| 12 January 2012
Recruiting takes the nerves of a hold'em player stealing a pot with eight-deuce offsuit and the closing skills of Alec Baldwin in "Glengarry Glen Ross."
Duck coaches earned their coffee last year with two colossal coups in the final few days before Signing Day. Seemingly out of nowhere they landed Jake Fisher out of Michigan, a tight end destined for offensive tackle who played in 12 games as a true freshman, and the biggest 5-star slam dunk of Signing Day, stealing The Black Mamba from the Trojans backyard.
Photo right: In the PAC-12, first place is a trip to Pasadena. Third place means you lose your job.
Coffee is for closers, and the Dr. Pepper at the end of the season goes to coaches who can evaluate talent, projecting and developing 17 and 18-year-old athletes into 22-year-old men. At Oregon, they do it almost better than anyone. Gary Campbell found LaMichael James, an undersized running back with afterburners, a recruit Texas passed on until they wanted to make a stink about Willie Lyles. Secondary coach John Neal made NFL players out of Jairus Byrd, Matthew Harper, Walter Thurmond and Pat Chung, two and three-star players USC and UCLA ignored. Don Pellum made a linebacker out of Spencer Paysinger, a high school wide receiver, and now Paysinger's in the playoffs with the New York Giants.
Finding a player's position and seeing where he fits is a key part of developing an effective, versatile, athletic roster. Kenjon Barner was working out at defensive back as a redshirt freshman until a training camp position switch. Terrance Mitchell, starting as a redshirt freshman at corner for the Ducks, turning in two interceptions, 45 tackles and 12 pass breakups while improving every week, was a 2,000-yard rusher in high school. Brandon Bair was a skinny tight end from St. Paul Idaho, until he moved over to the defensive line, worked like a Mormon bent on heaven, and blossomed into an NFL defensive tackle.
Coaches don't pull up their laptops and visit scout.com. In fact, the major recruiting sites are banned by the NCAA. They do their own evaluations, and a big part of the challenge is projecting an athlete at the next level. In high school, a lot of great players get tabbed by their coaches to carry the ball or throw it, simply because they are the best athlete on the field. Oregon verbal commit Oshay Dunmore, for example, is a high school quarterback who will likely settle in at safety for the Ducks. A tremendous athlete, Dunmore is a nationally-ranked age group decathlete, who may some day wind up in the Olympics.
Currently the Ducks have 19 verbal commits in a very solid class experts rate around 13th in the country. The last three weeks of visits, phone calls and decisions are crucial. With five places left (24 total scholarships available) the Oregon staff have to weigh out upside, availability, attitude, character, motivation, talent and desire, looking for kids who will become a part of a team and make the same commitment to success Kenjon Barner and John Boyett have. Oregon doesn't need another Cliff Harris or Jeremiah Masoli. Athletes who conform, transform, and push themselves to excellence build a team. They want more David Paulsons and Terrell Turners at Oregon, leaders who take care of their business.
With five slots to fill, the Ducks' latest offer went out this week to three-star athlete Bryan Harper of Onterio, California. Harper doesn't have the rating or reputation of Kevon Seymour, who declared for USC, or Devante Harris, who passed up a chance to visit at Oregon, but Harper may wind up being a better college player than either of them. He's solidly built at 6-0, 180, so tremendously athletic he's played quarterback, running back, receiver and defensive back for his high school team, Colony High, which finished 11-2 and made it to the CIF semi-finals.
Part of the reason Harper may be underrated is that his versatility has taken him all over the field, experience that will make him a smart, instinctive, confident college football player, a quadruple threat as an athlete, but keeps him out of a neat pigeonhole that makes it easy for the scouting services to evaluate him. Trust John Neal, who knows a competitor when he sees one.
Chip Kelly lets players chose their starting position, so Harper may wind up at slot receiver for the Ducks. Wherever he goes, he will make plays. He's dynamic, confident and aggressive, with great instincts. The experience of playing in a variety of roles as a prep will make him a quick learner with a well-developed sense of where he is on the football field, the kind of athlete who winds up in the right place or makes the key catch. He'll be teachable. He'll grasp things quickly. He'll trust his skills.
Scouting notes, Bryan Harper
Gliding fluid running style plays with great confidence and awareness. Best athlete on the field rather than a pure passer. Not a D-1 quarterback prospect, but his time taking snaps will make him a smarter, more dynamic player at the next level. Very dynamic with the ball in his hands.
If he winds up on defense, he'll be a playmaker and a ballhawk, the kind of athlete who creates and exploits turnovers. Solidly built, a cutback runner who sees the field very well.
:44 a nose for the end zone and decisive. Runs away from backside pursuit with a clear shot at him, vaults for end zone. Not afraid to throw his body around. Good instincts. Explosive--his leap carries him five yards into the end zone. Slings the football pretty well. Only threw 1 interception in 51 attempts as a part-time quarterback.
1:35 defensive back now, lines up facing the quarterback and reads a post corner route perfectly, turning the ball around for a 45-yard interception return
1:46 lays a hit on a receiver at the goal line and dislodges the ball. Good leg drive, great aggressiveness.
1:52 corner blitz, and just blasts the quarterback.
2:02 back is wide open rumbling down the field and Harper sends him airborn with a crisp hit at the knees, forces a turnover. A punishing tackler with linebacker intensity in the secondary. Reminds me of TJ Ward and Matthew Harper. Combines athletic ability with great desire. May be severely underrated due to playing multiple positions as a prep. Settled in one place, he could blossom into a standout player in college. Imagine a slot receiver with that aggressive attitude and athletic frame, or a defensive back with his offensive experience and instincts.
In interviews, he says he wants to play offense, and he could be another one of those Oregon athletes that would excel at several different positions. A true, versatile athlete, a leader on a team that went 11-2 in his senior year.
