For the first time in 5 months, there was football in Autzen Stadium on Saturday. The Oregon Ducks roster — bolstered with new recruits and transfers — was split into two teams: green and yellow for Saturday’s spring game.
While there was great play from Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson, WR Tez Johnson was the star of Saturday’s game. Johnson finished the game with 3 catches 78 yards and a touchdown. Tez’s touchdown was a 63-yard play, with 59 of those yards coming after the catch. Johnson caught Ty Thompson’s pass in the middle of the field and then bounced outside making multiple defenders miss as he took it to the house for the Yellow team’s first score.
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After the game, players had a lot to say about Tez’s performance, specifically his staggering speed out on the field.
“He’s not the biggest, but he is the fastest,” said Duck’s linebacker Jefferey Bassa.
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In addition to the praise for Johnson’s speed, defensive back Trikweze Bridges pointed out his other strengths.
“He’s good pretty good hands too,” he said.
Tez Johnson played his first two seasons of college ball at Troy, but transferred to Oregon this offseason. His 2021 and 2022 seasons were both impressive gathering 50+ receptions and 700+ yards receiving in each season.
Since last season, there have been notable departures at WR this off-season. Chase Cota declared for the draft and signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent. The Ducks also lost multiple receivers to the transfer portal in Dont’e Thorton and Issah Crocker. After losing that depth, Johnson may see an increased role for 2023, and hopefully with it an increase in production.
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