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There was a time earlier in this offseason when Oregon’s Seven McGee was strongly considering leaving the program entirely. Now, he’s entering his second spring game while dealing with the heavyweight comparison to one of his Eugene idols.
Thanks to his new position change, transitioning him from a running back to more of a hybrid slot receiver, there is maybe no player on the Oregon offense who fans are more anticipated to see on Saturday than McGee. We know that he has all of the tools to be explosive — McGee was a 4-star commit, ranked as the No. 9 RB overall and No. 1 player in New York — but with a new emphasis on getting him the ball more in the Ducks’ offense, it’s been common practice to hear that McGee might be the new De’Anthony Thomas 2.0 in Eugene.
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“It’s a lot of weight on my shoulders,” McGee said on Thursday leading up to the spring game. “But at the end of the day, just being me, working my craft day by day, listening to coaches, and getting the coaching.”
That comparison should not be made lightly. ‘DAT’ was one of the most electric players that we’ve seen not only in Eugene but in all of college football over the past decade. His 1,890 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns were one thing, but when you add to it the 1,296 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns, you see what a dynamic offensive threat Thomas was. He even contributed in the special teams game, with 5 total return touchdowns in his career.
Those are certainly some big shoes to fill, but McGee knows that all comparisons are made out of a desire to see him succeed.
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“It means a lot, you know,” McGee said. “Watching the Ducks in the Rose Bowl, watching the Ducks who went to the national championship, watching De’Anthony Thomas when he was here. He’s a great player, and I’m glad he’s gonna be here this weekend.”
We aren’t exactly sure who divided up the teams for Saturday’s scrimmage, but with De’Anthony Thomas acting as an honorary coach for the yellow team, it seemed more than fitting that McGee would show up dressed in yellow as well. In the third quarter, the honorary coaches — Thomas, LaMichael James, Haloti Ngata, and Arik Armstead — are going to be calling the plays.
Don’t be surprised if you see a heavy dose of Seven — or rather, De’Anthony Thomas 2.0 — during that time.
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