Linehan spurns legacy, goes to Ducks

Cole Linehan was desperately trying to find a coach this morning. He had news and he had to get it off his chest. He was thinking about telling someone last night about it, but slept on the news. Finally he reached Steve Greatwood around 8:30 this morning to tell the Oregon DL coach that he wants to be a Duck.

"I committed this morning," an excited Linehan told TheInsiders.com Tuesday afternoon. Cole is rated as the 9th-best player in TheInsiders.com Northwest Hot 100, and the last player, outside of Hawaii DT Randy Faletoi, to commit from the top-20. "I tried Coach (Mike) Bellotti, but he wasn't around. I knew I had to get this done, so I got a hold of Coach Greatwood at about 8:30 to tell him. He was pumped.

"I was ready to do it. I had thought last night about it, but my Mom told me I should sleep on it, being so close after my Oregon State visit and all. So I did, but I knew where I wanted to go. I talked to my coach and mapped out all the pluses and minuses, and once I took out the emotional part of it, the family part of it, Oregon was a very easy choice for me to make."

It wasn't as easy at first, though. His brother Josh plays for the Beavers, and they were Cole's team growing up. "They were always my school," he said. "I knew I was going to play there. But once I started getting more involved in the recruiting process, Oregon got my attention, and so I started looking at them more.

"I looked at where I wanted to be and who I wanted to have coach me, and also I think the recruiting class that Oregon is bringing in helped a little bit too."

The Ducks will start Linehan out as a defensive tackle. "With Igor (Olshansky) leaving and no one really knows how much longer Haloti (Ngata) will be around, the coaches think I have a chance to come in and play early," said Linehan. "They think my opportunity could be soon."

Now that Cole has figured out where he wants to go to college, he's ready to hop on board to help make this the best class Oregon has ever had. "I think I'm the kind of guy that will start going down there on weekends, when I can," he said. "I know a lot of the guys they are still recruiting, and I have phone numbers. If I can help get guys like Terrell Jackson and Ra'Shon Harris, who I both know and know they are good players, I'll do what I can."

Cole Linehan Scout Profile