Portions of this show are And be prepared. Room
for error is much slimmer in basketball. You
lose one player and it changes your entire team.
It's not like that in football. It's just not.
It's not. Interesting guests. Kelly Graves, Mike
Parker, Coach Mark Waszkowski, Noah Eagle, Melissa
Lombardi, Kenyon Barnard, Jonathan Stewart. Sharp
opinions. Dana Altman probably earned a pass
for a down year after almost 20 years. of what
he's done for Oregon basketball. And some smiles.
Guys, I was stuck in a car wash. Sounds like
an R. Kelly song. It's not an R. Kelly song.
It's Danny Havel. I can't remember, and I've
been doing this for longer than you've been alive.
which is really horrible that I have to say that,
but it's the truth. It's like the saying in Alaska,
that you don't have to be faster than the bear,
you just have to be faster than your friend.
Fox Sports Eugene Fox Sports Newport live for
the Bigfoot Beverages studios. It is a Tuesday
On the fastest 60 minutes in sports follow us
on Twitter and blue sky Danny and Justin also
wherever your platform is where you listen to
your music or podcast Danny and Justin we are
there as Well a bit of an extended program today
as we will lead you up to the first four of course
your home for the NCAA March Madness Tournament
is right here on Fox Sports Union Fox Sports
Newport. Thanks for being with us friends I am
doc Danny have a right over there is my tag team
partner Justin gross winner. We call him, baby
J Well, I'm enjoying the seven degree 70 degree
weather we have outside right now, which is amazing
And unfortunately, I looked later in the week
and then early next week and it will not be remaining
in the 70s But I think we're getting a few days
here. So I'm gonna enjoy so I don't have it.
So exactly. I'll soak it up So, we're gonna talk
pro day for Oregon. Baby J was there, present.
I was supposed to be, could not. Little work
thing got in the way. We're gonna talk up to
the first four, which right here on Fox Sports
Eugene, Fox Sports Newport will be NC State and
Texas. It's 11 seeds first. And then, no, is
it 11 seeds first? No, it's the 16 seeds first,
it looks like. Yeah, it's a 16 seats first. It's
Howard and UMBC first Yeah, that's what it is
Here on here on the old radio program and then
NCC, Texas tomorrow It'll be Lehigh and Prairie
View and then the Mustangs of SMU and our favorite
undefeated team Miami of Ohio the Red Hawks no
longer undefeated. What do you mean? Oh? I was
concentrating on high school basketball, which
I was doing three or four games a day. You did
a great job. They are no longer undefeated. And
they're a bubble team. And for the one loss that
they suffered in a tournament, they get to play
in the first four. Against SMU so Bruce but I'm
gonna get a lot of people that just are rooting
for them. I think yeah Well, it's in it and it's
in Dayton. They're not that far away. Yeah, that's
true So they should have it's almost gonna be
like a home game for them you think a bunch of
people from From Southern Methodist in Texas
are gonna go on up there for this first four
game I doubt it on a that'll be tomorrow night
on a Wednesday night Pasha not gonna happen.
So we will talk you up to that game to the pregame
So we'll be on until about 3 15 today. So you
get a little bonus, you get a little overtime
Danny and Justin today on the radio program.
So I do want to talk about obviously a lot about
pro day. New coaches poll came out for baseball
and the Ducks are finally showing up. We'll talk
about where they are and of course do a little
bit of a sneak preview on Oregon women's basketball.
We got Ryan T Clark, Ryan Thomas Clark. Saw bones
as we call them from the Oregonian. He's on the
road in California somewhere So we had to find
out what's going on there, but he came out with
a really stellar article yesterday where he was
Talking to Dante Moore about his struggles with
mental health and the letter that he wrote to
the governor of the state of Oregon so we'll
talk to Ryan Clark about that and You know pro
day and everything else is going on on the roll
up to spring game in late April I had an opportunity
yesterday to hang out with the softball coaches
and the O club at the Jane we had a happy hour
and it was happy got to talk to Melissa Lombardi
and Sam Martyr and The assistant coaches as well
that were there and I Don't want to mess up her
last name So I'm gonna look it up again where
I had it from my from my notes. The point being
is we had a good crowd and the enthusiasm is,
how would I say it? It's not at a fever pitch,
but we talked about how the start of the season,
it was kind of up and down, but they were playing
really elite competition, so not be worried.
Well, it's back to the fever pitch. Sydney Romero,
Sid, is actually still a professional softball
player, and she just got drafted in the expansion
draft to Oklahoma City. She'll be playing for
the spark. She hit the game winning home run
in the last a USL Softball championship game
and then Alyssa Palomino Cardoza another assistant
coach had a wonderful time talking to them yesterday.
It was really really fun. So I Encourage anybody
who's not a member of the O club now. This is
the little pitch as Fox Sports is a supporter
of the O club If you're not go to the website
and take a look at the membership. It's a hundred
bucks for a year you can go down to 50 if you
want but the hundred buck membership is pretty
cool and you get to go to all these cool events
after hours at facilities got they got a back
door tour of the batting cages and the dugouts
and things like that you went on one for basketball
it's it's cool to see the behind the scenes stuff
it is we got to see the locker room for the women's
basketball team and we got to see the facilities
in terms of the training room and The they have
these like uh treadmills that are under water,
which I thought were the coolest thing that they
showed us It's like you want to jump in there
and just start running around How could one not
want to try one of those things at some point
in their life? It probably is really good for
you too running in water and doing yeah put the
stress on the joints 100 so yeah, I know it's
cool and it was funny because Coach graves was
just like a dad that was shown off his garage
with all this cool stuff all the tools 100 Here's
where I hang all of my screwdrivers right over
here. Yeah, come check out this area. This is
all my cool tools See i'm just telling you that
kind of experience that you get with the oak
club is like normally reserved for the big big
daddy and mommy warbucks, you know donors, so
That is pretty cool. So we had a great time and
so the Ladies are off to a midwestern Tour the
next uh 10 of their 13 games are going to be
away from the jane So they're not going to be
around much in for the next few weeks But you'll
have a couple of opportunities and then of course
it all balances out when they're away for that
much Then they get to stay home for a little
while as well. So they're right in the throat
of big 10 play now So and they have an odd game
Just a single game against indiana shoved into
a couple of three sets when they're on the road,
so We'll discuss all that as we move closer to
it. You were at Pro Day. I was. So for people
who might not know, you're thinking, well, what
is this? You have the combine. So players who
are going to be entering into the draft, the
combine is an invite only. So it's a conglomeration
of what the teams want to see. And the NFL puts
it all together. It's like, OK, everyone come
to Indianapolis or Chicago or whatever it is.
