Shows how much I know...I was sure Stevens (#315, four star) was going to be the man... Good luck Grasu (3 star recruit): Grasu, a 6-foot-3, 293-pound native of Encino, Calif., — and a classmate of UO quarterback Bryan Bennett at Crespi High — beat out sophomore Karrington Armstrong and redshirt freshman Hamani Stevens to replace the graduated Jordan Holmes. Offensive line coach Steve Greatwood answered one of Oregon’s biggest questions entering the 2011 season when he said after Thursday’s final workout of fall camp that redshirt freshman Hroniss Grasu had won the job to start at center. “I think it’s safe to say going into the first game that he’s going to be our center,” Greatwood said. Not only will he be expected to command one of the most important positions on the field — he has to identify blitzes, communicate potential changes to blocking schemes in a matter of seconds and provide an accurate shotgun snap to Darron Thomas — Grasu will have to do it against a stout defensive front from the mighty Southeastern Conference when the No. 3 Ducks open the season against No. 4 LSU on Sept. 3. http://www2.registerguard.com/cms/i...-takes-center-stage-on-oregon-offensive-line/
Just curious, did you think it was a good sign last year when the Ducks decided to go with a sophomore QB with zero career starts who'd been redshirted the year prior? STOMP
On one hand I gotta trust our staff to know which lineup gives us the best chance to win. Oregon is pretty deep with Stevens, so Grasu must really have "it". The nice thing about Thomas' first year is he got to warm up with New Mexico and a home crowd. Thomas wasn't very impressive in his first half at Tenn. Unsettling part is that LSU isn't a team we can afford to have a new C adjusting to game speed. If his shotgun snaps are off, a lot is at stake - including timing for Thomas vs a very good defense. It's going to be interesting, to say the least!! Just something to keep an eye on. Go Ducks!!
What concerns me is that his first game will be against LSU, on the road. 3-4 bad snaps can cost us the game. That's a lot to place on a freshman.
I doubt we'll see two bad snaps and wouldn't be surprised if we saw zero. I'm much more concerned about Grasu making the right line calls then his ability to make a shotgun snap... you do realize he played C on a spread team in HS too right? STOMP
Cool. Was unaware of what HS Grasu attended, let alone what formation they ran. One luxury is that Grasu plays next to York, who is an extremely smart player. York is experienced and a 3.8 gpa kinda of guy and the kind of player who can help with reads and help settle the nerves. This LSU defense is nasty! What a way to start your career!! Like I said, this Grasu kid really must have "it". Looking forward to enjoying him as a four year starter.
just to expand, he played in the spread with backup QB Bryan Bennett in Crespi CA btw, one of the Ducks top OLine targets (Jordan Simmons) plays there now STOMP
Stomp, any insight into how we sit with some of the top DT recruits? Evans, McCarthy, or Curry? I hear we have a good shot at Curry, but it doesn't look like we offered? What about at the WR position?
Re: Mccarthy, I read that he is a USC lean, but we get an OV from him. Hopefully that will change his mind some.
Evans? If you're talking Faith Evans, thats not someone I'd endorse anchoring the Duck D-Line and I'm not aware of a scholarship offer. Faith Ekakitie, Darius Hamilton, Deforest Buckner & Ellis McCarthy all are saying they'll be taking official visits to Eugene this fall. The Ducks already have two DLineman committed and also have two DEs graduating... Oregon is obviously stacked with young talent there. My guess is that they are probably only shooting for top recruits. It's a super long shot, but man would I love to see Nelson Agholor come out west. Super talent and a classy bright kid STOMP
