Rj Schaer Posts

As you know, Fanhouse is changing it's course for the upcoming year. So this is the final piece in this space. Like everyone else who was lucky enough to be a part of this ambitious effort, I want to stand and applaud Mr. Irrelevant himself, Jamie Mottram for supporting me over these last 6 months. It's been a rough ride for Buffs fans, myself included. But bright times are just ahead.

I really do believe, like all the high school coaches and all of his competitors in the Big 12, that Hawkins is going to get Colorado football back to the top. Maybe not just of the Big 12, but of the entire conference, and the top of the nation as well. He's determined, has great commitment from his staff and the University, and from a talent standpoint, has already begun making the turn with this year's class.

With that, I ask you to follow AOL as it continues building Fanhouse, it's going to be an amazing space. See you at Folsom. Or when there's no game, maybe once or twice at Peaberry's on Arrapahoe. I'll be the one in the grey Buffs sweatshirt with a big cup 'o coffee.

This is it, my time here is done. Thanks to Jamie and everyone at AOL for having some vision and standing behind a great idea and then going out and making it happen. I wish you all the best. A few hundred posts later, I hope you've started to see the vision for how AOL's going to cover college football in the future.

I"ll be following it all on AOL closely, hope you do too.

If you need a continous fix of Oregon information in the meantime, the Oregonlive.com blog's a great source. Especially if you don't have a Ducks Sports Authority or Educk.com subscription. But if you don't have one, I recommend it. I'd be remiss if I didn't at least say thanks to both AJ Jacobson and Steve Summers at both of those sites for all the great content they've given me to link to. If you're crazy enough to read these sites, you should just bite the bullet and buy one of their subscriptions. Really. For ten bucks a month, you can give up your latte ever other day or two more beers a month.

Enough preaching, thanks for the time.

He might be. Rumor is he's got his decision down to Arizona and Colorado and a late push by Hawkins gives the Buffs a strong shot at the nation's 33rd ranked offensive tackle according to Scout.com.

Tau's choosing Boulder at the last minute would be a huge coup for Hawkins at the wire. He represents the best of what Colorado's looking for to rebuild it's offense in the future. A mammoth offensive tackle at 6' 6", 285lbs. with a mean streak and a terrific person off the field.

How coveted are Tau's services? He's been offered by over a dozen schools, including Cal, Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon State, Hawaii and Utah in addition to the Buffs. The Colorado staff has to be salivating at the possibility of putting him at one tackle, Ryan Miller at the other, and forgetting about those spots for a few years.

I saved Anthony Gildon for last, hoping he'd avoid the Petey Pull and remain a Duck commit. And he did. His high school coach Bill Redell told Greg Biggins of Scout.com, ""What it came down I believe was Anthony just really liked Oregon a lot. He liked the coaches and felt a connection and I think he also feels he'll have a better opportunity to play early there. USC is going to be bringing in the best corners every year and Oregon doesn't have that same kind of depth.

In the end, Gildon can play sooner at Oregon, he can have a bigger impact on the defense and the program, and he's been recruited by the Ducks the longest, and with the most desire. He's really really wanted at Oregon. At USC he'd be another player possibly getting to play in a couple years.

Gildon caps what I think is the greatest class in the history of the school. Currently ranked 8th overall by Scout.com. (It's definitely since I've been following all of this for a couple decades.) And in terms of defense, Oregon only missed out on two or three players total during the entire recruiting process. Unheard of these days with all the choices that players have.

So the Buffs didn't get Garth Gerhart. His daddy's his high school coach and Dennis Erickson plucked another away from a school late in the recruiting game. Erickson does that, ask USC about their quarterbacking depth.) But Hawkins is undaunted. Unfazed, and relentless.

Considering that very possibility he went out last week and recruited Kealaka'i Maiava from the state of Hawaii. Maiava's a 6' 1", 288lb. center who's the 31st rated at that spot in the nation by Scout.com. What's more, he's only got one other Division One school truly pursuing him right now, and that's New Mexico State. He says he'll decide tomorrow between the two, and it's down to just those two. The only other school he visited, was Idaho, back when Dennis Erickson was there. It's a small world isn't it?

Maiava told Andrew Friedman of Buffalo Sports News.com that he knows all about the Hawaiian and Poly pipeline that's making waves in Boulder. "I know that Michael Sipili is there and Jordan Dizon and B.J. Beatty." Clearly, this would be a great late pickup for the Buffs after losing all the youngsters off the offensive line who were on last year's team. And losing both Adam Tello and Garth Gerhart during the recruiting process.