I think it's Indianapolis again this year. And
you're gonna run, you're gonna jump, you're gonna
take tests, the wonder lick, you're gonna...
Interviews. Interviews with teams and however
many teams want to interview. All of that. So
that's invite only. And there were several Oregon
players that went there for that. And then each
school will have a pro day. And that's where
the mountain comes to Muhammad, as it were. So...
for Oregon i think was 18 players that participated
today including should i just list them all off
yeah we can go in rapid fire here noah wittington
malik benson gary bryant jr kenyon sadik matthew
bedford alex harkey charlie pickard emmanuel
pregnon isaiah world brice betcher uh jayden
canaday theron johnson uh dylan thenaman luke
basso andrew boil james ferguson reynolds ross
james and atticus sappington so what i would
say is that all of those guys were there not
all those guys participated in everything so
i don't think dylan theman did much when he was
there i don't think he needs to do any more than
what he did i was surprised that we saw kenyon
sadik actually do stuff because the same thing
with him with the combine those two were the
kind of the combine warriors if you will but
kenyon did went out and ran routes okay so good
but kenyon sadik did not do a lot of that at
the combine That was what I heard. He did more
of the interviews, the testing. He did a couple
of skills, but he didn't run the 40. No, he didn't.
Did he run the 40? He set the record for tight
ends. Okay, apparently running that four three
nine was one of his goals. Yeah, that was definitely
a goal I don't want to put it out there because
I want any expectations really but no, it's definitely
a goal hit that four three So as soon as I saw
four four twice in a row man, I was pretty bummed
out But since they came back with the official
four three, man, I was really happy because that
was that was my goal There were other events.
He did not participate true So he didn't do all
of the circuit as it were in fact, so that's
what he did not catch any passes at the combine
Well, I think it's interesting too because one
of the things that there has been criticism of
him And I think if you're an organ fan that watched
him you're gonna be like that's crazy But people
are saying this is about his blocking people
say ah he's kind of undersized He's only six
three even though. He's a big guy at six three
He's definitely a tight end, but people have
had questions about his blocking and he had a
response to that Yeah, I mean anyone that says,
you know, I'm not a willing blocker obviously
doesn't watch any film and there's a lot of people
on Twitter and stuff like that So I definitely
made that insisting my game. There's definitely
parts that are lacking You know frontside outside
zone those kind of things definitely duck with
my head getting swam So there's definitely those
those room for improvement But no, I definitely
still think I'm one if not the best blocking
Titan in the class What I'll say about Kenyan
Sadiq is he is a really nice guy He certainly
is somebody that if you're gonna buy into someone's
personality mixed with what their physical talent
is obviously 100 % go with Kenyan City because
he's very respectful He clearly is a guy that
thinks things through so I just really love the
guy like he I just think he's a great prospect
I think that he's somebody that Oregon when you
talk about guys that have popped for Oregon Christian
Gonzalez Herbert obviously these are guys that
are major Bucky like these are guys that are
major NFL players at this point I think I think
I really do believe Kenyan City is about to be
one of those guys The Danny and Justin radio
program live from the Bigfoot Beverages studios.
We're gonna have Ryan Clark on from the Argonian
in just a moment for our interview segment. We're
gonna go to about 315 today folks. You get a
little bonus coverage here on the Danny and Justin
radio program as we take you up to the first
four the NCAA tournament live play -by -play
tonight on this station. So combining athletic
ability and smarts and personality is what all
nfl teams will evaluate it's not just and they
won't take somebody off the board if they might
have a few character flaws here or there oh yeah
okay as long as you have the athletic ability
you might drop around but yeah you'll be on the
board that'd be it because those are things that
nfl teams would be like you know either we can
accept that or we're gonna help change them okay
But you have to have the athletic ability. So
there were certain drills they were doing, vertical
jumps, broad jumps, the 40 -yard dash. They went
through some position drills. And like you said,
Baby J, not everybody participated in everything.
But what I heard was that there are 31 teams
that were here for Pro Day. Yes, I was one that
was told that. So everything that was being reported,
that was... the conversation that I had heard.
So yeah, it was everybody except for the Rams,
which apparently they just like don't go to pro
days or something like that. They just don't
go to particularly Oregon's. It just doesn't
happen usually. So it sounds like every other
team that legitimately goes. Plus there was a
CFL team that was there as well. So certainly,
I mean, it's just Oregon. I mean, you're going
to have top prospects there. There's going to
be multiple first round picks from this class.
