Tag: ducks football

Oregon linebacker Isaac Slade-Matuatia enters transfer portal ahead of season

Veteran linebacker Isaac Slade-Matuatia has announced on his Instagram page that he plans to enter the transfer portal and leave Oregon.

Well, that comes as a bit of a surprise.

One of the main players on Oregon’s defense has announced via his Instagram page that he plans to enter the transfer portal and look for a new team with which to finish his college career.

Isaac Slade-Matuatia played at Oregon for three seasons, becoming one of the better linebackers on the depth chart and starting a majority of the games over his final two seasons. Slade-Matuatia registered 131 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his time with the Ducks.

There was no guarantee that the former Duck was going to be a starter in 2021, with the rise of both Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell on the defense. Oregon is also working with a new defensive coordinator in Tim Deruyter.

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Ducks shoot up to No. 8 in CBS college football rankings after Spring Game

Following spring ball, the Ducks shot up to No. 8 in the CBS national rankings, clocking in as the top team from the Pac-12.

In most instances, it is hard to take much away from a Spring Game other than the opportunity for players to crack a few pads, and ultimately give underclassmen a chance to get on the field and show the coaches a thing or two.

However, for the Oregon Ducks, that showcase of young talent was impressive enough to sway a few college football ranking members, causing CBS Sports to move them way up in their post-spring national rankings, shooting them up to No. 8 overall.

The Ducks were curiously ranked No. 31 going into the spring.

As far as these post-spring rankings are concerned, Bama is joined in the top five by other familiar names. Clemson checks in at No. 2 followed by Oklahoma, Ohio State and Georgia in order. Of the top 10 teams in the post-spring top 25, eight finished last year also in the top 10. Only North Carolina and Oregon are new to the top 10, each seeing the benefits of New Year’s Six appearances and a spring practice sharpening the focus on College Football Playoff contention.

The Ducks, of course, are the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in the standings, with USC coming in at No. 14, Washington at No. 20, and Arizona State at No. 22.

These numbers may not mean much right now, but the higher the Ducks sit entering the second week of the season when they travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State — who is currently ranked No. 4 by CBS — the more buzz will be surrounding that game. A chance to shock the world will be there.

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Oregon AD Rob Mullens says hosting Ohio State at Autzen is possible in the future

The Ducks missed out on a chance to host Ohio State at Autzen in 2020, but Rob Mullens says there’s hope for them to come in the future.

A little bit more than a year ago, fans of the Oregon Ducks were getting ready for arguably the greatest home schedule in the history of the football program.

Schools like Ohio State, North Dakota State, USC, Washington, and Stanford were all set to come to Autzen Stadium to take on the Ducks. Then the coronavirus pandemic came and shut all of that down. With the loss of non-conference games, there was no showdown with the Buckeyes or Bison, and fans were not present for games against the rest.

Now that we seem to be heading in a new direction with a brighter future, there is hope that fans will be able to attend Oregon games this fall. The Ducks will travel to Columbus, Ohio in the second week of the season to take on the 4th-ranked Buckeyes, and a healthy home schedule should have fans rejoicing to be seated next to Rich Brooks Field.

That’s all well and good, but what about that non-conference game that was lost in 2020? The one that would surely make Eugene home to College Gameday once again, with a potential top-10 or top-5 matchup?

According to Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens, getting Ohio State to Oregon is something that’s on the to-do list.

That has been a popular question, for sure. It was unfortunate, 2020 was maybe arguably going to be the best home schedule in the history of Oregon football, and to think we were going to have a North Dakota State, Ohio State, USC, Washington and Stanford all at Autzen Stadium. We were certainly disappointed for a lot of reasons that we weren’t able to have that Ohio State game here, but we will find a way to get that game back here. It’s probably not on the timeline that everybody wants, just because of the nature of the way football scheduling works, we’re so far out now, but we’ve worked closely with Gene Smith and Ohio State to find a solution.

The Ducks have an unfortunate history with the Buckeyes, with a career 0-9 record against tOSU. The most recent loss came in the inaugural College Football Playoff final in 2015, where Ezekiel Elliott led the Buckeyes to a 42-20 beatdown of the Ducks on the biggest stage. Before that, OSU also beat the Ducks in the 2010 Rose Bowl by a score of 26-17.

