The "Oregon can't develop players" crowd gets a big glass of shut up
At the NFL draft in Green Bay Dan Lanning and the Ducks had a player taken in the first round for the sixth year in a row dating back to the Mario Cristobal administration and Oregon had two taken in the first round for the first time since Marcus Mariota and Arik Armstead in 2015.
The Pittsburgh Steelers took Duck defensive tackle Derrick Harmon with the 21st pick while Washington selected left tackle Josh Conerly with the 29th pick.
As a five-star recruit in the class of 2022, Conerly is part of the first class in Lanning's tenure to be draft eligible, so the persistent criticism was disingenuous.
The draft resumes today with Rounds 2-3 beginning at 4 p.m. EDT, televised on the NFL Network, ABC and ESPN. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders of Colorado was passed over in Round 1 and Cam Ward of Miami went No. 1 overall to Tennessee.
Softball in Bloomington, gunning for a regional
No. 5 Oregon, 41-5 this season and atop the Big Ten standing at 14-2 travels to Indiana today for a three-game series beginning at 3 p.m. PDT, streamed on Big Ten+ and broadcast live on KWVA radio. The Hoosiers are 8-8 in league play, 30-13 overall.
Baseball hosts No. 3 Oregon State
At PK Park in Eugene No. 13 Mark Wasikowski's No. 13 Oregon takes on No. 3 Oregon State in a three-game series beginning at 5:05 p.m. PDT Friday night.
The Ducks are coming off a 10-9 home loss to the University of Portland on Friday. They lead the Big Ten in home runs with 73, but the pitching staff, particularly the bullpen, has struggled. Tuesday they blew a five-run lead in the 7th and 8th.
The staff ranks third in the Big Ten in ERA at 4.65 but they've given up 175 walks, an average of 4.7 per 9 innings pitched. Grayson Grinsell goes tonight. He's been their most reliable hurler at 6-1 with a 3.02 ERA.
Oregon football recruiting: Enjoy the ride, and try not to upchuck your corndog
Scott Reed of Duck Sports Authority provides much-need perspective on the rollercoaster ride that is 2025 football recruiting.
The drop and climb in recruiting have gotten much steeper. Oregon is recruiting at a higher level than ever before competing for the elite of the elite, head-to-head with the nation's most well-funded programs. NIL and the portal have speeded up the process, while court cases have tightened the twists and turns. Hang on, because it's going to be a bumpy ride.
As Reed notes in another column, Dan Lanning hasn't forgotten how to recruit.