I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. I had a wonderful slice of Americana, and lots and lots of food. In Duck news, we're a month away from fall camp, and less than 2 months to opening kickoff. On to today's quack:
- DuckTerritory has a good breakdown of Oregon's running back recruiting success over the past 15 years. It really is quite incredible when you look back on it, but Oregon has brought in so many top JC running backs, which has led directly to the rise in national stature. Mike Bellotti was always about balance, and he brought in the guys necessary to achieve that on the offensive side of the ball. It will definitely be exciting over the next few years to see what types of running backs Oregon can pick up throughout the country.
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Bob Rickert has some good info on Walter Thurmond III, and his workout last month at Deion Sander's camp in Texas. He looked good, and I really think that he is bound to be even better than he has been this season. After battling injuries last year, he will be healthy, and most likely not have many balls thrown his way.
- ESPN blogger, Tim Graham has a profile on "Pat" Chung, and his preparations for the upcoming season. First off, he's known at Pat now (Joey really should have done the same thing when he got to the pros), and he's doing whatever is asked of him by the New England coaching staff. And it looks like his style won't change much from Oregon, as he's looking to lay a hit 24/7.
- If you missed it, Nick Daschel over at Buster Sports listed Pete Carroll as the number 1 coach in the Pac-10 over the past 50 years. As much as a lot of people can't stand Carroll, and question how he is above of John McKay, I don't disagree with this. In the Pac-10 Carroll has been the most dominant coach in Pac-10 history, and it's not even coach. In 8 years, he has won 7 Pac-10 titles, and earned the conferences automatic bid to a BCS Bowl 6 times (4 of those were outright victories). This reign is as sickening as it is impressive. Nick has a whole post summing up his series, and some concerns readers have had, so check that out as well.
- Lastly, some Pac-10 preview notes. ASU comes in at #51 nationally in the Buster Sports countdown, while coming in #59 in the NYT Quad countdown. And Buster Sports ranks UCLA #55 in the nation.
GO DUCKS!