If you want to look at the bright side, it might be a good thing that Oregon didn’t have to play Ohio State last season, seeing as an early season game with Tyler Shough at the helm might have spelled trouble, but the high profile game is always hard to pass up.

Nonetheless, it appears that there is hope for another chance to get the Buckeyes in Eugene in the future. We may not know when, but the thought of it is enough to keep us going.

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Oregon’s spring game is Saturday, so which fans can attend?

Information about which fans can get into the Oregon Spring Game on Saturday is expected to be released this week.

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The Oregon Ducks are putting on their 2021 Spring Game this coming weekend, set to kick off on May 1st at 2 p.m. at Autzen Stadium.

For the first time in over a year, the stands will be filled with fans, as Autzen plans to allow 15% capacity, which means approximately 8,100 fans will be allowed into the 54,000 seat stadium.

So which fans will be given first dibs on the tickets? We don’t know exactly yet, but information on how to claim tickets will be released publicly this week and be available to season ticket holders, Duck Athletic Fund members, students, and the general public first.

Fans at the game will have to abide by COVID protocols and social distancing practices, like wearing masks actively unless eating or drinking. There are expected to be people patrolling the stands to enforce the protocol.

As it was last year, the spring game’s annual food drive to benefit Food for Lane County will be virtual.

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Justin Herbert is trying to convince LA Chargers to draft Penei Sewell

Herbert and Sewell had a long and successful career together at Oregon, and now the Chargers’ QB is vying for his team to draft the LT.

There’s something special about a bond between quarterbacks and their left tackles. Always there to protect your blind side, a QB has to have complete and utter trust in the man flanking his left side, knowing that he isn’t going to be put into harm’s way while letting the play develop.

For former Oregon Ducks superstar Justin Herbert, there was a serious bond with Penei Sewell, arguably the top LT prospect in Thursday’s NFL draft. While Herbert has already found instant success in the pros, he is now doing his best to convince his team to grab his former college teammate, bringing Sewell to Los Angeles to play with the Chargers and be his new running mate.

“I’m doing my best. He’s an incredible player,” Herbert said, via NFL.com. “Whenever you get a tackle like that in the draft, he can change your program. Always a big fan and I’m an even bigger fan of the way he is off the field.”

The Chargers have the No. 13 pick in the draft, so it seems pretty unlikely that Sewell will fall to them naturally, as he is projected to be taken somewhere in the top 10, with the most anticipated suitor being the Cincinnati Bengals. There are other LT prospects on the board, like Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater, or USC’s Alijah Vera-Tucker who could end up going before Sewell, but to see him drop all the way to No. 13 is hard to imagine.

Of course, LA could end up trading up a few spots to get Sewell, but we don’t know how much they like him as a prospect, or what they are willing to give up to get him.

Regardless, left tackle is a position of need for the Chargers, who are trying to fortify their front line in front of what looks to be a franchise player in Herbert. If they were able to grab Sewell and lock down the left side of their offensive front for years to come, it could do wonders for the development of Herbert’s career. We saw just how good those two were together at Oregon, so pairing them up for a handful of years in the NFL seems like a good idea as well.

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With Patrick Herbert and Spencer Webb healthy, Oregon’s tight end depth is looking dominant

Both Herbert and Webb struggled with injuries during the 2020 season, but their return this spring has Oregon’s TE group looking deep.

Sharing a last name with one of the most famous players to put on a Ducks uniform is definitely a pressure-packed spot to be in, but for redshirt freshman Patrick Herbert, the stove isn’t likely to be too hot.

His 2020 season was cut short due to an injury, but the younger brother of Justin Herbert has bounced back and is ready to write his own story with the Ducks this year, hoping to carry on the family name and have an impact on the offense.

“It was great to see Patrick bounce back because Patrick is a guy we all know is going to be a really good football player,” head coach Mario Cristobal said after Saturday’s scrimmage. “You can coach him hard and he responds and he’s continued to develop and grow.”