There probably could have been five. If you want
to think about conservatively, I think you could
have seen five first round picks if if Dante
would have come out, if the defensive Matteo
and also with Pancho. I think all three of those
guys could have been first -round picks. Could
have been first -rounders as well. So really,
I mean, you're not going to miss an Oregon Pro
Day. So Kenyon Sadiq and Dylan Theoniman. Theoniman
was slated, and a lot of this as well falls down
to what a team's needs are going to be. But Dylan
Theoniman was slated in the early second round,
but now has moved on to plenty of people's boards
in the first round and that was legitimately
off of the pro day and how he blazed down on
the 40. People were shocked by his speed. They
I think they were and the thing about him is
people think of him as this guy That's like,
oh, he's super smart and he reads to play but
already had that yeah But so you combine that
with the athleticism that he showed off and has
and there's something the different between game
speed and Combine stuff. I think the combine
where people get mixed up with how that's important
is guys that don't on Tape show that speed and
then they go to the combine and they're like,
oh this guy ran way faster than I thought but
Dylan did an example of the opposite of that
in the last couple of years has been Bucky and
Tez who did not test well at all at the combine
particularly Bucky and he's gone on and it doesn't
matter when you go out there and you play at
game speed and you're one of the fastest guys
that are ISL us that's more important to me can
i just say as well that a straight line run can
give you somewhat of a gauge of speed but it
gives you no gauge of quickness and there is
a difference and i asked this question last night
with some of the softball coaches i said you
can't you can't make somebody faster necessarily,
but you can make them quicker. And that's where
I think it comes into play. And then listen,
these guys, when they're doing these combine
drills, they're not in full pads and such. So
yeah, it's somewhat of a barometer, but at the
same time, it's not. Yeah, and part of that quickness,
I think, comes down to the physical. Just you
can work on drills and stuff like that. But part
of the quickness, I think, too, especially in
actual games is mental quickness, because you're
going to be moving faster if you're processing
it faster than another person, even if they're
on paper more athletic than you. So it's really
tough to judge players just by numbers. There's
some sort of art to it because it's not a science,
even though they treat it like a science. But
it's not where you have to. figure out guys that
are certain traits and you know there's obviously
going to be you're not going to see a wide receiver
running a five 40 time you know like there's
certain things you have to see unless you're
six seven and a wingspan like an eagle i think
a great example is jerry rice Didn't he run like
a four seven or something like that a four six
five like and he's the greatest receiver of all
time Okay, i'll give you nothing to him. I'll
give you actually even a better example But it's
going back a ways and it's not the prototypical
wide receiver anymore. But harold carmichael
Yeah, was a huge guy. He didn't he did not run
any thing close to even a five in the 40. He
was not fast but he was big and tall and he could
just lean over any corner back they were going
to throw out there. So Oregon's favorite son
Bryce Betcher was also participating in this
and I know you probably heard from him a little
bit. We did hear from him so I think the biggest
thing for Bryce is that He's in his last day
as an Oregon duck and he's a guy that's obviously
from Eugene. So I think it was a special day
for him. I enjoy it. You know, doing this is
way better than, you know, working a minimum
wage job somewhere out of college like most college
kids have to do. And that's where I'd be if I
wasn't here. So, you know, I like the process
and fun. I think he's going to have I think Bryce
is going to have an interesting decision to make
depending on what round he goes. I think he's
going to get drafted. I don't think he's going
to go undrafted, but he'll. But he might drop
down to the fifth or sixth round. To me, he's
like a Joe Walker type of player. He's not the
biggest guy. He's not the fastest guy. He's one
of the strongest guys. But he's going to have
an interesting decision whether or not he wants
to go pro baseball or pro football, which is
a great... I think a great thing to have a choice
of right. I got a couple things for this So first
of all, just like standing next to him his arms
are just gigantic. Yeah, they're huge They're
just striking. I've been so I think this was
a good day for him I don't know exactly what
his time was and neither does he they don't tell
us this stuff This is all stuff that scouts are
doing but apparently the evaluation of him was
that he was a four seven ish guy So it sounds
like from Bryce that he was in the four sixes,
you know going into this scouts I think I'm gonna
run four seven I was a little slower than I actually
am, but, you know, pre -tested, low four sixes,
so I feel like I probably meant that today. Do
you think he wants to go play pro football rather
than pro baseball? Because I think he does. I
think he wants to play football. I think it's
tough. It's tough because in football, you're
going to get paid right away, even if it's not
necessarily baseball, long -term money is better.
But short -term money and the career is shorter
unfortunately NFL as well, which is a tough thing
but you're gonna make money faster with a rookie
contract and I think that he just seems to like
hit the heap it, you know He just like to hit
people like the guy just loves football I think
well and the other thing being is that he's been
away from baseball for over a year now Yeah,
there's there's that muscle memory and that body
trains differently when and he's bulked up a
little bit So the swing is gonna be different
and where you move on the field is gonna be different
And it was interesting because he had some thoughts
about hey This is the combine testing and what's
the difference between the NFL combine and the
MLB combine? It's a little different Baseball,
you know, you're talking to Scouts before the
season during the season And then you know, obviously
you have MLB combine which I was at feel like
NFL there's a little more time So teams get to
know you a little more and there's a lot more
to it, I'd say. But both are cool experiences.
So again, I think anybody who watched Bryce over
the last couple of years and what a great story
it was, the walk on, coming on, playing baseball,
starting for them, helping lead the Ducks deep
into the postseason on that, and then switching
over full time to football. and coming back,
which was a big deal. That was a cool. That was
a big deal. There's not a lot of Bryce Betchers.
I was about to say Bryce Harper. There's not
a lot of Bryce Betchers that come around. Local
kid, multi -sport athlete. He's a really special
athlete that I think is going to be remembered
around here and hopefully in the NFL for a long
time. Broke the mold. Broke the mold when they
had Bryce Betcher come out. Or Major League Baseball.
Don't dismiss it. All right, we come back. It's
Old Sawbones. Ryan Clark from the Oregonian.
We'll talk Dante Moore, Oregon football. when
we return on the Danny and Justin radio program.
You got to hear a little bit of the behind the
scenes when Justin and I are talking about what
we're going to do next. You're going to hear
from Bryce Betcher and Malik Benson in the last
part of the program. We're going until 3 15 -ish,
so you get some overtime with Danny and Justin.
In fact, that's what we'll call it. We'll call
from 3 o 'clock to 3 15 overtime with Danny and
Justin. Danny and Justin overtime. Extra innings.
What's it in hockey? Is it an extra period? It's
overtime. It's just overtime? Yeah, it's just
overtime. You know, I really need to get you
to watch hockey a little bit more with me. It's
just tough because... And turn the microphones
off. It's tough. I think I'd have to be a Blackhawks
fan, but I miss the glory years. No, you don't
have to be. I'm from Chicago. How can I not be?
Okay, but I'm just saying you don't have to be
for my sake. Enjoy the game, it's a beautiful
game. It's a beautiful game. Let's head on over
to the Oregon Man Clinics hotline at 541 -343
-5673 and welcome in our good friend from the
Oregonian, we call him Sawbones, Ryan Thomas
Clark. You can follow him on Twitter, Ryan T.
