Tag: Gary Bryant Jr.

Injury Report: Oregon’s CB depth could be tested in rematch vs. Washington

The injury report for Oregon is relatively short, but could be potentially impactful on Friday vs. Washington.

Considering it’s just about December and conference championship time in college football, it’s a minor miracle the injury list isn’t a mile long.

Both Oregon and Washington head into the Pac-12 title game and the second contest between the two teams relatively healthy. The Huskies look to have almost everyone available and while a few players are uncertain for Oregon, the list of ailments is relatively short.

Truth be told, that’s exactly how both teams want it. You never want to have an injury excuse for the loser of a game such as this. Each team wants the other as healthy as humanly possible and leaves it all out on the field.

Here is the Duck injury report:

Injury Update: Dan Lanning offers notes on Gary Bryant Jr., Jahlil Florence

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning offered an injury update on a couple of key players ahead of the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Throughout most of the season, the Oregon Ducks have been able to avoid the injury bug for the most part. While RB Noah Whittington was lost to a season-ending leg injury earlier in the season, and S Bryan Addison has been away from the team due to personal issues, aside from that we don’t know of many major injuries that have taken place.

That appears to be the case going into Conference Championship week as well.

The Ducks got a little bit banged up last weekend against the Oregon State Beavers, with wide receiver Gary Bryant notably taking a tough shot out of bounds, but he seemed to have a positive outlook after the game. The Ducks were also without CB Jahlil Florence in the game, who was using crutches on the sideline.

On Monday night, Lanning offered an update on those injured players:

“He’s out there and getting better,” Lanning said when asked about Bryant. “I think we’ll be in good shape to have him this weekend.”

When it comes to Florence, and fellow cornerback Rodrick Pleasant, Lanning was a little bit less clear.

“I’m expecting us to have some of those guys back,” Lanning said. “We’ll have to wait and see as the week progresses. That’s kind of the way it goes at this point of the season.”

Florence has been one of the top secondary players for Oregon this year, starting the first 11 games of the year. In his absence, Dontae Manning stepped up in a major way and grabbed his first career interception.

Practice is closed to media members this week, so we won’t get a chance to see if any of the aforementioned players are practicing. The best chance we will get to see won’t be until pregame on Friday afternoon.

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Gary Bryant Jr. earns Ducks Wire Player of the Game honors

With 7 catches on 7 targets, 100 yards and 2 TD, Gary Bryant wins our Ducks Wire Player of the Game honors in his first game with Oregon.

There were upwards of 10 players who could have a case for player of the game in Oregon’s blowout win against Portland State, but today the award goes to Gary Bryant Jr.

In his first game as a Duck, Bryant had 7 receptions for 100 yards and 2 TDs. He was also only targeted 7 times meaning he hauled the ball in each time it was thrown his way.

The Ducks’ season opener was Bryant’s first time playing in Autzen as member of the home team, after his offseason transfer from USC.

Bryant left USC because of an overcrowded WR room that didn’t leave space for him. There was some concern that with the depth of the WR group this year for Oregon, Bryant could run into the same problem.

Even though today’s game was just against an FCS team, Bryant seemingly quelled all those concerns with his play today. He showcased elite speed, route-running, and situational awareness, all of which are things the Ducks will need later on this season.

In my eyes, he could be the team’s WR2, especially with Kris Hutson’s absence this afternoon. If that’s the case, we should be in good hands with Gary Bryant.

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Instant Reactions: Oregon breaks school scoring record in 81-7 win vs. Portland State

The scoring record at Autzen Stadium has been broken. 81 points for the Ducks.

It’s good to be back.

While students aren’t back in school at UO yet, the stadium was plenty full today. Everyone loved “Shout” as always. And it was all capped off by an Oregon win. We knew this would be a blowout, but I definitely didn’t expect a blowout this large. In my predictions, I had a final score of 59-13.

Needless to say, the Ducks exceeded expectations.

The season will be long, and this definitely isn’t an outcome anyone should get accustomed to, but it is a fun and exciting way to kick off the 2023 season. Below are some more specific reactions from right after the game.

Remaining transfer targets and updated scholarship count for Oregon Ducks

The Ducks added 4 players to the roster since Saturday. Here’s where it leaves the scholarship count, and a couple of remaining targets on the market.

Update: This article was written before former Colorado Buffaloes cornerback Nikko Reed committed to the Ducks. The numbers have been updated to reflect his commitment. 

The last few days have been filled with transfer portal activity for the Oregon Ducks, with Dan Lanning and his staff adding multiple players via the transfer portal and filling out their roster with the handful of remaining scholarships that they have at their disposal.

On Saturday, the Ducks added Colorado tight end Kaden Ludwick, a former Clackamas native, as well as former USC Trojans’ receiver Gary Bryant Jr. Then on Monday morning, former East Carolina offensive lineman Nishad Strother announced that he would be committing to the Ducks.

With all of the roster moves, the Ducks jumped up in the transfer portal rankings. However, where does all of the movement leave them when it comes to the scholarship count, and who are some players left in the transfer portal that the Ducks are reportedly targeting and looking to add? Let’s take a look:

Where Ducks stand in 2023 transfer portal rankings after Gary Bryant Jr., Nikko Reed pickups

The Ducks added 5 players via the transfer portal over the weekend. A big jump in the transfer portal rankings followed.

