Category: Pro Ducks

Justin Herbert impresses in front of Chargers fans at SoFi Stadium

Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert wowed fans at SoFi Stadium in a scrimmage event for the Chargers on Sunday.

Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert had one of the greatest rookie seasons in NFL history last year, a fact that flew under the radar in part because he played the majority of his games in front of very few fans thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chargers held their Fan Fest event on Sunday, marking the first time Herbert was able to play at SoFi Stadium in front of fans, and he did not disappoint.

The second-year starter was electric during the live-game situations implemented by the coaching staff during the scrimmage, tossing touchdown passes to Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and tight end Jared Cook and wowing with his arm strength, accuracy, and decision making.

“It was a lot of fun,” Herbert said. “We had a great time. It was just good to be back out there and, thank you to all of the fans that showed up and supported. It’s just good to be back to playing football. [Having the fans present] means everything to us, to see them line up and support us.”

Herbert and the Chargers are slated to take on the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Saturday evening, although it is unclear if the starters will be on the field or not.

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WATCH: Eugene Omoruyi doing it all in NBA Summer League action

Former Duck Eugene Omoruyi had a great game in the NBA Summer League with a 16-point, six-rebound performance for the Dallas Mavericks.

While all the attention went to Chris Duarte going in the first round of the NBA draft, and rightly so, it’s easy to forget that Eugene Omoruyi is also a budding NBA talent.

Forget no more.

Playing for the Dallas Mavericks summer league team, Omoruyi is definitely showing out, especially in the sequence above. Never giving up on a possession, something he obviously learned in Dana Altman’s system, Omoruyi ran down Philadelphia’s Paul Reed and pinned a would-be shot off the glass.

But the former Duck wasn’t satisfied.

Omoruyi ran back down the floor and managed to hit a fade-away jumper in the middle of the lane. Although the Mavs went down to the tune of a 95-73 score, Omoruyi poured in 16 points and brought down six rebounds.

 

Raiders installing goal line package for quarterback Marcus Mariota

The Las Vegas Raiders are installing a package of plays for backup quarterback Marcus Mariota in 2021.

Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota is entering his second season as a primary backup to Derek Carr on the Las Vegas Raiders, but don’t be surprised to see him on the field more in 2021.

After the suggestion was made by left guard Richie Incognito that Mariota be used in the red zone more this season, it came out through a report from Paul Gutierrez of ESPN that the Raiders are already installing a package of plays for Mariota this season.

“Last year was hard because he was hurt all the time,” Raiders head coach Jon Gruden said of Mariota, who spent the first six weeks of the season on injured reserve with a chest injury. “This complex thing we’re trying to pull off here…we’re not going to call exactly the same plays when Marcus is in the game than when Derek is in the game. You wouldn’t either. That’s why we have a very vast playbook. I think for Marcus to be great, he has to run plays that he’s good at and that he likes.”

Mariota has always excelled near the goal line, posting the best TD-to-INT ratio in the red zone a few years ago. Red zone offense was a big issue for the Raiders under Carr last season, so it is not a surprise to see the team opting to find ways to get Mariota’s accuracy and running ability on the field in key scoring situations.

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Analysis: How Eugene Omoruyi could crack the Mavericks’ roster

A look at how former Ducks wing Eugene Omoruyi could crack the rotation for the Dallas Mavericks next year.

While Chris Duarte was the only Oregon Ducks player selected in the 2021 NBA draft, he was not the only one to get a step closer to realizing his professional dream.

Eugene Omoruyi, a Rutgers transfer who starred for the Ducks in his lone season with the team in 2020-2021, signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks shortly after the draft concluded on Thursday evening.

A two-way contract indicates Omoruyi will split his time next season between Dallas and the team’s G-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, based in nearby Frisco.

Omoruyi was one of a handful of undrafted free agents signed by Dallas, who did not have any picks in the draft. Omoruyi joins Feron Hunt from SMU, EJ Onu from NAIA school Shawnee State, and Carlik Jones from Louisville.

For Omoruyi, trying to crack Dallas’ rotation this season will be an uphill battle, thanks to the presence of multiple young wings already on the roster including former Pac-12 foes Tyler Bey and Tyrell Terry.

However, Bey and fellow shooting guard Nate Hinton are restricted free agents, while starters Josh Richardson and Dorian Finney-Smith are set to hit free agency after the upcoming season.

Expecting Omoruyi to work his way into a starting role after one year on a two-way contract is obviously bold, but it would not be surprising to see him stick around this year and eventually play his way into a real role with this team, which could be enhanced next year if some of their wing depth departs in the offseason.

