With the news that Oregon Ducks tight end Terrance Ferguson is out for the rest of the spring season with an injury, an already existing need for the Ducks’ offense has become more pressing.
Behind Ferguson, Oregon has just a pair of scholarship players at the position — Patrick Herbert and Kenyon Sadiq. While both players are talented and present a high upside, it doesn’t take a savvy football mind to tell you that more bodies are needed in the TE room.
This is something that both Dan Lanning and TE coach Drew Mehringer have addressed, and will undoubtedly be a position that they look to bolster in the coming weeks via the transfer portal. On Monday, we saw the Ducks extend an offer to North Texas tight end Var’Keyes Gumms in the portal, and there will likely be more offers to come over the next several days.
In the meantime, Lanning and the Ducks’ coaching staff are looking for current players on the roster that can help alleviate the numbers problem.
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“The good thing for us is we have a lot of guys on our roster that have played tight end as well at other times,” Lanning said on Saturday after the team’s scrimmage. “They might not be listed as tight end on our roster but that doesn’t mean that they can’t play tight end so we have some position versatility with the guys we have on our team.”
So who are a few of those guys that could potentially move over to the TE room this spring in order to help out? Lanning was again asked on Tuesday and threw out a couple of names to watch for.
“A few people, right, like Matayo (Uiagalelei) is a guy that’s had history,” Lanning said. “Jake Shipley is a little banged up right now, but he’s a guy that’s been able to flip over the other side. We also got guys like Josh Conerly lined up as a tight end last year in a game. So I think we got a lot of guys that have some versatility there.”
Uiaglelei was an expected name, since he signed with the Ducks in the 2023 recruiting class as an athlete who played both EDGE and TE in high school. While he was expected to primarily play on the defensive side of the ball in college, his high school tape showed some impressive catching and blocking abilities down at St. John Bosco in California.
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Conerly, on the other hand, is a rather surprising name for Lanning to throw out there. While the former 5-star offensive tackle did player several snaps at TE in 2022 while being utilized in Oregon’s ’14J’ jumbo package, it was almost always in a blocking role during a short-yardage situation. Of course, there was one instance during a game against Colorado where Conerly slipped out in a play-action pass and caught a touchdown pass, but it’s unclear whether that was enough proof that he can be a pass-catching tight end for the Ducks, or not.
If Oregon is looking for blockers, then Conerly could be a great solution. However, he is currently projected to be the starting left tackle for the Ducks, so moving him out a spot on the line would throw a wrench in that plan.
No matter who the Ducks decide to put at TE to alleviate some of the pressure this spring, it’s clear that they have their eyes on the transfer portal and are working hard to get someone added to the roster before the season starts.
“Certainly a position that we have a need for and have our eyes open for it.”
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