Phil Steele names several Ducks in his All-America and All-Conference picks

Phil Steele names several Ducks in his All-America and All-Conference picks

In anticipation of the 2023 College Football season, independent sportswriter Phil Steele has made his predictions for All-Conference and All-America teams, both of which include several Oregon Ducks.

First, Steele believes that Oregon QB Bo Nix and edge rusher Brandon Dorlus will be the two Ducks to have All-American seasons, both of whom will earn fourth-team recognitions.

The fourth-team selection likely meansΒ  Steele sees Bo Nix as the fourth-best QB in 2023. While I would rank him slightly higher, four is much higher than much of the media has ranked him, such as his exclusion from On3’s top Heisman candidates.

Brandon Dorlus is an exciting inclusion. For the most part, Dorlus had a good 2022, though he struggle to sack the QB. With the addition of Jordan Burch and other pass rushers this offseason, Dorlus may see more opportunities to pressure the quarterback when passing, which could be why Steele expects big things from Dorlus in 2023.

As for All-Pac-12 teams, many more Ducks drew Steele’s eye. He predicts Bucky Irving, Dorlus, and Khyree Jackson to all earn first-team honors, as well as Troy Franklin and Camden Lewis to take spots on the second team. For the third team, Steele selected Nix, Terrance Ferguson, Evan Williams, and Kris Hutson. Finally, Steele sees Josh Conerly Jr., Popo Aumavae, Tez Johnson, and Jordan Burch filling out spots on the fourth team.

There are a few things that stand out from these picks. the first is Bo Nix on the third team, but with how loaded the presence of Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr. make the Pac-12’s QB carousel, it makes sense.

Another thing is the exclusion of Troy Franklin from the first team. Franklin played at such a high level in 2022 and it was only his sophomore season. Furthermore, while he and Nix quickly built chemistry last season, they should have an added sense of familiarity after playing side-by-side for a full season.

The last thing that stands out to me from these predictions, is the inclusion of Tez Johnson. This year’s spring game was the first time many Ducks fans got to see Tez Johnson in action, and what they saw was a speedster that couldn’t fit more perfectly into Will Stein’s offense. What makes this inclusion surprising is how low-profile Johnson’s transfer to Oregon was. He was only rated as a 3-star WR. Hopefully, Tez Johnson will do plenty of things this fall that he did in the 2023 spring game because he will shock a lot of people, though clearly Phil Steele won’t be one of those people.

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