Herbert has played in just a single game in his college career, but the high school standout came to Oregon as a 4-star recruit from Sheldon High School as the consensus top-ranked TE in the state.

Alongside him is Spencer Webb, who is also coming back from an injury last season that saw a promising season ended early. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound tight end had 209 yards and three touchdowns in 2019, and he projects to be one of the top guys at that position this season.

“Losing (Webb) last year was something that really hurt us offensively. It’s good to see him have a really good spring as well,” Cristobal said.

While the return of both Herbert and Webb are helpful, it will still likely be a combo of Cam McCormick and DJ Johnson at the top of the depth chart. McCormick has had an injury-riddled career at Oregon, but he’s shown flashes of talent that give us hope for eventual production.

Health has played a significant role at this position for the Ducks over the past several years, unfortunately, but we may now be in a position where a knick or a bruise won’t tank the spot as a whole. Any one of these guys can step up when called upon and will have Oregon’s receiving group clicking on all gears.

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With experience on their side, Oregon’s wide receivers are leading the way

Experience and leadership have propelled Oregon’s veteran receivers to set an example for younger guys at spring practice thus far.

It’s not often that you get a group of wide receivers that is as experienced and talented as the one that the Oregon Ducks are working with right now.

Sure there are teams like the 2019 Alabama Crimson Tide, who had Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, and Henry Ruggs all on the roster, all of which will end up being first-round draft picks once this week is in the rearview mirror. However, that’s an absolute anomaly in the NCAA. Typically, a good team will have one or two experienced pass-catchers and an up-and-coming young guy that can help pick up the slack.

For the Ducks, there are at a minimum four guys who could be the WR1, with a group of underclassmen ready to hit the ground running behind them. When you’re looking at good problems to have, there may be too much talent to deal with at times, with just one ball going around.

The depth chart is headed up by seniors Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd, as well as sophomores Mycah Pittman and Devon Williams. Between those four players, there is a deep well of experience, and head coach Mario Cristobal said on Saturday that the knowledge and leadership they’re bringing to the table is helping tremendously when it comes to bringing the younger class of players along.

“The older guys have been great,” Cristobal said. “The older guys have done a really good job, making plays, pushing the tempo. Inforcing the culture in a big-time way.”

Behind those top players, Oregon has a wealth of guys who could potentially break out this season if given the chance. We’ve heard great things already about sophomore Isaah Crocker this spring, and the arrival of both Troy Franklin and Dont’e Thorton has given the Ducks some real depth at the position. You also have players like Kris Hutson and Josh Delgado returning this season as well.

All in all, there should not be any lack of production at the wide receiver position for Oregon. Assuming that they can get some high-level production for the quarterback spot, which seems to belong to Anthony Brown at this point, then there is no reason to believe that the Ducks’ offense won’t be firing on all cylinders once the season begins.

We may not have to see it in action on September 4th against Fresno State, but when Oregon travels to The Shoe at Ohio State on September 11th for a blockbuster matchup with the Buckeyes, you can bet that Joe Moorhead will have everything clicking just the way we are expecting.

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The starting quarterback spot is Anthony Brown’s to lose at this point

All of the buzz surrounding true-freshman Ty Thompson hasn’t derailed the Anthony Brown train, who easily leads the QB competition.

Many fans of the Oregon Ducks football team looked ahead at the upcoming 2021 season and saw it as a chance to start the Ty Thompson era in Eugene, ready to marvel at the first five-star quarterback recruit in school history.

However, with 10 spring practices now in the book, it appears that there is a different plan for Mario Cristobal and his team, who has put graduate senior QB Anthony Brown under center with the first-team offense for every rep so far.

“Anthony has earned the reps that he has gotten,” Cristobal told reporters Thursday. “We don’t sense any entitlement from him. Instead what you see is a guy who has really taken ownership and has a lot of pride in what he does. He’s a guy who you can coach hard and who responds to that. He’s a guy who’s also grooming the younger guys knowing that they’re going to thrust into a situation where they compete for reps.”

Brown came to Oregon last season with hopes of being the starter and boosting his draft stock before the end of his collegiate career, but his coming-out party was delayed thanks to Tyler Shough, who got the starting reps until late in the season. However, by the end of the year, it became clear that Brown was the more talented option, and he took the reigns, though coaches still deployed a split-rep system between the two.