Clark with an E at the end of it. He is on secret,
super secret assignment in Sacramento right now
and we welcome him in. how's the weather down
there guys hey it's a lot nicer down here than
uh than it certainly is up in oh i don't know
what are you talking about 74 degrees Yeah, i'll
raise you 80. So a little note here. Yeah, it's
not a contest ryan It is here It's only a contest
if you're on that end of it, so oregon pro day
today This is kind of the the second wave of
evaluations for teams and those players especially
that did not get invited to the combine and kenyon
sadik took part in more drills than he did in
indianapolis, so I'll just ask you straight up
does oregon have Now two solid players in the
first round of the draft, or is it just gonna
be Kenyon Sadik? I think that CNN is that Do
be losing don't know right into the first round
but but I think Sadiq is someone that could be
a really special tight end at the next level.
So I look forward to seeing who takes him and
who benefits from that. As somebody who grew
up watching the Seahawks, that sure would be
fun to see him head up north with the champs.
But I think that he's a freak athlete. You guys
saw it on display today when you went to pro
day. And he's going to be able to carry that
into the pros. Yeah, I was a little surprised
that he actually did things at the pro day because
he had such an awesome combine But clearly had
some things he wanted to show good luck getting
kenyon at pick 32 by the way. I don't think that's
gonna happen Just for oregon as a program How
important do you think it is for them that they
do well in the draft? Obviously you want to get
the first round picks, but it's not just about
those guys It's about getting you know guys in
the second third fourth, etc Just getting guys
in the nfl. Like do you think that's something
that? Is really really important for this program
in terms of bringing in recruits like they're
looking at that stuff Like how important do you
think it is that oregon has a success in the
nfl draft? It's vitally important because it's
part of how you sell the vision with dan landing,
you know He has consistently over his time at
oregon developed guys into nfl players and that's
across positions on both sides of the ball and
throughout his tenure. And they've had success
when they've gotten to the NFL, too. It hasn't
just been guys that get drafted and they flame
out. A lot of these guys, you know, from the
jump in their NFL careers, they're contributors.
And additionally, it's about the development
piece for Oregon. And that's what they're going
to continue to sell to recruits, to transfer
portal recruits, is that you can come in here
as someone who, yeah, maybe you were a moderately
successful player at a Houston in the case of
Jamari Caldwell or a Michigan State in the case
of Derek Harmon. You come into Oregon, you get
the exposure of being on one of the top teams
in the country, but you also become a better
football player. And those guys were two examples
in the prior draft that did, and they got to
the NSL and were able to start to contribute
right away. That is definitely the selling point,
and it's vitally important for the program. And
Dylan Thiem is already on record as saying how
much he improved coming over in his last season
here in Eugene. We're with proud Cronkite School
of Journalism alum from Arizona State, Ryan Clark.
You can follow him on Twitter, Ryan T. Clark,
and also at the Oregonian Oregon Live. He joins
us on the Oregon Man Clinics hotline here for
a Tuesday. All right, Sawbones. So it's not just
getting drafted, but having success. is important.
So these guys that go in the second, third, fourth
rounds, fifth rounds, for Dan Lanning as well
on the recruiting trail, it is about development.
And we're going to get into this with the article
that you put out the other day with Dante Moore
and a deeper dive into some of the challenges
he's had off the field. The word that keeps coming
back to everyone is culture and it's culture
this I'm sorry it gets thrown around too much
But at the same time you get a sense with these
guys that are coming out of the program that
are hitting behind a mask That they are being
taught something else besides just football.
Do you get that sense out of Dan Lanning's program?
Yes, absolutely. I don't think that it's it's
front I don't think it's something that they
are playing up for the cameras for the ducks
versus them Videos on YouTube I genuinely think
that one of the hallmarks of Dan landing success
at Oregon and why you know a lot of experts believe
he will get to that mountaintop with the ducks
in the next few years is that culture piece it's
it's the separator between those great programs
around the country and the ones that are on the
edge but not quite getting over the hump. Now,
of course, detractors and people in national
media and people on Twitter and all the lovely
platforms that we are forced to be on will like
to say that, oh, well, they haven't won the big
one yet. They haven't won a national championship.
So all this talk about culture is moot. It's
going void. It doesn't matter. It matters. Not
only for the fact that winning a national title
is not the only reason that people play sports,
but two, it is something that can create the
foundation on which you can build a perennial
national championship team. You look at what
Nick Saban did at Alabama, he didn't win his
first title until he was 52 years old. But many
years before that, and Dan Lanning is 39, as
we should note, he built the foundation of a
culture. And that culture sustained him to win
more national titles than anybody and become
the greatest college football coach in history.
So not saying that's necessarily the exact path
Dan Lanning is set out for, but he certainly
learned from someone like Nick Saban about what
it takes to Build a program culture in a successful
way. Yeah, not a horrible blueprint, by the way
No, and he had obviously personal experience
with him And you know people forget the day landing
is really early on in his career and that 39
him winning a national championship at this Point
of his career would be like eight years older
than you I know. I know it's crazy. It's crazy
to me to think about that. But anyways, Ryan,
we got to see Dan Laney. I know you were there
because I was there as well. That was last Thursday.
And so he came out in his sunglasses and he was
looking all cool and stuff like that. But what
were your biggest takeaways from that press conference?
We got to hear him talk about this new twenty
twenty six season for the first time and a little
bit about the end of last season as well. Yeah,
it wasn't just the sunglasses he genuinely seemed
loose he seemed comfortable and You know not
not as tense maybe in those media environments
as he usually is sure the answers were you know
short they were to the point and they they hit
on all the coach cliches that you could check
off the box from if you're old old enough or
if you're good enough you're old enough and the
other you know bits and pieces that landing likes
to use over the years, but In general, I think
that there's a quiet confidence about the way
Lanning is handling himself, the way that his
coordinators are handling themselves in their
press conferences, despite obviously the changes
there and hiring from within. They know what
they're bringing back. They know the level of
talent they have and the expectations that are
coming down the pike for this team. And I think
they are laser focused on Using the spring to
build that foundation. So Drew Marger being elevated
offensive coordinator in a solo role He was co
-offense coordinator with Will Stein They combined
on the game plans there same thing with Chris
Hampton on the defensive side So, I mean what
are we gonna expect massive change? I mean, do
you expect massive change? I think there's gonna
be a lot of subtle changes I think there'll be
probably more on the defensive side. They're
gonna be on offensive side Or I might be wrong.
