I'm sure you're a loyal fan and just want the best for your ducks, but you have to be honest with yourself at some point and admit that Oregon got caught with their pants down. Oregon's recruiting and presence has picked up within the last five years. That's not by accident. Thank you Phil Knight, New Level Athletics (or Flenory), Lyles, etc. Phil Knight might be your "Bill Lowder" (see Auburn). When Oregon win$, Nike win$. FYI - LaGarret Blount connect a sneak attack on a fellow Titans teammate not long after leaving UO's program. Titans LeGarrette Blount At It Again Punching Teammates (Video) | Total Pro Sports
Are you high? I haven't been bashing Oregon in this thread, but Blount is a douche bag. He clearly sucker punched the player. Nothing someone said on a football field justifies that. He should never have been allowed to step on an NCAA field ever again. idk about that twisted tiger that dumbass hoyt DE from boise who the only reason i know his name is because of him getting punched clearly provoked this n hit blounts pads and he deserved what he got and gurantee you ask 90% of people who would of been in that situation would have done the same.
I see like this: Oregon is new to big time football, and big time recruiting. They were trying to get a foot hold into the talent rich state of Texas. A state held in a choke hold by Mac Brown. They came across someone who could give them access, who wasn't in Mac Brown's "circle of trust". I think Oregon was willing to dabble in the grey area in order to get information to effectively recruit in the state. Mac Brown is ok with this at first, because Oregon's was only pulling lightly recruited (and players Texas wasn't recruiting) 3 star players (LMJ). Once Oregon landed Lache Seastrunk, he'd seen enough and got the word out about Willie Lyles. Of course this is just my take, I could be wrong. As far as Blount and his punch in the NFL. Come on, the guys helmet was ripped off twice in back to back plays. You can see that Washington is defending Blount telling them it wasn't right. "What's the point?" is what I think I heard. On the way back to the huddle, the guy Blount hits gave him a bit of a shoulder, then Blount reacts. It was more than Blount that was reacting to the play. Other guys from the offense were pushing the defensive guys because they were defending Blount, knowing ripping his helmet off twice in a row is uncalled for. Spin it how you want, but it was just something that happens all the time in practice, at every level. There usually aren't cameras around to catch it.
We all see our teams as the only place everyone wants to be but; you seriously need to back away from the drugs. Mack Brown is not concerned about Oregon recruiting in Texas. He may lose a little sleep over Oklahoma, LSU, TA&M, OK State, Bama and others – but Oregon, not so much. Absolutely every top 25 team, and a lot of others, recruit in Texas; and UT still owns Texas. And when I say owns I mean that each year of the 20 players that Mack really wants in Texas he’ll get 10 to 15 of them most years. Right now he has verbals on 7 of the top 10 Texas players in the 2012 class, last year he signed 5 of the top 10 - including nbrs 1,2,3,and 5. Seastrunk was 6th. The last year they "struggled" was in 2009 when LSU took the top two players. Which brings up a good question – why weren’t the Horns going hard after Seastrunk?
I agree that UT probably doesn't care about Oregon coming in and getting a player or two. I think it has to do with Lyles being the one that Oregon was using. Lyles said the relationship with UT soured once he left his old job, and went independent. There was a post elsewhere on this forum about high school coaches calling Mac Brown before allowing Oregon recruiters access to their players. So tell me UT doesn't at least want first shot at all high level recruits in the state of Texas. Mac Brown has gone on record saying he doesn't like scouting services (most likely because it give teams outside of Texas better access to Texas players). Why UT wasn't hot and heavy for LS isn't important. Maybe it was because he was an early verbal to USC. Maybe it's because he wanted to go out of state (His final list of schools was: Auburn, LSU, Oregon, Tennessee, and USC). Maybe they saw that his mother wanted him to go to LSU. Maybe LS just didn't want to go to Texas. Who knows. Doesn't matter.
It could be important for a couple of reasons. 1. Texas hasn't had a stud running back for a while. Its been the biggest missing piece of the puzzle. So why not the full court press for LS? Seems odd. 2. Maybe they had inside information on Lyles. Mack could find out everything he needed to know about how Lyles did business with a few phone calls. The way this is playing out I wish LSU's name wasn't linked with Lyles. And frankly, if I were Oregon I'd be nervous about the current conversation.
Like i said, who knows why? There are so many possible answers, including knowing something about LS that scared them away...justified or not. Considering the RB's that have played in Texas in the past, LS doesn't fit the description. See the list of the top ten RB's in Texas history, and they're almost all big bruising backs. 1. Earl Campbell 2. Ricky Williams 3. Roosevelt Leaks 4. Cedric Benson 5. Chris Gilbert 6. James Saxton 7. Steve Worster 8. Jim Bertlson 9. Eric Metcalf 10. Priest Holmes That could be the reason. who knows.
Everyone on this list played pre spread; which is what UT does now. Like you say who knows. I truly hope it all comes to nothing. I'm looking forward to the game and want the football world to be focusing on nothing but the football game.
Agreed. At the end of the day, it is what it is. Other programs have survived worse accusations. Let's play some damn football already!
