MY DUCK RECRUIT THOUGHTS

Read Rob Moseley's piece in today's Guard about Dewitt Stuckey, the Oregon football recruit arrested on some serious charges including felonious battery and assault with a deadly weapon. An arrest is not the end all to me in most cases. If a prosecutor moves full steam ahead and formal charges are filed I'm leaning towards pulling the scholarship. I know legalities are involved, but I've always been a firm believer it's not that hard to avoid slippery situations. You've been offered a dream like a D-1 scholarship and trouble surfaces, walk the heck away. On SportsTalk you always hear me say that the idiotic logic "innocent until proven guilty" is a myth. It's administrative or clerical as far as which stamp to use. When a crime is committed, guilt exists, period! The court process simply makes it official and a part of the public record. If it looks like this kid caused serious harm to another without his safety being threatened, who needs him? I'm reserving judgment on this as the victim hasn't fingered Stuckey. I also would be quite concerned if this young guy was involved and even failed to throw a punch. Again, this is a red flag and a case of horrible decision making. We know the Oregon staff will remain mum as it's an ongoing investigation. We'll keep an eye on this with the 'smoke & fire' theory burning in my mind.