went to the UO Signing Day event last night at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike Campus. nice shindig all in all; rivals the good ol' days w Mike Bellotti and Nick Aliotti at the MAC Club. several observations . . . 

lots of former players intermingled w the crowd during the nearly two hours before the presentation in the theater. stood online with Ifo for 10 minutes waiting to mack on some sliders, skewers, goi cuon, and bacon-wrapped asparagus. didn't talk w him much; he was interested in the pretty young woman accompanying him. also met/saw Hroniss, Royce, Sammie Parker, Garren Strong, Justin Hollins, and George Wrightster. really smart move by UO Football to connect fans with recent players in a social setting.

Uncle Phil looking good for almost 82. just a little stooped and a slight hitch in his getalong, but still slim and dapper. took the stage for a few minutes at the beginning to crow about the Rose Bowl and introduce emcee Peter Jacobsen.

Kayvon is a monster. bantered w Jake for a few minutes center stage, and then took over the proceedings and sat down at a desk (Kayvon's Korner) and interviewed Brady Breeze and Noah Sewell. interviewed Aaron Feld in a later segment. only 19 years old but poised and articulate before a room of prob 1000 people. UO J-School landed a good one.

Mario put in a couple of short appearances early. main course at the end of the night was Cristobal, Avalos, Joe Moorehead, Donte Williams, and Jim Mastro talking about their recruits while the big-screens ran highlight vids. Mario talked about the O-linemen, of course.

coaches talked a lot about measurables, esp regarding the less-touted 3- and 4-star signees. length, range, wingspan, explosiveness coming out of a stance, raw speed (Trey Benson will be Mississippi state champ in the 100m), etc. more focus on what these guys have the potential to become than on what they've accomplished already. Mastro said he was looking for one RB in this class, 6-foot or 6-1, capable of playing at 210-215--very specific stuff like that all round.

coaches also talked a great deal about players's families ('hard-working' came up a lot), and sometimes about the HS programs from which they came. clearly another example of emphasis on identifying and recruiting guys willing to put in the work rather than prima donnas who announce their offer-list on Twitter & Facebook. Mario said none of the 2020 O-linemen visited any other school--they wanted to come to Oregon (exception for Jayson Jones, I guess).

best line of the night was Mastro . . . 'three happiest days of my life were when my wife said she would marry me, when my son was born, and when Coach Cristobal told me we could run Justin Herbert the last two games.'

Last edited by OldMacManaic (2/06/2020 2:28 pm)