Harper's decision

[slammer]

My only worry about this situation is that future recruits who are interested in Oregon are looking at all these guys leaving and thinking WTF??? Ya, this sucks, but i see it as this: Ya, he's one hell of an athlete, but he's NOT a QB, and too be honest, I think Diante Jackson & Tyrece Gaines would surpass him at WR and lets face it, the guy was homesick, I am 100% supporting Chip kelly in the fact that he ONLY wants players who wanna be DUCKS and 100% comitted to the program!!! Time to move on!

[Tray Dub]

Agreed for the most part. I do think we'll be able to explain just three transfers, especially when one kid's dad got fired, another said he's homesick, and the last is a D1 starter who was relegated to backup for the rest of his career. I do think the hype surrounding him was always waaaayyyyy overblown. It really sucks he's not gonna be here, but we do have some WR depth (although very very inexperienced) and I think we'll be okay at RB, with Barner showing some potential there this spring. This isn't the kind of loss that will likely change our number of wins by the end of the year.

[duckgrad99]

Agreed for the most part. I do think we'll be able to explain just three transfers, especially when one kid's dad got fired, another said he's homesick, and the last is a D1 starter who was relegated to backup for the rest of his career. I do think the hype surrounding him was always waaaayyyyy overblown. It really sucks he's not gonna be here, but we do have some WR depth (although very very inexperienced) and I think we'll be okay at RB, with Barner showing some potential there this spring. This isn't the kind of loss that will likely change our number of wins by the end of the year.

Just because he is no longer a duck, doesn't mean you can now call him overrated. That's ridiculous. He was the player everyone here wanted to see all over the field.

[wheaton4prez]

My only worry about this situation is that future recruits who are interested in Oregon are looking at all these guys leaving and thinking WTF??? Ya, this sucks, but i see it as this: Ya, he's one hell of an athlete, but he's NOT a QB, and too be honest, I think Diante Jackson & Tyrece Gaines would surpass him at WR and lets face it, the guy was homesick, I am 100% supporting Chip kelly in the fact that he ONLY wants players who wanna be DUCKS and 100% comitted to the program!!! Time to move on!

Could go either way with the recruits. Some might be attracted to openings and less competition for playing time at those positions.

I think they should have kept him at QB if that's really where his heart was at. Let the NFL over-rule players positions.

[yeahboyd]

Who cares?

and yes to answer your question Harper was overhyped by most Oregon fans. He was not Darren McFadden or Tim Tebow, could he be, maybe, but he wasn't there yet.

[wheaton4prez]

Just because he is no longer a duck, doesn't mean you can now call him overrated. That's ridiculous. He was the player everyone here wanted to see all over the field.

I'm not necessarily saying he was over-rated. But, I think the lack of criticism was because of everyone wanting to see him all over the field. They were just continuing to pull for him. Remembering back though, fans did have a lot of high hopes for him at QB that were never realized. I mean, some were comparing him to Tebow at one point.

I think expectations were too high for a freshman. Could be a factor in why he ultimately left.

[BisonDucks]

He's a true freshman. He threw a touchdown, caught a touchdown, and rushed for a touchdown all in one season, as a true freshman with the Oregon Ducks. He will be special. Give him two years. As I've been saying, this won't hurt us so much this year but in what would've been his 3rd and 4th year. Since when have we had true freshman come in and look more dynamic?

[greenyellow]

He's a true freshman. He threw a touchdown, caught a touchdown, and rushed for a touchdown all in one season, as a true freshman with the Oregon Ducks. He will be special. Give him two years. As I've been saying, this won't hurt us so much this year but in what would've been his 3rd and 4th year. Since when have we had true freshman come in and look more dynamic?

I would say J-Stew, but he was more of a role player his freshman year. You could tell he was going to be special. You could sort of see that in Harper. It's too bad that he felt the need to transfer, but I'm sure we'll have some players step it up to fill his void. It also opens up another scholarship for this coming year (now up to about 20 open for next season.)

[duckgrad99]

Who cares?

and yes to answer your question Harper was overhyped by most Oregon fans. He was not Darren McFadden or Tim Tebow, could he be, maybe, but he wasn't there yet.

That's complete b.s. If he was still here, you or others would be saying how special he was going to be. I cannot stand when people try to rationalize a loss by saying "he wasn't that good anyway".

[Tray Dub]

Agreed for the most part. I do think we'll be able to explain just three transfers, especially when one kid's dad got fired, another said he's homesick, and the last is a D1 starter who was relegated to backup for the rest of his career. I do think the hype surrounding him was always waaaayyyyy overblown. It really sucks he's not gonna be here, but we do have some WR depth (although very very inexperienced) and I think we'll be okay at RB, with Barner showing some potential there this spring. This isn't the kind of loss that will likely change our number of wins by the end of the year.

Just because he is no longer a duck, doesn't mean you can now call him overrated. That's ridiculous. He was the player everyone here wanted to see all over the field.

I've always said there was too much hype surrounding him, and I can call anyone overrated, whether or not they're a Duck. I "get" to say he had too much hype. But nice attempted censorship. People (you I think) were saying he is/was our best playmaker ever. Which is a joke. He was a great athlete and I'm really sad to see him go, but I don't think he was as amazing as some people here seem to think, and certainly wasn't a bigger playmaker than dozens of past Ducks.

[wheaton4prez]

That's complete b.s. If he was still here, you or others would be saying how special he was going to be. I cannot stand when people try to rationalize a loss by saying "he wasn't that good anyway".

I agree that sour grapes can be annoying. But, also, I think it's fair to distinguish support from true sour grapes. Harper did not achieve the level of performance expected by fans. Maybe he would have eventually. But, I think the reason that people weren't calling him out about it was that they were supporting him as a Duck. Now that he isn't a Duck, being more critical isn't necessarily sour grapes. Just no longer any need to spare feelings in support.

[duckgrad99]

Anyway, I don't mean to get personal with anyone. I'm just venting over the loss.

[wheaton4prez]

All good. Nothing taken personally by me.

It definitely wasn't the news I wanted to read today.

[greenyellow]

Right now, Kelly has put his foot down on players and wants full commitment, not half-*ssery. Players are getting the message and the ones that are willing to commit to the program are the ones that aren't leaving.

[BisonDucks]

Anyway, I don't mean to get personal with anyone. I'm just venting over the loss.

Anger is just one of the parts of the grief cycle. We're all in this together. Right now I am in denial. I am just saying to myself, "maybe he'll go back to CK tomorrow and beg for his scholarship back."