Now that he is set in a clear-cut competition again, Brown doesn’t intend on giving up his spot at the top.

“For him to get the reps that he’s had and to respond and have the success that he’s had, every day he gains more and more trust from the players and the coaching staff,” Cristobal said. “With that being said, the other quarterbacks are gaining a lot of trust as well.”

So will things change over the course of the summer as we inch closer to fall camp and real games being played? It would be irresponsible to say no, especially with the talent that we know is possessed by Thompson. But at this point, it seems like the QB1 job is Brown’s to lose, and he doesn’t seem very intent on losing it.

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For Penei Sewell, a family tree of advice has fueled him to brink of his NFL dream

Penei Sewell said that he has reached out to many in his family tree to ask for advice ahead of his big transition into the NFL.

It’s a tale as old as time that likely won’t stop any time soon: A hot-shot high school prospect realizes a bulk of success in college, and pretty soon sees their draft prospect rise as a career in the pro’s starts to take shape.

While said athlete is honing his craft and readying to compete at the next level, family members from across the nation or world start calling, trying to get close to their long-lost relatives who are about to cash in on a million-dollar pay day. Be it for reasons that are heartfelt or malintent, the story is not new to us.

However, for former Oregon Ducks left tackle Penei Sewell, it was the young and talented athlete that was reaching out to the extended branches of his family tree, looking for any advice that might help him succeed at the next level.

“It was really just me,” Sewell said to USA TODAY. “And to really lock in more on that and to come day in and stay true to a routine was a little difficult at first. Right then and there, I wanted to go back to the people I trust, the people I talk to. So I started off with that, and then from there on, they went to my uncles, and it was like a family tree asking for help and asking for advice. So again, going back to the foundation I had – the discipline.”

Sewell grew up in a military household, so discipline and routine are a big part of his making. With that comes a strong sense for family, and a respect for the experiences that have been lived, and advice for where that could take you.

If Sewell can combine all of that, on top of the amazing physical attributes that he brings to the football field, the rest of the league needs to be put on notice.

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Penei Sewell says pre-draft slander aimed at Justin Herbert was taken personally

Penei Sewell took exception to all of the criticism aimed at Justin Herbert ahead of the 2020 draft, but wasn’t surprised by QB’s success.

When you look at the narratives entering the 2021 NFL draft, skepticism surrounding the profile of former Oregon Ducks left tackle Penei Sewell is not very prevalent.

There of course are your one-off draft analysts who think that Sewell may not be the best left tackle prospect in this draft class, listing guys like USC’s Alijah Vera-Tucker, or Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater higher than him on their big-boards, but by almost any account, it’s practically consensus that Sewell will be drafted in the top-10 come draft day.

The same couldn’t be said about former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert a year ago, however. The dynamite QB was thought to be among the top at his position entering the draft, but there were a lot of questions about his leadership abilities, and lack of a strong voice in the locker room. The arm talent and physical attributes were there, but a majority of analysts were crying bust before the draft even started, and the Los Angeles Chargers selected Herbert with the sixth overall pick.

He sure proved everyone wrong.

Herbert quickly established himself as the heavy favorite to win the Offensive Rooke of the Year award, and he finished his debut season with 31 touchdowns and 4,336 yards with 10 interceptions. However, despite the recent success from Herbert, some of the things that were said about him still stick in the minds of his former teammates. In particular, Sewell has taken some umbrage with the past comments.

“To see the slander Justin Herbert was getting, I even hurt,” Sewell told USA TODAY Sports over Zoom on Thursday. “I was even hurting. I took it personal, too, like, ‘Why y’all even think this and that?’ Then I was like – just wait. Just wait ’til he has his opportunity. Justin Herbert will do Justin Herbert things.”

As a left tackle who played alongside Herbert for his career at Oregon, it comes as no surprise for Sewell to stand up for his QB, who he has made a career out of protecting. As Sewell enters the NFL and finds a new QB to protect, you can bet that the same brotherhood will still live on between these Men of Oregon.

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