If he comes to Boulder, Maiava would probably redshirt, but again, like all the others, and I know I sound like a broken record, but it's true, like the other offensive linemen in this class, he could contribute early. He's a guy who averaged about 10 pancake blocks a game.

Ummmmm, think again. Even observers who rarely see the Buff practices are looking at the Hawkins, Bernard Jackson, Nick Nelson competition and liking Cody's chances. And why wouln't you? Jackson led the Big 12's worst passing offense last year and Hawkins knows the offense as well as anyone not named Dan Hawkins or Mark Helfrich.

Additionally, Cody Hawkins has a penchant for being deadly accurate. As a senior in high school he completed 72 percent of his passes for 2,783 yards and 42 touchdowns as a high school senior. Yes there will be a competition. Yes they'll all battle. Yes Jackson has all the playing experience. Like I said, expect Hawkins to be your starter.

Talk about a great football family. His dad, his uncle both NFL stars. His brother playing linebacker at USC right now. Casey Matthews was the first player Oregon got a verbal from this year that made me think, 'Okay, this class is on it's way.'

A self-professed country boy who also considered Georgia Tech very very strongly after growing up in Atlanta when his dad played for the Falcons. He said this year that the hardest part of the recruiting process was telling coaches he wasn't going to accept their offer. Humiltity, it's taken him a long way and he's got a chance to not just be a good one, but a great one at Oregon. His performance at the Offense-Defense All-Star game in Ft. Lauderdale in January proved he's among the nation's best linebackers this year.

Qualifying: Good grades, good scores, head over to 13th and get your books young man.

Playing time: Like Pritcheet, like Hanna, like Rowe, he's in the mix to play this year. Right away. He's got tremendous tools and plays the game instinctively. Gee, like he's been around it his whole life huh? If not this year, expect Casey to play special teams very very early and to push for a starting linebacker spot almost as quickly in '08.

It's called gray-shirting and if a player's not going to get on the field their freshman year anyway, it's a great way to give them more time to mature before teeing it up in Division One football. Hawkins has several gray-shirts coming in this year, they'll enroll in January instead of at the beginning of the year, and their scholarship will count against next year's class. The theory is that some of the players who sign on February 7th won't cut it academically or may not be here by next January when the gray-shirt player shows up. By then, the scholarship will be opened up to a new player, and the gray-shirt player can take that spot.

It's so prevalent that Hawkins was out recruiting last week, even though he reportedly already had 28 verbal commits. He offered Chaz Servino from New Jersey but Servino chose to go to Syracuse instead just yesterday. Hawkins will also welcomed grayshirt Jonathan Hawkins to the team last month. A cornerback, Hawkins was offered a grayshirt spot last year, accepted, and is now on campus and will be ready for the spring. Hawkins is the son of former ABA star Joe Caldwell.

Celotto's listed as the 71st best player in California. He can play defensive end or linebacker in high school but projects as a lineman at the next level because most guys at this age gain some weight just naturally as their physique fills out. Defensive end? Defensive tackle? We'll see.

Celotto transferred to Piedmont High in California to help himself with his grades and to overcome a learning disability. On the field, he tore it up every week and wound up with more accolades than I thought he would, showing up in a new program, in a new place.

He's six four, 240lbs. and runs a quick 4.7 for a defensive end. Wish they could stick him in at middle linebacker. Probably won't happen though as I'm not sure he's got the lateral quickness to play that spot.

Qualifying: Was an issue back in December and January. i don't believe he's in yet, but we'll see. The learning disability should give him some leeway with the NCAA clearinghouse and we'll see where his scores are anyway. He might make it despite that on the first go-round.

Playing time: Again, could play early for the Ducks. Probably not his freshman year but with all the DE's and DT's leaving in the next two years, he's clearly a guy the staff is counting on to step up and play big minutes for at least three years in a row at Oregon.

A hilarious post on the Michiganzone.com site. Showing Bellotti wearing various suit combinations in a rouse of Oregon's uniform combinations. Obviously, there's been a lot of discussion about all of Oregon's uniforms. From helmets released for the Vegas bowl. To general discussion about innovative looking uniforms by 'tradition fan' who can't stand something new. Still, those shots are hilarious.

This is one spot worth checking back to from time to time Duck fans. They even gave you props for your performance against the Ducks 3 years ago. Calling the Duck fans among the classiest in the nation among teams with a reason not to be. Well done Michigan fan, well done.