Perhaps the biggest area Omoruyi can make himself valuable is as an outside shooter. He was an abysmal 23% three point shooter in three years at Rutgers, attempting less than one per game, before blossoming into a 37.6% shooter on 3.9 attempts per game with the Ducks.

If his outside shooting continues to improve, and the rest of his well-balanced game plays up at the next level, he could easily become a solid role player for a very good Mavericks squad before the year is up.

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Analysis: How Chris Duarte fits on the Indiana Pacers

A look at former Oregon Ducks star guard Chris Duarte and his fit on his new NBA team, the Indiana Pacers, who selected him 13th overall.

As the oldest player in the 2021 NBA draft, former Oregon Ducks guard Chris Duarte was generally expected to be selected by a team on the verge of an NBA championship, where he could contribute right away as a bench option.

Instead, he was gobbled up by the Indiana Pacers with the 13th overall pick, just sneaking into the back end of the lottery while joining a team that missed the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last year, and looks more like a team entering a rebuild than one trying to win a trophy.

Still, looking at Indiana’s second unit, particularly defensively, makes it pretty easy to see how Duarte could be a good fit.

The Pacers dealt Aaron Holiday to the Wizards on draft day and seem poised to let Doug McDermott walk in free agency, giving them limited scoring options on the second unit.

Duarte can fill the role as a three point specialist coming off the bench, something Indiana is lacking on their current roster, while also providing a much, much needed defensive presence.

Duarte can slide in alongside Justin Holiday and/or Oshae Brissett on Indiana’s second unit, which should create a much more stout defensive group especially if paired with Goga Bitadze and Edmond Sumner.

The 24-year-old rookie from Oregon should carve out a decent role in his rookie year, launching a few three pointers per game which will open up the floor for Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis to flourish in the two-man game – and his defense will be much needed for a team that struggled on that side of the floor last year.

It may not be the bright shiny lights of Los Angeles or New York, but Duarte looks like a key piece for a Pacers team that might be looking to make a push sooner than expected.

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Oregon becomes one of only schools with players drafted top-15 in 2021 NFL, NBA drafts

Oregon now joins USC and Alabama as the only schools to have players drafted in top-15 during both 2021 NBA and NFL drafts.

Success breeds more success, and for the Oregon Ducks, the recent run that they are on across the sporting landscape over the past decade is truly remarkable.

With Chris Duarte being selected by the Indiana Pacers with the No. 12 pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night, the Ducks joined the USC Trojans and Alabama Crimson Tide as the only three schools in the nation to have players drafted in the top-15 in both the NFL and NBA Draft this season.

For the Ducks, it was Penei Sewell — drafted No. 7 overall to the Detroit Lions — and Duarte. If you were to go back a year, you could also add Justin Herbert to the list, who was drafted at No. 6 to the Los Angeles Chargers.

When speaking after the Spring Game earlier this season, Ducks coach Mario Cristobal talked about how important it was to see Oregon players finding a path to the next level.

“You’re upping the talent level that’s coming in, but you’re pouring yourself into player development,” Cristobal said. “It’s showing up and it’s showing up big. Some of these guys are Top 10 picks. That trend is only going to keep going. We all see that.”

For recruits to see sustained success from the program, topped off by players getting national attention as high draft picks, is massive. That will drive players to want to come to Oregon, and continue to up the level of success.

As Cristobal says: “We’re just getting started.”

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Shane Lemieux goes down with a knee injury in Giants camp

Former Oregon Duck offensive lineman Shane Lemieux went down with an apparent knee injury in New York Giants pre-season camp.

You never want to see anybody go down on the football field. In the NFL, especially during pre-season camp. But that’s what happened with former Oregon Ducks offensive lineman Shane Lemieux Thursday morning in New York Giants camp.

The Giants drafted Lemieux in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft after a stellar career at Oregon. He worked his way into the New York starting lineup and was expected to be their regular left guard entering the 2021 campaign.

At first, it was reported he was carted off the practice field because of an apparent elbow injury. But later, it was confirmed to be a knee. New York probably wishes it was the elbow. A knee injury to an offensive lineman can be devastating.

Lemieux doesn’t have a history of any kind where injuries are concerned. He started 52 straight games for the Ducks at left guard and played 3,611 snaps at left guard over his career, including over 900 each of the last three seasons. He was named a first-team All-American as a junior and a second-team All-American as a senior.

New York finished 6-10 last season and was looking for an improvement in 2021 and hopefully making a run at the playoffs. But if Lemieux’s knee injury is significant, those plans might have to be adjusted.

Warren Sharp says ‘the sky is the limit’ for Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers

After finding such massive success as a rookie, there is an expectation that Justin Herbert can lead the Chargers to uncharted territory in 2021.

