How To Recruit Against Oregon’s Chip Kelly
Chip Kelly nearly left Oregon for the NFL and while Tampa Bay certainly lost a head coach overnight, what about Oregon’s recruiting class?
Nine days shy of National Signing Day, the Ducks have a PR disaster to manage and it starts with the committed recruits of the 2012 class.
Many likely saw their phones light up heavily in the wee hours of Monday morning with other coaches hoping to capitalize on the pandemonium in Eugene.
Kelly must assure the players and mostly their parents that he’s truly a Duck for the next four years and his dalliance with the NFL ended.
For years, opposing coaches told prospective Penn State recruits Joe Paterno might retire before their eligibility finished. The same is likely to happen in the Pac 12 where USC, Stanford and Washington can point to every NFL opening and claim Kelly is a candidate, no matter the truth.
Negative recruiting, the non-illegal kind, tends to remind me a little of the old NASCAR saying “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’.”
Coaches are selling their own programs to the detriment of rival ones and giving a young football player information only in your favor means better talent, perhaps a raise and the prospect of a promotion.
Beyond Kelly’s own interest in the professional level of football, coaches can point to the situation the Ducks head coach almost left behind.
His starting quarterback Darron Thomas surprisingly declared for the NFL Draft. Sensational running back LaMichael James did the same.
Was Kelly simply waiting for the best time to bolt so that he wouldn’t have to mold a new quarterback or find a runner with the talent of James?
Obviously with De’Anthony Thomas on campus, the latter is much less of an issue but in recruiting, it’s much better to pick and choose the spin tactics in your favor.
Kelly’s success can’t be understated. In three seasons as the head coach at Oregon, he’s won three conference titles, appeared in three BCS bowls and brought the Ducks their first Rose Bowl victory since 1917.
Oregon has yet to dominate in recruiting though in the same way the Ducks have exploded on the field. They’re slotted 21st nationally according to 247 Sports team rankings.
That placement could certainly rise if Oregon’s staff is capable of using this attention to their advantage and reeling in two monumental 5-star players in safety Shaq Thompson and defensive lineman Arik Armstead.
Chip Kelly’s near-miss with Tampa Bay is a win for the Ducks long-term.
But their immediate recruiting future is perilous if the coaching staff doesn’t work tirelessly to reassure an entire class of committed recruits just nine days before they sign over four years of their lives.
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The ducks face a major challenge: beat the recruiting of major cities. I am tired of USC. They CHEATED!!
They didn’t win because they were better, they won because they bought their players with money that should never have made to the players.
Oregon has better facilities. Oregon has a winning record. However, Oregon does not have big-city appeal. I love Kelly. His mastery is designing a team that requires a different talent: speed. Most BCS teams build “NFL-like” teams that are comprised of Brut force. Chip can’t win in that category in Oregon. How can he?? Seriously… when our conference requires passing grades. BCS teams require nothing: they can fail.
I love Kelly: he figured out option B. I love Option B (its exciting football). I believe the NFL is ‘old school’. It may not be this year or next, but somebody will figure out that “traditional-NFL” can be beat (Chip will prove it).
Go Oregon. Go Chip. All you players going to “traditional” teams: you are idiots. Join Oregon. Experience Nike. Have Fun. Get national attention. Never consider USC, UCLA, or any “buy our player” teams.
Love the ducks, yes I do. Oregon will beat USC. Commentators generally suck… yes they do.