UPDATE: Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks had a big weekend, adding a handful of players to the roster that can be instant contributors in 2023.

On Saturday, the Ducks got commitments from former USC wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr. and Colorado tight end Kaden Ludwick. This led us to release an updated look at the national transfer portal rankings, where Oregon sat at No. 10.

Since then, though, the Ducks also added commitments from East Carolina offensive lineman Nishad Strother, and Colorado cornerback Nikko Reed; a pair of players who will immediately come to Eugene and compete for potential starting spots this fall.

The two additions caused Oregon to jump up once again in the transfer portal rankings, so we wanted to give an updated look at where everything stands.

Original Post: Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks continue to find massive success in the transfer portal, adding another pair of potential contributors over the weekend headlined by former USC Trojans’ wide receiver Gary Bryant Jr.

With the addition of Bryant and former Colorado LB Kaden Ludwick, the Ducks have now added 13 players via the portal, while 32 additional players leave Eugene in search of a new team to play for. It’s not hard to see that the Ducks increased their talent level on the roster this offseason, while Lanning worked hard to get some of his own guys in the room and in his scheme.

There’s a good chance that they add one or two more players this offseason as well.

So at the moment, where do the Ducks rank in terms of the national transfer portal rankings? Here’s a look at the updated standings, per On3:

Top five plot points of USC-Oregon football game on November 11

Gary Bryant facing #USC is one of the main plot lines for Trojans-Ducks in November, but there are several other big ones.

Gary Bryant, by transferring to Oregon from USC, made this November’s game between the Ducks and Trojans even more intriguing than it already was. Naturally, though, this game didn’t need that kind of plot line to be special and hugely anticipated.

There was already a showcase feel to Trojans-Ducks when the 2023 offseason began. Lincoln Riley and Dan Lanning did not meet in their first seasons on the job in the Pac-12 Conference. Riley came to USC from Oklahoma, Lanning to Oregon from Georgia. They both left big-time programs (Lanning as a coordinator, but that’s still notable) to pursue career opportunities on the West Coast, intending to pursue College Football Playoff berths and national championships.

Let’s look at the biggest plot points of November’s Oregon-USC game in Eugene:

Gary Bryant transfer to Ducks contains many dimensions for Oregon and USC

There is plenty to consider in the wake of Gary Bryant’s transfer to Oregon. @Ducks_Wire offers ample food for thought.

It’s one thing for two conference teams to watch one transfer switch to the other. That happens plenty of times, and it’s regularly notable when it happens. However, one of the more unique and potent transfer portal scenarios is when an in-conference transfer involves two championship contenders.

That’s what happened with Gary Bryant transferring from USC to Oregon.

This isn’t an Arizona-to-USC transfer, in which a player with zero championship hopes goes to a program with national title expectations. This isn’t an Oregon-to-Arizona transfer, either, in which a player in a crowded position group wants to go to a lower-pressure situation in which he can focus on his game.

Gary Bryant wants the added playing time with Oregon, but it’s not as though there’s less pressure in Eugene compared to Los Angeles. Maybe the media scrutiny isn’t as intense, but Bryant is going to a program which thinks it’s a title contender on par with USC.

Ducks Wire has a lot to think about, and we invite you to follow and read Ducks Wire for more coverage of this Gary Bryant story at Oregon.

Let’s dive into the dynamics of this situation a little more:

Gary Bryant hopes for a breakthrough — and more snaps — with Oregon

Gary Bryant wasn’t going to get maximum playing time at USC, so he went to Eugene. It’s hard to knock the logic here.

The transfer portal isn’t slowing down whatsoever. The USC Trojans have been active in the portal but have seen a flurry of players leave for other programs.

One recent shakeup is WR Gary Bryant Jr. heading to the Oregon Ducks, and Ducks Wire is all over the addition of Bryant. 

Bryant had narrowed down his list recently, and with additions such as Dorian Singer and returnees Brendan Rice and Mario Williams, playing time was going to be hard to find for Bryant.

With Box Nix receiving a new threat, here’s a rundown of Bryant’s time at USC, and the 2021 season sticks out more than anything else. We wish Bryant the best in Eugene, though we also hope he loses to the Trojans in Autzen Stadium on November 11.

Position Outlook: Gary Bryant Jr. addition offers big boost to competition in Ducks WR room

The addition of Gary Bryant Jr. to Oregon’s WR room just ups the level of competition even more in Eugene.

The fight for targets in 2023 is going to be fun to watch.

At the end of April during the Oregon Ducks’ annual spring game, it was incredibly clear that the wide receiver depth was pretty stacked in Eugene. With Troy Franklin and Traeshon Holden making plays for the green team while Tez Johnson and Kris Hutson showed out for the yellow team, Duck fans were treated to quite a display of WR talent. On top of the projected starters, you also had underclassmen Justius Lowe and Kyler Kasper making some plays as well.

That wide receiver room got a bit more stacked on Saturday night with former USC WR Gary Bryant Jr. announcing his transfer to Oregon. He will join the Ducks with three years of eligibility remaining, and come in hoping to secure a spot in the starting lineup along with a sizeable target share.

With so many mouths to feed at the position, though, things are bound to get incredibly competitive come this fall once practice starts up again. In preparation for that, let’s take a look at everyone on the roster at the WR spot and break down their outlook going forward.