Cade Cooper is transferring to Southern Utah.  Cooper never played for the Ducks as he redshirted last season while rehabbing from an injury.  After an inconsistent spring, he remained buried on the depth chart.  At Southern Utah, he will apparently be reunited with his JC QB coach that helped him attain national JC player of the year honors.

With the transfers of Cooper and Kempt, it seems like the mass of QBs on the roster has been whittled down five, which I believe is the number that the Oregon staff mentioned as ideal. 

Good luck to Cade at Southern Utah --  hopefully the NCAA will approve his petition to allow him to play immediately.

Well, as I am sure you have all noticed the upgrade was completed this morning -- and relatively painlessly, as far as I can tell. 

As has been the case lately, there's not a lot out there this morning.  The Portland Tribune does have a feature piece on Garrett Sim that is a good read.  Sim also stars on the track team for Sunset High as a triple and long jumper.  And, those skills appear to translate well to the basketball court as the 6'1" Sim can apparently throw down a windmill and a 360.  Not too shabby.

Moseley posted a few days ago about a former Oregon associate selling off their Holiday Bowl ring.  It sold for over $700. It appears the ring was bought by someone who deals in sports rings rather than an Oregon fan, which is unfortunate.

Finally, Moseley breaks down Bellotti's contract today in the Register-Guard, and includes how much a few of the other Pac-10 coaches are making.  Of the coaches listed, Bellotti makes significantly less than Carroll and Tedford, but more than Riley (and what Dorrell earned).

Well, not a whole lot of interesting Duck news out there (besides Dave announcing he's jumped off the college football playoff bandwagon - ugh).  Here's what's been happening over the last day or two.

There's been a lot published about the NCAA academic standards and how Oregon (and the rest of the Pac-10 have fared).  The only thing of interest (in my opinion) is that Derrick Jones may end up costing the Ducks a scholarship next year, as Moseley notes in his blog.  Basically, the Ducks need to have a four year average of 925 to avoid the loss, which means next year they need a score of 931.  For reference, they have scored a 934 and 931 in the last two years, so it seems like they have a decent shot of avoiding the penalty.

Also, in case you've missed it, Moseley has been doing the Writer's Block segment this week with Schroeder out of town.  Each day's segment can be found on the sidebar of his blog, and they are all worth checking out.

Finally, there were a couple of interesting articles in the Oregon Daily Emerald yesterday.  First, Kevin Hudson has a feature on walk-on wide receiver Elvis Akpla.  In other news, the Athletic Department is apparently going to start distributing student tickets online for football and men's basketball.  Also, there will be a set allotment of tickets for each class, with upperclassmen getting larger shares.  The tickets will also be associated with an ID card with students being penalized for obtaining a ticket and then not using it.

After the Masoli news yesterday, there wasn't a lot out there this morning.  Moseley has another article in today's Register-Guard on the newest Oregon QB, which includes some thoughts by Bellotti.  In particular, Bellotti commented on the fact that the starting QB position is still undecided:

Moseley also reports that Masoli will be in Eugene in June to begin taking classes and participate in voluntary conditioning.  

In other news, Moseley also states in his blog that Bellotti had no comments on the transfer of Na'Derris Ward, which Moseley believes is an indication that things are not yet finalized.

Finally, Cory McCartney of SI.com lists LeGarrette Blount as one of the Spring's biggest winners.  (h/t to Moseley for the link)

As always, feel free to post any other interesting links that I either missed or come up later in the day to the comments.

Go Ducks!

Well, it looks like JC QB Jeremiah Masoli will sign with Oregon.  According to Scout.com, he would have been rated the number one JC QB going into next season.   Because he was a full qualifier out of high school, he's able to transfer after one year -- which means he has four years to play three.  While Moseley thinks he immediately enters the competition to start next year, Rickert thinks the Ducks may try to red shirt him unless they need him.  Again, I have to believe that this is at least a partial indictment of the current QB situation.  I like the fact that Oregon is getting looked at by the top dual-threat QB recruits -- but, if Costa wasn't injured and if Roper hadn't looked inconsistent through the spring drills (and with the presence of Thomas and Harper) I think there would have been less interest on Oregon's part.  And, I think this is supported by Bellotti's statement that he would prefer to have five QBs on the roster in the fall.  There were already six this spring before Masoli, which seems to indicate that there will be redshirts and/or position changes in the works.  

This is a few days old, but Moseley predicts the two-deep heading into fall camp.  The biggest surprise is seeing Crenshaw listed as #2 at RB over Blount, though Moseley does say that it  is "close, if not even."  

