Mario Cristobal turning Oregon Football into national power, NFL pipeline

Changing the culture

The Oregon Ducks, as presently constructed, are much different than other versions of the football team in the past. Gone are the days of Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich’s high octane offenses that get up and down the field in a hurry. These Oregon teams are up in your face and physical.

Cristobal has started to build the program in his image. He played offensive tackle for the University of Miami in the early 1990’s. Those Miami teams were beyond physical and Cristobal has brought that to Oregon. With his offensive line background, he has brought an emphasis to the trenches. The notion that Oregon was a “soft” football program died the day they hired Mario Cristobal.

Oregon was strong up front for the last two years. They had one of the best offensive lines in the country with the best left tackle in the country, Penei Sewell. On the interior, they had mean physical guys like Shane Lemiuex and Jake Hanson. On defense, freshman pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux had nine sacks and looks like an absolute star.

Some of the players who were key contributors for Oregon were not recruited by Cristobal. However, his emphasis on the trenches and player development has completely changed the program. However, this doesn’t mean he can’t recruit. Cristobal is establishing some really nice recruiting classes.