Yeah. Go ahead. No, I agree. I think that structurally,
what you see on offense is not going to be leagues
different than what we saw with Will Stein's
offense. Now, are they going to create more wrinkles
and change things up not only based on personnel,
but based on what Maringer thinks might be better
versus what Stein thought? Definitely. And I
think that you know, they have the weapons to
be able to play with stuff like that, especially
at wide receiver with how deep and talented they
are there. And on defense, I think there would
be likely to be more changes on that side of
the ball. But again, someone who has been in
the program worked with Tosh Lupoi, you know,
intimately for the last couple of years and has
led a group of defensive backs that have been
phenomenal from even early points in their career
with Chris Hampton is going to be a similar defense,
I would say, than we've seen over the last couple
of years, but definitely some tweaks. And then
offensively, I thought it was interesting hearing
Drew Marringer talk about the offensive line
because it's one of the questions people have
had in terms of this team next year. They didn't
get that big left tackle transfer or anything
like that. They seem like they're going to have
a lot of confidence in a league, Terry, and what
the offensive line has done over the last few
years. What did you think about Drew Marringer,
just his response to being asked about that,
having a lot of confidence clearly in his room
and just what that room is going to look like
next year? Yeah, I mean, for a program like Oregon
to you know, try for seat in the portal, lose
out, of course, to LSU, and not really go a lot
of other directions with building out its roster
on the offensive line. It says a lot about their
confidence in the guys that they have in that
room, the young guys that they think are going
to be able to play right away, the freshmen,
the redshirt freshmen who might even get into
the mix there. It says a lot about that because
Oregon is fully capable of going out in the portal
and back filling those positions. They've got
the money to do it. So they believe in their
development. This is the ultimate test of that
development. Over the last couple of years, you
know, the offensive lines of the ducks have performed
really well on the whole. But the moments of
slippage, the moments where you sort of question,
is this the team we think they are, have centered
around that offensive line. You think about the
Boise State game two years ago and the early
games of that season where they were underwhelming.
And of course, you're facing a powerhouse. But
that Indiana game, that was certainly an eye
-opening moment despite the talent along that
offensive line. big test for Ali Perry and and
the other coaches who will be involved in, you
know, piecing together and developing that offensive
line. But they seem to believe in the talent.
The Argonians Ryan Clark joining us, we call
them sawbones on the Danny Justin radio program.
Let's switch gears to Dante Moore and the article
you wrote about his letter to the governor. and
his struggles, his own struggles about mental
health. And so when you first heard that he had
sent this letter and you kind of dug into it
and found out more of the behind the scenes and
why and what the motivation was behind it. I
mean, it ended up being a story I don't think
a lot of people have realized was in Dante's
background. Yeah, it's something that's obviously
important to speak about as a person who's in
a public position like Dante's that went through
what he went through. But I think he's taking
it a step further in this being an advocacy thing,
right? He's not just saying, oh, you know, I
dealt with depression and he did. He spoke about
how... his freshman year at UCLA when he was
struggling on the field and his his mom got diagnosed
with breast cancer, he was depressed. It's not
just talking about that. It's advocating for
in this case, you know, added ability for people
to, you know, access telehealth and, you know,
utilize online therapy services, something that
he says he's utilized. And I'll say on air now
I've utilized and I've, you know, battled. mental
health challenges in my own life. And to hear
someone like that, like Dante, who is in such
a high pressure situation, one that I think we
criticize far too impersonally and without a
consideration for the human being behind it.
To hear him talk about stuff like that is positive,
it's refreshing, and certainly I don't think
should be criticized. Well, and the thing that
we've done on this program before, Ryan, I'm
glad you say it like that, and good on you for
reaching out as well, is that it takes courage.
It's the most disheartening thing you can do
as someone with... a pulpit like we have to have
to report on a young person deciding that there
was no way out of their darkness and ending a
life prematurely. So for someone like any athlete,
and especially now in this case it's Dante, is
we kind of put... players and people in those
positions and it's not just in sports it's acting
and others on these pedestals and they become
this faceless nameless you know machine and I
think people need to understand that they are
human beings and so this to me I like Dante more
before and my my like and now love for that young
man and his courage to come out and say something
because he's taken a chance of being in the arena
of public opinion I think is incredible and should
be applauded it and more people should do it.
What's your thought? Yeah I agree. I think that
you know it goes beyond sports but it's something
that I think can make the conversation around
sports and around athletes a healthier one. You
know Twitter is not real life. The people in
the replies of my article and all the aggregated
versions of my article that are on ESPN and everywhere
else Saying he's soft saying that this is weak
or a sign of a lack of mental fortitude Don't
know the first thing about Dealing with these
mental health challenges and I would say should
look in the mirror and try to address Their own
challenges because at the end of the day everybody's
going through something like this everybody's
got mental health challenges and Life is hard
even for people who are in prominent positions
even for people. Yes who have money and these
college athletes make a lot of money now, that
doesn't preclude them from being under pressure.
And if anything, it adds to the pressure for
these guys. And so the more I think we can recognize
athletes as human beings, and that even ties
back into the reason for my traveling down to
Sacramento, which will remain a secret, that
is part of this story that I'm working on now.