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By all accounts, the things that we saw former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert do on the field with the Los Angeles Chargers in his rookie year were remarkable.

Thrown into the fire with a new coaching staff and short notice before his first start, Herbert went on to pass for more touchdowns than any rookie ever and was the best QB in the league on third-downs in the first half of games.

Herbert did all of this despite playing with a subpar running game, standing behind a porous offensive line, and taking calls from a coaching staff that was fired shortly after the season.

Not exactly ideal, but the Oregon legend managed to thrive.

So what does that mean for his sophomore campaign with the Chargers? According to NFL analyst Warren Sharp, the sky is the limit for this team.

A major note from Sharp was how unlucky the Chargers have been over the past two seasons, losing a total of 16 one-possession games in that span. Field goals have strayed left of right, calls have gone against them, and a regression to the mean is bound to happen at some point. Because of that, Sharp is confident that Herbert can make a leap with the Chargers.

“This team, with a brand new coaching staff, absolutely can get back on track this year,” Sharp said. “I love Justin Herbert, I love the improvements they made to the offensive line. There is some work to be done here in a difficult division, but I think the sky is the limit for the LA Chargers in 2021, especially if they get better luck and make better decisions from a playcalling perspective early in games.”

Sharp mentioned the lack of success on early downs for LA, which was a big hole for them in 2020. Quite often, Herbert would find himself in third-and-long situations, which are hard to get out of. Fortunately, Justin was highly successful when asked to convert, but that’s not something you want to be asked to do multiple times per game.

“One thing they need to do this year is to improve Justin Herbert on early downs,” Sharp said. “He was incredible on third down last year, but that’s not something that was sustainable, and this team had the third most third-down attempts in the first half of games. They’ve got to avoid these third-down attempts, and you can do that by being more efficient in the early downs.”

After quickly shaking off the first-round bust predictions and blazing to an Offensive Rookie of the Year Award win, Herbert set the bar pretty high. We will see what he can do under a new coaching staff in LA this season while contending with an AFC West division that should be even stronger than a season ago.

But if last year is any indication of what the Oregon legend is capable of in the NFL, then Sharp is truly spot on — the sky is the limit for this team.

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Colorado Rockies pick up Oregon’s Cullen Kafka in the ninth round

The Colorado Rockies take Oregon pitcher Cullen Kafka in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB draft.

Selecting an Oregon Duck worked out for the Colorado Rockies once before, so they decided to go to the well again.

Starting pitcher Cullen Kafka was picked in the ninth round of the MLB draft Monday afternoon. The Rockies picked former Oregon hurler Tyler Anderson in the first round in 2011. Anderson was able to make his debut in 2016 and is still pitching in 2021 in Pittsburgh

Kafka was the Ducks’ No. 2 starter behind Ahlstrom where he went 5-3 with an earned run average of 3.00. The junior from Walnut Creek, Calif. struck out 84 batters in 78 innings.

The last part of the 2021 season didn’t go so well for Kafka as he failed to get out of the fifth inning in his last three starts against Stanford, California and Central Connecticut.

Although the estimated value of his selection is $158,000, Kafka might choose to return to Oregon. With the NIL, Kafka can make money with his name and likeness. He would also be Oregon’s No. 1 starter heading into the 2022 season. And Colorado isn’t exactly the most pitcher-friendly place to play with the high altitude of Denver.

It will be interesting to see what Kafka chooses to do in the coming weeks ahead.

Robert Ahlstrom drafted by New York Yankees with 213th pick

The New York Yankees picked Robert Ahlstrom in the seventh round of the MLB draft Monday afternoon.

With the 213th pick of the MLB draft, the New York Yankees select … Robert Ahlstrom from the University of Oregon.

That’s how it would have sounded if the baseball draft was similar to the NFL and NBA drafts.

Ahlstrom was picked in the seventh round of the MLB draft after a stellar junior season as a Duck. The North Eugene High graduate finished 2021 with a 9-3 record and a 2.50 earned run average to go along with 92 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched.

In his last appearance in a Duck uniform, Ahlstrom pitched Oregon into the Regional title series by going eight innings, giving up three runs in the 7-3 victory over Gonzaga.

This is what Baseball America had to say about the Oregon left-hander:

He struggled in the truncated 2020 season, but has taken a step forward in 2021… Ahlstrom isn’t flashy, with a fastball that sits 88-89 mph and tops out at 92, but he consistently throws the pitch for strikes. The same is true of his curveball and changeup, which are both average offerings, and he commands all three pitches effectively.

The Yankees were counting on Ahlstrom’s control and experience instead of a flashy gun for an arm. He’s not going to light up the radar gun, but neither did Tom Glavine and things worked out fairly well for that Hall of Famer.