With Seisay gone Duck DB's move on

Oregon is going to be deep at defensive back in 2016 but not as deep as they were going to be. On Sunday junior cornerback Chris Seisay made clear through the media that he was leaving the team and the University confirmed that he had been granted his release to transfer.

These type of things happen quite often in college football. Keeping 100+ players in a program happy with their role on the team is not possible, particularly given that most of them were stars in high school, accustomed to playing time and limelight.

On Monday Oregon defensive backs coach John Neal was left wondering exactly why things had transpired the way they did.

“Young men leave the program for various reasons,” mused Neal after Monday afternoon’s fall camp session. “In this case there was really no communication and hasn’t been since. The fact is, and I know you want an answer, but the only answer is that you will have to ask him.”

But asking the departing player their reasoning seldom results in direct answers. The truth often lies with playing time, and it manifests itself in other ways like dissatisfaction with their position coach or other aspects of team life. It is the rare athlete who ever mentions their inability to win a position as the source of their displeasure.

Seisay, who had started in multiple bowl games as well as regular season games, foreshadowed his mindset near the beginning of fall camp.

“I don’t know if it was a shock,” said Neal. “You read the paper a few weeks ago when he said “I have lost my desire,” so you can do little puzzle pieces if you want to. One thing that I know is if someone loses their spirit there is probably a pretty good chance that is not where they want to be.”

What exactly the Ducks are losing depth chart-wise is in the eye of the beholder. Seisay told the Oregonian on Sunday that he had been expecting to start heading into camp. Coach Neal saw him more as a number two.

“Competition-wise he was going to play some,” said Neal. “So it’s kind of heartbreaking.”

But with a week left of fall camp, the veteran DB coach has no time to dwell on the past. And on Monday he certainly was not.

So Coach, what is the impact of his departure on your unit?

“None. Absolutely none. And it is sad for him because the players move on very quickly. And so do we as coaches. Chris missed a number of days due to academics so we are moving on real quick.”