And I look forward to sharing with Duck fans
more. Stories like that focused on the human
beings that they root for we're not gonna give
your your stuff away So we're gonna wait with
everybody else. All right quarterbacks Ryan I
think are interesting and I think the off -the
-field stuff in terms of what he's advocating
for is much more important than the on -the -field
stuff But it also makes me think about how quarterbacks
you can't just look at them and go well this
guy he runs a four four and he has got this x
amount of you know miles per hour in his arm
or whatever like that like so much of it comes
down to the mental intangibles if you will and
when a guy doesn't go to the nfl draft even though
he might be the number two pick because he doesn't
think he's ready and he comes out and advocates
for stuff like this and it's clear that this
is somebody that thinks about things before he
says things and that he thinks about things before
he does things Doesn't that just give you a good
impression about his development as a quarterback
like isn't that the kind of guy you want leading
your college football team and then hopefully
in the future your NFL team if somebody is Able
to not just have that physical talent, but process
process things in a really really healthy way
Absolutely. I think that emotional intelligence
is itself an asset. You can look at these successful
athletes who have the bravado and the macho man
persona and perhaps a deal of emotional immaturity
and say, oh, because they acted that way, therefore,
that should be the standard. And I don't agree
with that. I think that there's an opportunity
for this type of conversation to extend into
You know, how valuable can that emotional intelligence
be when you're an NFL quarterback playing for
a crummy franchise and you're facing down, you
know, fourth down late in the game to try to
get in the playoffs for the first time in your
third year? That is going to come into play that,
you know, weathering the storm, dealing with
adversity. I think a lot of young people in my
own generation included because darn it, I'm
still young, I'm 30, I'm not gonna say I'm old
yet. We're still young. We are still young, we're
young. You two are. For sure. But our generation
and younger generations, I think, are at a point,
whether it's because of social media or other
societal factors, where we... Engage in pain
avoidance and we engage in Trying to build these
cushy walls around ourselves and in sports you
obviously can't do that if you want to be successful
and so acknowledging your feelings having these
type of conversations is Is a way to break those
walls down and I think become a better athlete
now There's a lot of stuff out of your control
to and acknowledging that it is another step
when you get to the pros all right ryan well
we look forward to the next article and good
job on this one good job shining a light on it
good on dante as well for the access and we look
forward i look forward to seeing what you're
going to come up with next bud absolutely looking
forward to spring ball a lot of a lot of good
stories to tell all right well we'll see you
soon thanks for being on the program as always
sawbones take care Yep, you too guys. Thanks.
There he goes the great Ryan T Clark follow him
on Twitter there Yeah, you know what? I'll just
tell anybody who wants to take on Ryan in the
comment section Yeah, good luck. Yeah, have fun
with that man. I'll tell you what you better
be fact -based and not emotional when you right
Be careful when you open up that curtain, so
when we come back a little bit more Audio as
you heard from Bryce Fetcher Malik Benson as
well and some bonus coverage on the Danny and
Justin radio program getting you ready for the
first four in the NCAA basketball tournament
next on the Danny and Justin radio program If
you missed our conversation with Ryan Clark saw
bones at Ryan T Clark on Twitter you can Catch
back up to it on the old podcast Danny and Justin
will be uploaded shortly after the program. We
also have some audio there from Kenyon Sadiq
and Bryce Betcher from Pro Day, which was today
at the Mo Center for 18 prospective Oregon football
players trying to get themselves up the boards.
NFL teams some of them realistically all of them
will not be drafted some will be undrafted free
agents That's the goal is to get the attention
of some of these teams and in some cases possibly
move up the board And it's all gonna be a need
based need and want base. That's what happens
in the NFL draft So let's get back to some of
the comments. Let's finish up with Bryce Betcher
and the discussion before we talked to Ryan baby
J was You know Bryce is gonna have a decision
to make When it comes down to when when and where
he's drafted and I might even be situational
in terms of the team he gets drafted by because
Somebody still I should have done this beforehand.
Does he re -enter the mlb draft? No, he's just
the right he the rights are the rights of him
for the astros Okay Kyler murray's rights are
still with the now las vegas I guess or the don't
call them sacramento athletics. Maybe that's
where ryan's in sacramento for he's doing No,
let's not try and guess His rights will still
be with the astros until he if basically forever
as far as i'm concerned He's not gonna go play
baseball now, but he could though. It basically
say doesn't work out in the nfl a Three years
from now. He just decides I want to go try baseball
out then I think that they would still have his
rights So, I mean Bryce could if the Astros would
like to invite him back because they do hold
the rights to him And I thought it was the Astros.
I hadn't confirmed it. It is the Astros that
he could go that direction but And and maybe
when we get a chance and I hope I'm gonna get
a chance to talk to him on the draft night party
We're gonna have not me. It's gonna be the old
club's draft night party at Otzen is Hopefully
he's gonna be there and then we can ask him,
you know, hey listen Do you really just want
to play football because I think he's already
stated kind of he he does want to play football
I think he wants to play football. He comes across
as a guy that wants to come on Just declared
now because you know you wouldn't want to do
that options open. Yeah, shut a door silly So
what else do we hear from Bryce? Well, we heard
I think this is interesting because we haven't
heard from him since the hiring of the new coordinators,
right? And he's worked closely with coach Hampton.
So he's talked about hey, what's it gonna be
like for the next team under coach hemp? I think
it's really good. I mean obviously Tosh did a
great job while I was here and you know I respect
the heck out of him but you know Hamp is no step
down for sure. He knows the defense. He's a really
good motivator. You know and he has a good sense
of humor which I think is important too. And
again I think in the discussion we just had with
with Ryan Clark from the Aragonian I think there's
going to be more I think it'll be more subtle
changes. Maybe more double tight end situations
in the Oregon offense since Drew Merger is a
tight end coach But I'm just saying that facetiously.
I don't think there's gonna be a ton I think
there's gonna be some tweaks, but I think defensively
I think we're gonna see some shifts and maybe
it's the way the team attacks the football I'm
not saying they didn't attack the football this
past year or the past couple of years But I think
coach hamp coach hamp's got this different kind
of vibe and energy than coach Luke boy There's
nothing wrong with either. It is a different
vibe at all and I think the players dig it Think
so. I mean, I love that. He came out the other
day and said yeah, we've been good. We're having
the best I mean you go that's throwing the challenge
down in it. It's just like challenging everybody
right off the gate. I love that Alright, so let's
talk about the last player. We've got some audio
on and that's Malik Benson And I mean, this kid
from Lansing, Kansas, he came in as a senior
6 '1", 195. He started all 12 games at wide receiver
for Florida State before coming here and much
ballyhooed. And I'll tell you, it was a bit murky
for him. But when he had a chance to step up,
when some injuries hit the Oregon Receiving Corps,
man, did he come in and spades, especially in
the special teams. But he's talking about this
process, right? Yeah. Really, it just taught
me to never doubt myself. Obviously, when I first
got in in the spring, things weren't going the
way that I wanted to go. But not once did I ever
doubt myself and tell myself that I couldn't
do it. So really just trusting the process and
knowing that eventually all my horrors are going
to come alive. And shoot, they just happened
to come alive in November when we most needed
it most. So it was really just knowing that just
got to. Really wanted to stay in my craft and
just stay in my faith with the Lord and know
that, you know, he's not going to give me any
challenge that I can't overcome. So just really
just knowing that once that moment comes and
when I need to step up, it's time to step up.