First off, apologies for yesterday.  My connection problems did not get completely resolved until last night.  Here's the interesting news over the last day and a half:

JC QB Jeremiah Masoli is apparently very interested in Oregon, and was in town this past weekend.  Last year, Masoli led the City College of San Francisco to a JC national championship, as he accounted for over 4,000 total yards ( ~3600 yards passing / ~450 yards rushing).  He is eligible to transfer this season after 1 year of JC, which I assume means he had 4 years to play 3.  I am just no sure what to think about this.  Is it a sign that the coaches are worried about how the QBs have looked this spring?

Moseley also gives us his abbreviated Thursday practice notes, which includes the note that Saturday's game will feature four 12-minute quarters.  It's a football game in April -- and I can't wait.

And, after weeks of reports that Stewart's draft stock was slipping, both Fox Sports and ESPN hint that it may be on the upswing.  While the first link is a first round mock draft, the second is an actual feature on Stewart -- so check it out.  

And, with Sim signing his agreement for financial aid, Kent is able to offer up his thoughts on the newest Duck.  The biggest non-surprise?  Porter will move back almost exclusively to shooting guard.  That sound you just heard was the collective sigh of relieve from Duck fans everywhere.  Reading between the lines, it seems like Tinsley may have been Kent's first choice, but the fact that Sim was ready to sign tipped the scale in his favor.    Bottom line, we now have moore talent and depth at that position.  

Finally, there are rumors that Kenny Payne is being courted by John Calipari to join the Memphis staff.  Payne was given a lot of credit for Oregon's recent success in Midwest recruiting.    

Ugh.  My Internet connection is really spotty this morning.  The only link I could get to load was the latest edition of Idol Chatter, though I have not actually listened to it, yet.  Apparently, they discuss the QB situation.

If my connection problems get resolved, I will try to finish the link dump later today.  Otherwise, feel free to post any newsworthy links in the comments.

Go Ducks!

Moseley's piece in today's R-G features T.J. Ward, who hopes to replace Matthew Harper at the free safety position.  Marvin Johnson is thought to be the other contender for the spot, but he has been covering the rover spot while Chung has been sidelined with an injury.  

Kevin Hudson of the ODE has an article up talking about the defense being the perceived strength of the teamand how that has been fulfilled thus far in spring practice.  Hudson does note that the offense may be coming around, and highlights the play of Jaison Williams for both his catching and run blocking performances.  

Today's Portland Tribune has some notes up that include Bellotti's disappointment with the QB play so far.  Also included (which has been reported elsewhere -- just in case anyone missed it) is that Myles Wade has (again) verbally committed to Oregon for next season.  Wade was a top recruit a few years back, but did not qualify academically.  

Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins adds his thoughts to the injury, rehab, and pro potential of Dennis Dixon.  A pretty good read, if not much is new to us.  It's nice to see Dennis get some national love, which he deserves.

Scout.com has a preview of each Pac-10 team's schedule.  And, it selects Oregon's as the toughest, considering both who and where they play.  August 30th can't get here fast enough.

And, just in case you ready for next season's basketball campaign, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times predicts an eight place finish for the Ducks.  Though, to be fair, he does mention that the Ducks could be a lot better depending on how the incoming freshman fare.  

And, one final quick note: Jonathan Stewart met with the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday.

There's not a lot out there this morning, but here's what I could find.

First, John Hunt has a piece on football fans upset with the loss of parking that will result from the new baseball stadium.  The stadium is expected to eliminate 400 parking spots, leaving around 2800.  In my opinion, the loss of parking is only a minor annoyance, even if it is a relatively high percentage (12.5%).  Adding the stadium to the Autzen complex seems like a no-brainer, in terms of utilizing all the resources that are currently in place.  Plus, the University already owns the land, which is not trivial considering both the cost of construction for the basketball arena and the land acquisition for that project, plus that baseball needs to be fast-tracked in order to open up play next spring.

Jacob May writes about the high schoolers who enroll early to join their collegiate football teams.  While still relatively rare, the practice appears to be growing pretty quickly.  May writes that some coaches welcome it while others discourage it, and Bellotti falls somewhere in the middle.

The Portland Tribune has a few notes on the football team, including Holland stating that his initial decision to sign with USC was wrong.  Bellotti also notes that Costa is ahead of schedule in his rehab, which is good news.  

As usual, feel free to post any interesting links you may come across in the comments section.

Update [2008-4-10 10:26:50 by ntrebon]:: And, it should not come as a surprise to anybody, but USC announced that OJ Mayo will sign with an agent and enter the NBA draft. In related news, Ben Howland denies reports that Love and Collison have decided to go pro.

Go Ducks!