know they have ballers there.”
Peters is currently unranked by Rivals, but we expect that to change – especially if he continues to have a strong Spring and Summer camp season. Good size, excellent speed and good technique make him a very undervalued prospect at the moment
That’s all from the War Room this week. Check out Dominick Anderson's Arizona Western Freshman highlights below: