Oregon's Daryle Hawkins Set to Play Receiver

Daryle Hawkins spent all of last season playing a little bit of running back, wide receiver, and quarterback. This made him an incredibly valuable practice player because of his versatility, this also stunted his growth a little bit because he wasn't able to focus on one position. Well, the Ducks have finally decided what position he'll play: wide receiver.

Hawkins had been practicing at quarterback during his 2009 season that he redshirted because there wasn't a lot of depth at quarterback. Last season, the Ducks had Nate Costa, Brian Bennett, and Darron Thomas so the need for a quarterback simply wasn't there.

The Ducks have a ton of depth at quarterback again with both Thomas and Bennett returning to the team.

Hawkins seems happy to settle into receiver:

“It’s nice to have a certain group you can learn from,” Hawkins said. “When you’re bouncing around, you’re not really a part of any single group. It’s kind of like you’re just jumping in.

The Ducks lost a lot of firepower at receiver last season with the graduations of DJ Davis and Jeff Maehl, their two leading receivers. They'll need a big season from Hawkins in order to make up for the lost production

Pac 12 to Launch Pac 12 Network Next Year

All Pac 12 football games will be playing on national TV starting next year. This could really help with recruiting because out of state kids want their parents to be able to see all of their games. Oregon Ducks' head coach, Chip Kelly, was more than excited about the news:

"Instead of saying, 'As long as we're playing well, we're on TV,' it's a guarantee now that every game is available."

There will be a national channel of the Pac 12 network accompanied by six regional channels. The six regional channels will be Oregon, Washington, Northern California, Southern California, Arizona, and Mountain.

The conference already has a 12 year contract with ESPN and Fox to air the high profile games nationally.

Oregon Duck's Chip Kelly Center of Attention at Pac 12 Media Day

At the inaugural media day for the Pac 12, Chip Kelly wasn't asked a lot of questions about how his football team would fare next season. He was asked mostly about his relationship with Willie Lyles, the head of a recruting service who the Oregon Ducks paid 25,000 dollars. Interestingly enough, the often short tempered Kelly had no problem answering questions and was pretty cheerful in his responses. Although he wasn't able to talk about anything specific because of a statement released by the school, he didn't shy away from the topic. Here is an example of what he said:

"As head coach of this football program, we're held accountable for everything we do," Kelly said. "So we look forward to when we can [comment]. I'd love to talk about it. There are a lot of answers I'd love to make sure we can get out there."

He went on to say that "there a lot of misconceptions".

I can't wait to hear Kelly's side of the story. Clearly he is extremely optimistic about this and he is sending a message that there is a lot more to this story than most in the media believe. If that's true, it would be huge for Oregon.

Oregon Gets Commitment from QB Recruit

The Oregon Ducks received some good news today. After being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, they received a commitment from quarterback Jeff Lockie today who is from Danville, Califorinia.

Lockie had also received an offer from San Diego State. Lockie threw for 2,500 yards last season for 26 touchdowns and also ran in six touchdowns.

Lockie is the second Oregon commitment who is a quarterback. Jason Rodrigues of Rockville, California has also committed to play for Oregon and he is a member of the ESPN top 150 recruits in the nation.

Oregon has 8 commitments total for the upcoming recruiting class so far.

Oregon Football Program in Shambles?

Oregon's football program could be in quite a bit of trouble. There were reports in around April that the school had paid a recruiting service 25,000 dollars. Most schools pay around 1,000 dollars or so, so the big check to the recruiting service by Houston-based Willie Lyles.

The recruiting service is legal if they are offering videos, game tapes, and phone calls, but the NCAA was curious about the huge sum Oregon paid.

Oregon could be in some big trouble. The players that are known to have been in contact with Lyles are LaMichael James, Darron Thomas, and Lache Seastrunk, three of Oregon's best players and most highly coveted players.

Oregon has yet to say anything about this.

Oregon Ducks' Cliff Harris Suspended Indefinitely

After being cited for driving with a suspended license after being caught speeding at 118mph, the Oregon Ducks have suspended Cliff Harris indefinitely. Coach Chip Kelly said in a statement released Wednesday that Harris will be suspended for at least the season opener September4th against the LSU Tigers in Cowboy Stadium. Kelly said that Harris can reduce his suspension by adhering to the rules of the football team, but that he will definitely miss the season opener.

"Cliff's future clearly is in Cliff's hands," Kelly said. "Earning an opportunity to represent the University of Oregon and this football program certainly rests far beyond a player's ability on the field of play. Our behavior out of the spotlight often is more important and will be held to a higher standard. Until Cliff is able to conform to the same standards all of us must comply with, his status will remain unchanged." (ESPN)

This is a huge blow for the Ducks. In order to beat a very talented LSU teams, they need all their big weapons. It's a virtual home game considering how close Louisiana is to Texas compared to how close Oregon is. I still think the Ducks have a really good shot at winning this game, but they really could have used the playmaking ability of Harris.