Flock Thoughts: The offseason exodus is here, but is it all bad for Oregon?

Flock Thoughts: The offseason exodus is here, but is it all bad for Oregon?

Recruiting, Team / Thursday, December 12th, 2019

Flock Thoughts is a sporadic series at WFOD that aims to offer opinion and analysis on a collection of timely, newsworthy items surrounding the Oregon football program.

Think of it as going to Costco for the samples, but just replace the nice ladies in hairnets and plastic gloves with our thoughts on some of the latest developments surrounding Duck football.

Today, our focus centers around a rash of departures from the program impacting the coaching staff, 2020 recruiting class, and the current roster. WFOD addresses all of that in its latest edition of Flock Thoughts.

1. What’s the appropriate reaction following Marcus Arroyo’s departure to UNLV?

For about a 48-hour stretch there, a “will he or won’t he” scenario was unfolding around now former Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and his dealings with UNLV for their vacant head coaching position. Last week, Arroyo and Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley were two names reported to be on a short list to replace Tony Sanchez who was fired as Rebels head coach late last month. Arroyo soon emerged as the leading candidate according to multiple news outlets before he suddenly wasn’t, as LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda was reported to be the object of UNLV’s eye on Tuesday. However, as Wednesday morning wore on, the buzz around Aranda simmered just as quickly as it had begun to boil, as Arroyo re-emerged as UNLV’s top man before it became official with a tweet from the school’s verified football account on Twitter.

With Arroyo now headed for Sin City, that of course leaves Oregon with a handful of questions to answer. Chief among them is the question surrounding who Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal will seek to replace the man who served as his offensive coordinator for each of the past two seasons. Another question seeking answers is who, if anyone, does Arroyo take with him from Oregon’s staff to Las Vegas. Ducks co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Keith Heyward has been rumored to be a candidate to join Arroyo’s staff, but that appears to be little more than heavy speculation at this stage. Those questions will be answered in time, but for now, we contemplate the potentially mixed emotions that many Duck fans are feeling after learning of Arroyo’s departure.

On one hand, Arroyo became an easy target for Oregon fans who were often (and many times, justifiably so) dismayed at the performance of the offense, especially with a talent like Justin Herbert at quarterback and a deep and experience offensive line leading the way. The 2018 season was particularly ire-filled for Arroyo, as the offense flopped all too often over the second half of the season in games at Washington State, at Arizona, at Utah, and in the Redbox Bowl vs. Michigan State. Questionable play calling, a lack of schematic ingenuity, and the modest development of skill talent on that side of the ball were the biggest gripes for fans and critics of the program last season, putting Arroyo and the offense in the crosshairs in the minds of many entering 2019. To Arroyo’s credit, though the Ducks still struggled through mystifying bouts of inconsistency and stagnation, those moments felt far less protracted, as Oregon modestly improved from sixth in the Pac-12 in yards per play last season (5.86) to fourth (6.47) in 2019, while averaging slightly more yards per game this season (450.7) compared to last (427.2). Yet, even with the notable uptick in offensive production, you’ll be hard pressed to find too many Duck fans waxing poetic about Arroyo as he leaves Eugene. Though, it can also be argued that being an outsider who almost immediately followed in the footsteps of some of the successful offensive coaches in the history of the program was an unenviable, if not impossible, task for Arroyo. In the end, it’s safe to say that both parties – the fans and Arroyo – came away with an outcome they long desired.

What are the Ducks getting in Avantae Williams?
DeLand (Fla.) DB Avantae Williams (Photo: Avantae Williams/Twitter)

2. So long, Avantae Williams

In some ways, it’s kind of amazing that Oregon made it as far as they did with Avantae Williams. With just a week to go before the start of the early signing period, and almost a year to the day of him pledging his verbal commitment to the Ducks, Williams announced Wednesday evening via Twitter that he would be formally de-committing from Oregon’s 2020 recruiting class, ending months of speculation surrounding the strength of his pledge.

Rated as a four-star prospect and ranked as the no. 2 safety in the country according to 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, the DeLand (Fla.) native is the first recruit from the Ducks’ 2020 class to publicly de-commit from the program, leaving Oregon with 22 commitments and dropping them from 11th to 16th in the national recruiting rankings per 247Sports’ Composite Team Rankings.

Williams’ departure also leaves the Ducks with five commitments from defensive backs in their 2020 class, as Peter Latu, Luke Hill, Myles Slusher, JJ Greenfield, and Bennett Williams remain. If rampant speculation is to be believed, however, Williams will not be the last member of this group that fails to sign with Oregon next Wednesday. Latu and Slusher have been widely rumored for weeks to be players who will not sign with the Ducks, which could leave Oregon’s coaching staff with some critical work to do between now and the start of the traditional signing period in February. Five-star prospect Kelee Ringo and four-star prospect Dontae Manning are two important names for Duck fans to keep a keen eye on in the coming days and weeks, though the possibilities there don’t totally soften the loss of Williams, whose tremendous playmaking ability and all-around skills would have unquestionably made him one of the most anticipated incoming recruits in this class.

3. Farewell, Darrian Felix

The Ducks’ crowded backfield claimed its first casualty this past Tuesday as redshirt sophomore running back Darrian Felix announced his intent to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

With a total of four sophomore running backs on the roster prior to Felix’s decision to transfer (CJ Verdell, Travis Dye, Cyrus Habibi-Likio), plus two redshirting freshmen (Sean Dollars and Jayvaun Wilson) and one incoming freshman (Trey Benson), it was only a matter of time before one member of that group made the move to find greener pastures. In Felix, the Ducks lose a speedy ball carrier who flashed impressive ability over the course of three seasons in Eugene, though health (or lack thereof) often prevented Felix from making a more consistent impact on game days. Specifically, Felix missed virtually all of 2018 rehabbing a foot injury that essentially cleared the way for Verdell, Dye, and Habibi-Likio to entrench themselves as Oregon’s three-headed monster in the backfield. With 2020 on the horizon, don’t be surprised to see potentially even more attrition at running back over the course of the upcoming year, as the Ducks are set to have six running backs on scholarship next season.

Top Photo: Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo (Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)

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