A dynasty. It’s what every head coaches hopes to build. Victories are nice, but a tradition of winning, an expectation of excellence is what the men with the playbooks strive for.
The Oregon Ducks were a good team over the last two decades, averaging a fourth-place finish in the then-Pac-10 Conference from 1990 to 2008. Highlights included a trip to the 1994 Rose Bowl and back-to-back first-place finishes in the conference in 2000 and 2001, accompanied by wins in the Holiday and Fiesta bowl which spelled two top-10 overall finishes.
But these triumphs were fleeting, as the Ducks lost that 1994 Rose Bowl game and, after the successes at the turn of the millennium, Oregon fell back to eighth in the Pac-10 in 2002.
Since Chip Kelly has taken the wheel as Oregon’s head coach in 2009, the Ducks have been consistent. Consistently great. Two Rose Bowl appearances (one a win) and a journey to the BCS National Championship game have established the Ducks as a national powerhouse.
The key to Oregon’s success? Recruiting players that fit perfectly in Kelly’s schemes. Darron Thomas and LaMichael James, both a part of the 2008 recruiting class, were persuaded to attend Oregon by Kelly and both left Oregon as record-holders at their respective positions and anchored the Ducks’ trio of BCS appearances. @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=3378&SPID=233&DB_OEM_ID=500&Q_SEASON=2011@@
Who is up next? Well, they are already on the field. Oregon’s ninth-ranked recruiting class (according to Rivals.com) of 2011 has already produced a plethora of this year’s Ducks starters and most productive players.
Do-it-all speed-demon De’Anthony Thomas was the crown jewel of the 2011 Ducks’ class. Ranked as the fifth-best player in the country and already committed to USC, Thomas switched his school choice at the last second. In just 18 career games, Thomas has racked up 2,807 all-purpose yards and 25 touchdowns. That’s an average of 156 yards and almost two scores per game. This kind of production has made him one of the early frontrunners for the Heisman trophy. @@http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/stats/_/id/511464/deanthony-thomas@@
While many thought more experienced Bryan Bennett would get the nod at quarterback for the Ducks, it was 2011 enrollee Marcus Mariota who was chosen as the Ducks’ leader. In four games, he has thrown for almost 1,000 yards and 10 scores while accumulating over 100 yards on the ground. @@http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/stats/_/id/511459/marcus-mariota@@
Colt Lyerla, a one-of-a-kind talent listed at tight end, stayed in his home state for college, a decision Ducks fans couldn’t be happier about. After premiering at the tailback spot last week, the behemoth athlete that is Lyerla has eight grabs on the season for 107 yards and two touchdowns, while in just one game on seven carries he garnered 63 yards and a score. If he continues contributing in the backfield he could be just another jack-of-all-trades for Kelly to use. @@http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/511458/colt-lyerla@@
Another 2011er that has played a big part in the Ducks’ success in his short amount of time is Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who, despite being a starter at cornerback for a year now, had a huge coming out party against Arizona last Saturday. He recorded two interceptions and took one of them back for a touchdown while breaking up three passes and helping lock down the Wildcats’ receivers.
Much more of the 2011 class will have an opportunity to crack the lineup next season, especially on defense, with eight players between the linebacker corps and defensive front waiting in the wings.
If Oregon’s success continues in the coming seasons, one would expect it would come on the shoulders of the already successful 2011 recruiting class.