Donte Williams

[maxduck]

From the USC rumor mill he is one of the names being considered by Clay Helton for DB coach. No idea if DW has any interest. Obviously would be a hit to recruiting but would he be a big loss from a coaching standpoint?

[DuckMastaFunk]

Helton is making substantial changes in hopes of keeping his job and it seems to be working for the time being. However, one mediocre year and screams for Urban Meyer will get pretty loud. IMHO it’s a big risk jumping to SC right now.

[dphi]

USC offered him the job last year and he went to Oregon instead.

[StevensTechU]

Would not be a huge loss in terms of on-the-field performance.

[DuckMastaFunk]

USC offered him the job last year and he went to Oregon instead.

I didn't know that. I guess if he goes we can infer that Mario encouraged him to look elsewhere. However, I doubt he goes. Probably just USC insiders assuming they'll get him because they want him.

[dphi]

USC offered him the job last year and he went to Oregon instead.

I didn't know that. I guess if he goes we can infer that Mario encouraged him to look elsewhere. However, I doubt he goes. Probably just USC insiders assuming they'll get him because they want him.

USC fans were convinced they were getting him. Before I made that reply I did some searches to make sure I remembered right and there were a few posts talking about how he took the USC job and just needed to work out the financials, shortly after it was announced he was going to Oregon.

[droop10]

Would not be a huge loss in terms of on-the-field performance.

I thought the CBs made significant strides over the year. ‾\_(ツ)_/‾

The position isn't very deep, but I have no qualms with the improvement that I saw as the year progressed. They are still a very young unit, so lapses in their play are expected. I think keeping him may be important to this year's class, so I sure hope he sticks around. I have no reason to think he's leaving though.

[GrantDuck]

Lenoir and Graham improved as much as anyone this year, so I'd disagree that he wouldn't be an on field loss.

[GoDucksTroll]

First off, Williams is a fantastic recruiter and losing him would be a major setback.

Second, we were told he wasn't a great coach - but I don't know if that's true. Our CBs improved tremendously by the end of the season. I think we can all agree that CB is one of the toughest positions for underclassmen, and both Graham and Lenoir were playing their best ball by the end of the season.

[karlhungis]

First off, Williams is a fantastic recruiter and losing him would be a major setback.

Second, we were told he wasn't a great coach - but I don't know if that's true. Our CBs improved tremendously by the end of the season. I think we can all agree that CB is one of the toughest positions for underclassmen, and both Graham and Lenoir were playing their best ball by the end of the season.

I think a lot of the improvement is due to the natural talent that Graham and Lenoir both have. They were both highly rated recruits and came in with high expectations. That being said, I hope we don't lose Williams.

[StevensTechU]

I, too, am not looking to lose him. But I didn't see the improvement in Graham that others are claiming to have seen. Lenoir progressed over the course of the year, but not by a measure that I would say is abnormal for a corner going into his second year.

[GoDucksTroll]

I, too, am not looking to lose him. But I didn't see the improvement in Graham that others are claiming to have seen. Lenoir progressed over the course of the year, but not by a measure that I would say is abnormal for a corner going into his second year.

Graham led the conference in passes broken up, second in the country. He also was night and day against N'Keal Harry compared to last year. Going into the season I thought he would be a weak link, and he surpassed my expectations.

[Phenom]

Donte is an outstanding coach. It would suck to lose him. Look at his secondaries at San José St. They were damn near elite even though they lacked talent. Our CBs were probably our most improved group as well.

[lukeyrid13]

Our secondary was noticeably better as the season progressed. Plus he’s a great recruiter. It would be a blow if we lost him and especially if we lost him to usc. We would lose blades at minimum if not several other top commits

[GrandpaDuck]

The biggest blow to recruiting would be to lose him and then Heyward get a head DC job elsewhere. Devastating.

Schematically, Graham had the most field to cover with the least help of any Oregon CB I have ever seen. With that considered he did great, but that should have been expected as he had a solid to great season last year for a true freshman.

Lenoir, was attacked last year by most every OC we faced from the minute he entered the game and with tremendous efficiency. This year he did better but they titled the defense to protect him, which caused other problems. Towards the end of the year, I thought Lenoir improved late in the year and the Coaches must have thought so too as they decreased the percentage of plays that they had a safety dedicated to the narrow side of the field to help him.

I honestly haven't formed an opinion on his coaching. A good player improved with experience, A raw player go better. Kind of what you would expect. Not like the QB where you see regression from a good, smart player. That's a case where its easier to form an opinion about the coaching.