Not a lot of quack out there this morning, but we'll have a recruiting round-up posted later this morning, so keep your eye out for that.
- With Chip Kelly going on the record yesterday on his near-departure to the NFL, George Schroeder has a piece on who (according to sources) would have been the new head coach of the Ducks: Offensive Coordinator Mark Helfrich. While it would not have been a splashy hire, it might have been a great one. Unfortunately, we don't just don't know much about Helfrich. He is in Chip Kelly's shadow and doesn't get the credit in the run game that Steve Greatwood does. But Helfrich is highly praised, and it's clear the the athletic department has confidence in him. At the very least, it would have been an interesting hire, and I'm glad the Athletic Department is confident in their evaluations to make that decision, and not feel like they need to make a splash.
- In a bit more Chip Kelly news, after speaking yesterday, the point of contention seems to be whether or not Kelly flip-flopped on taking the Tampa Bay job. Ted Miller says it doesn't matter either way, says that Kelly's opportunity with Tampa will help Oregon, and responds to George Schroeder's column from the other day.
- The Civil War is this weekend, and GoDucks.com has their weekly press release. There are still reasonable tickets left.
- One of the big challenges the Ducks will face is limiting OSU's Jared Cunningham, who is leading the conference in both scoring and steals. He's playing 37.5 minutes per game, and is second in the nation in free throws attempted. As good as Cunningham is at drawing contact, I'm excited to see Oregon's defensive plan, especially with Tony Woods defending the rim.
- Matt Prehm has his conference picks for the basketball games this weekend. He picks Oregon to win by one over OSU, and the Ducks second in his power rankings.
- Lastly, great news for Darron Thomas. He's been invited to the NFL combine, where he'll get a chance to display his skills for NFL scouts.
That's all for now. Drop your other quack below. GO DUCKS!