Alabama, he had a short stint there at Hutchinson
Community College as well out of the Jayhawk
Conference. So he bounced around a little bit,
found his home in Oregon, just really would have
wanted him for a little bit longer. That would
have been great to see him grow. But I think
he's got a shot to be drafted. I think he does
too. And I think that last month and a half of
the season and especially into the playoff his
stock. Went through the roof and he went and
ran speaking of the pro day in the combine He
didn't run here at the pro day. I don't believe
but he ran a four three eight. So that's fast
That's fast enough for teams are gonna look at
you and say, okay. Yeah, no we can work with
that Yeah, and that's speed and that's where
that's where the the straight dash down the field
does come into play Exactly. No 100 % because
at the wide receiver position tied to any receiver
position. That's gonna be a big I think where
people get trapped and people as in GM's is when
you have guys that Weren't necessarily productive
in college that just have straight line speed
and they think well we can teach this guy to
run routes I don't think you can no Ronaldo Nehemiah
is a perfect example of that. That's another
old -school He was a track star. Yeah I mean
and he he could fly like the wind and they tried
to put a football Helmet on him and pass and
it was just like yeah that it worked for a little
bit Times and it's fine. You see it just reminds
me to have in baseball I don't remember who this
was exactly but they put like a sprinter It was
at the athletics and he was I think he was even
in the World Series But they put a sprinter on
first base He just became their pinch runner
and he got picked off because guess what you
can't just be fast You actually know how to play
the game and you know how to stay on the bag
and know when to take your lead So it's really
interesting how there's a difference between
again I just keep on getting this today between
knowing how to play a sport and being athletic
enough to compete But then at the next level
it doesn't really work because you don't have
the skills. So Great job on the coverage pro
day. Thank you. It was fun. Yeah, we wish all
the best for all the players at U of O at Oregon
State and Across the country that are going through
this over the next few weeks before the draft
which comes up on April whoever your team is
that you're rooting for That's what I said everything
across the country. So last part of the program.
We got some bonus Danny and Justin today We're
gonna go up till 315 when Westwood one will take
over the airwaves with the first four from Dayton,
Ohio But we'll talk some baseball now on the
balance of the program organs baseball Team with
a strong start to the 2026 season is now into
the top 25 in the polls We've been waiting first
time they've cracked it their number 19 now was
his team in the USA today coaches poll and they
cracked into the D1 baseball top 25 at number
21 ducks are 17 and three overall five and one
in Big Ten play and they've won now four in a
row in Big Ten play and the rankings that came
out yesterday UCLA is still number one Oregon
State and the coaches pulled is number 16 and
in the D1 top 25 Oregon State is 17 so ducks
aren't that far behind the bees up the road be
they should be higher I think both of them should
be higher but I think the beavers should be higher
for sure The Beavs and again, they're gonna have
to kind of play that nomadic schedule again.
Yeah, because Portland State tonight, I believe
Yeah, some of those games are gonna be yawners
I'm just gonna say because it's gonna be hard.
It's gonna be hard for them to be scheduling
the elite talent the elite teams They've done
that now. Everybody else is diving into their
conference play and so they're gonna be like
single dates double dates and I'll things are
gonna be a whole lot of good ball clubs they're
going to want to play Oregon State unless they're
on the west coast like a UC Santa Barbara or
UC Irvine and such so it'll be interesting to
find out how that works out for Oregon State
and Mitch Canham they got one more year of it
and then they get back to the Pac -12. So we're
going to take a break top of the hour first time
we've ever done this. Well, no, not really. We
did two and three -hour shows before. First time
I've been in a studio we've done this, okay?
I've always been out on the road. We come back
top of the hour break. We'll return. We're gonna
talk a little world baseball classic. Baby J
has been chomping at the bits to talk about the
WBC, so we're gonna let him loose as we run you
up to coverage of... The first four from Westwood
one right here on Fox Sports Eugene Fox Sports
Newport. Hello, we're still here. It's just subs
are this seems so odd and you only get us for
another like 15 minutes or so on the Danny Justin
extended version. It's overtime with Danny Justin.
Fox Sports Gene Fox Sports Newport Thanks for
hanging in the reason we're doing this next couple
of days is we're gonna be off the air for Thursday
and Friday this week Thursday Friday next week
because There's a big basketball tournament.
There's a little tournament going on. I think
yeah, I think you've heard of the NCAA March
Madness Yeah, that's tournaments going on starts
tonight with the first four UMBC and Howard will
be playing as well as Texas and NC State and
then tomorrow will be Prairie View A &M and Lehigh
and then The Red Hawks of Miami Ohio against
the Mustangs of SMU and those two teams Or those
two games for each day will then get slotted
in the bracket that one will be an 11 seed One
will be in a 10 seed and then the other two Well,
the other one will be a 16 seed That's the lowest
one. So two 11 seeds a 10 and a 16 not the biggest
fan of the first four I have to say no, it's
ridiculous because especially that they're not
like a six all the 16 seeds That would make sense
to me if it was like, okay, yeah, all the teams
that are on the bubble, they're not to play in,
but it's not even like that. They have the 11
seeds. They should have, if they want to do it
that way, which I still disagree with, just put
all the lowest seeds in. I agree. I mean, because
listen, UMBC and Howard actually won their conferences.
I know. Why are they playing in the first four?
I completely agree. Because they're smaller schools.
Okay. World baseball. The classic. It's among
us. for the championship game championship game
tonight two hours from now yeah okay i know what
you're gonna be doing i will be watching it us
the controversial us uh mark darosa as the manager
he got he got raked for what happened with hey
we're already in they're not knowing that they
haven't advanced yet and then the controversial
third strike which Can we back that up a second
because we didn't talk about it too much? But
yeah, it it would have made possibly difference
in the game, but it wasn't like that was what
Decided the game 100 % but you don't want to
see it end like that. You don't I just want to
go back to the mark de rosa thing real quick
One of the most confusing things to me and this
is gonna bring in another player Yeah, I guess
mark de rosa isn't a player. He's an ex player
but one of the most fascinating things about
this world baseball classic to me has been the
fact that Clayton Kershaw has been a part of
the team and he was until this last Game where
they actually removed him from the roster and
they brought in someone else, but he was going
to be the guy I guess If you're looking like
this because he just won a world series of the
dodgers and basically said i'm going to call
it quits i'm retiring We do that the entire season,
but then for some reason he's a part of this
world baseball classic lineup And the only time
that he's going to get in is basically when the
u .s Was potentially going to be up so much or
down so much that it just didn't matter And when
so the last image that we'll have of clayton
kershaw as a professional baseball player Will
be him warming up in the bullpen when team usa
was down eight to nothing against italy and And
Mark DeRosa was, no offense, so stupid, and I
love Mark DeRosa, he's an ex -cub, so dumb that
he did not realize that they actually needed
to have runs and the game actually mattered.
They needed to win the game, actually. So it's
so weird to me that instead of Clayton Kershaw
deciding, hey, I'm just gonna like ride off into
the sunset with my Amazing World series, when
he decided to have that image be the last thing.
Okay, but I'll just say this, and it'll sound
like I'm defending Mark DeRosa. but when you've
played a game for as long as you have, and you're
still a professional, coming down to... It needs
to be it's like soccer. It's this tiebreaker
and it's that tiebreaker and it's about runs
against and runs for and runs before So listen
to know I know that but i'm just saying it's
not one person that needs to know that it's him
It is not in their muscle memory. I think that
way Go ahead because he's not a manager He doesn't
manage anywhere else and he's not doing a very
good job at doing an audition for so but he's
not listen He's not the only coach or or He's
not the only coach on the team. So where are
his all of his other assistants to coach him
up and say if he didn't agree So what let's not
use him as the guy on the guillotine for this
whole thing No, you're making a good point. This
is a stain I think on the USA team and program
in the world baseball classic which has had people
question whether people in the US program are
serious. Yeah Then this amplifies that as far
as how can it not so Bobby Witt jr. Bryce Hart
look at this lineup How is the United States
even not just blowing somebody out every single
game? Because it's baseball and if you look at
the lineup you say well Bobby Witt jr. Bryce
Harper Aaron judge. You know what Bryce Harper
hasn't played very well I actually don't look
at this and go ah, this is a team that's playing
really well Alex Bregman I don't think he has
a hit or maybe he has one hit he's batting fifth.
He's batting tonight the Part of the lineups
wouldn't doing really well actually has been
a Roman Anthony. He's in the six spot or seven
short work out short He's been doing all right.
He's been finding great terrain has been doing
really well actually in that eighth spot And
then they're not having him in the lineup tonight,
but PCA has been unbelievable He'll be in pretty
quick. I know but I don't understand. This is
another thing with the Rosa He has bright or
Byron Buxton in centerfield Why I guess maybe
it's because of the matchup with Eduardo Rodriguez
I don't know the numbers between those two guys,
but to me it makes no sense to have He's a worse
fielder. I know that Byron Buxton is a great
fielder, but he's older now. PCA is the guy to
me. He's been playing well. This is the thing
about baseball. You can look at all these names,
but it's all about how they're playing recently.
It's like that type of sport That's why you play
a seven game series which makes it's so interesting
that it's a one game with venezuela because you
look at venezuela ronald de cunha jr louisa rise
ianio suarez gilbert torrez, uh, they have um,
I believe they have the contrarious brothers
as well. That looks like they're not in the starting
lineups But a salvo perez jackson churrio. I
mean, that's a really good team as well venezuela
has actually been really surprising to me I really
good team. I thought japan would make it to the
final or the Dominican Republic. But man, Venezuela,
you look at them, you're like, all right, yeah,
they're really good. I know you'll be watching
it. Some people will be watching it. I don't
know how many people will be watching the first
four from Dayton. I think people will. I think
they're going to start to tune into it. All right,
so let's take a quick break. When we come back,
we'll have a dad joke. We have an Irish dad joke
for you today on St. Patrick's Day. Tried it
out this morning from my work colleagues and
everyone gave a thumbs up So I'm gonna lay it
all out for you guys as we continue and wind
up the program here overtime With Danny and Justin
winding you up to the first four right here on
Fox Sports Eugene Fox Sports Newport After him
why my wife has a golf lesson. That's enjoy the
what yes And there's a reason why they call it
a stroke And then yeah, we're just gonna have
a calm. I think my wife put a roast on so we're
gonna have a nice Yeah, calm night at the Hubble
household. Probably watch some Walking Dead or
Scrubs or something like that. Scrubs is so good,
there's a new season of Scrubs on. Can you believe
that? Wait, it's still going or is this like
a reboot? No, it's a lot of the same characters
as well, which is fantastic. All right, let's
do our dad joke. Oh, a joke! I got a fire from
the bank today. A woman asked me to check her
balance, so I pushed her. Dad jokes! Okay, baby
J. Okay. Hey, what do you call a fake Irish stone?
What do you call a fake? I don't know Oh, you
call it a shamrock. Oh Don't you know? I? Didn't
know that one the shamrock shamrock Maybe I'd
love to get a shamrock. I think someone just
I think someone just fell over in the front office
All right, kids. Tomorrow, we'll do the same
thing. Same bat time, same bat channel. First
four is next here on Fox Sports. Eugene Fox Sports,
Newport. Put a smile on your face, someone else.
They deserve it. So do you. God bless. Thanks
for listening. For Baby J, I'm Doc. Back in 23
hours and or 22 hours and 45 minutes. Peace.