Tag: josh conerly

Oregon football boasts a trio of AP All-Americans

The Associated Press announced their All-American teams and there are three Ducks included.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel might have missed out on the Heisman Trophy, but he has plenty of other honors coming his way.

Gabriel, along with defensive lineman Derrick Harmon and offensive tackle Josh Conerly, Jr. has been selected to the Associated Press All-American team.

Harmon is on the Second Team All-American defensive team while Gabriel and Conerly are on the Third Team.

Coming from Michigan State via the transfer portal, Harmon just picked up where he left off in East Lansing, Mich. He fit into the Oregon culture right away and had a great season for the No. 1 Ducks. Harmon had 42 tackles, nine for loss to go with five sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He was also voted to the All-Big Ten Third Team.

Gabriel had an outstanding year, his first and only year with the Ducks. So far, he has 3,558 passing yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions. The Oregon quarterback also has a 73 completion percentage. the highest for his career.

Conerly is also having the best season of his career as he his the heart of the Oregon offensive line. He could declare for the NFL draft after this season is over, but the Ducks are hoping to retain his services for one more year.

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Oregon OT Ja’Qawn McRoy to enter transfer portal

Oregon Ducks offensive tackle Jac’Qawn McRoy told On3Sports he plans to enter the transfer portal.

After a day full of fireworks for the Oregon Ducks to kick off the early signing window, the Ducks did receive a piece of bad news on Wednesday afternoon. Jac’Qawn McRoy, a freshman offensive tackle at Oregon, plans to enter the transfer portal, according to On3Sports.

McRoy was a 4-star recruit for Oregon in the class of 2024. He was ranked as a 247Sports Top 100 player and Top 10 offensive tackle in his class, and among Oregon’s four O-line commits last year, McRoy was rated the highest.

This season, McRoy didn’t see the field on any gamedays, but considering who Oregon has on their O-line, the freshman’s lack of playing time is understandable. The Ducks O-line is a finalist for the Joe Moore Award (given to the best O-line in college football), and Josh Conerly and Ajani Cornelius — the Ducks’ starting tackles — were both named to All-Big Ten teams this season.

With exceptional size at the tackle position, standing at 6 feet 8 inches and weighing in at 375 pounds, McRoy will be an in-demand player this portal cycle — especially with his four years of remaining eligibility. And with quick feet on the edge of the O-line, size isn’t McRoy’s only asset.

During his initial recruitment, McRoy took official visits at Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Colorado. He also took an unofficial visit at Auburn, two hours south of his hometown of Pinson, Alabama. A year later, McRoy could end up anywhere, but look out for those schools as potential landing spots.

McRoy didn’t play this season, but it’s rare for freshmen tackles to see the field anywhere in college football. After this season, Cornelius will be out of eligibility and Conerly — a junior — will be faced with the decision of whether to go to the NFL or return for another year at Oregon. If Conerly declares for the draft, the Ducks will be faced with replacing both of their tackles, and with McRoy leaving the program, Oregon doesn’t have many homegrown options.

Broncos scouts are zeroing in on these college football teams

Broncos scouts have been paying close attention to Oregon and Washington games this fall. Here are the prospects to know from those schools.

Going into this weekend’s slate of college football games, the Denver Broncos have spent more time scouting the Oregon Ducks and Arizona Wildcats than any other college football programs.

That’s according to NFL draft pundit John Vogel, who reported last week that Denver scouts have attended three Oregon games and three Wildcats games this fall. Broncos general manager George Paton also attended the Washington Huskies game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in September.

The most notable prospect among the four colleges mentioned is Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, the top receiver in the 2025 class. The Wildcats’ offense also features offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea.

Oregon has a host of prospects who could interest Denver’s staff, including receivers Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart, offensive tackles Josh Conerly and Ajani Cornelius, defensive linemen Derrick Harmon and Jordan Burch, and running back Jordan James.

Washington’s prospects of note include running back Jonah Coleman, safety Kamren Fabiculanan and receiver Giles Jackson. Meanwhile, the Rutgers’ offense features offensive tackle Hollin Pierce and running back Kyle Monangai.

With Broncos scouts and executives checking in on those programs, the above players will be worth monitoring this fall. The 2025 NFl draft will be held in Green Bay from April 24-26. Denver holds seven picks.

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Pair of Ducks listed as top potential draft picks for 2025 NFL Draft

A pair of Ducks are projected to garner a lot of attention from NFL scouts for the 2025 draft.

The 2024 is still about four months away, but some are beginning to think about the 2025 NFL draft.

According to CBSsports.com writer Tom Fornelli, there are two Ducks that NFL scouts are going to pay close attention to. Transfer wide receiver Evan Stewart via Texas A&M and offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr. are two of the 20 best players who will be draft eligible for 2025.

This is what Fornelli had to say about Oregon’s newest receiver.

Stewart was one of the top receivers in the 2022 class. Unlike (Missouri’s Luther) Burden, Stewart performed slightly better as a freshman than in his sophomore season. Still, most of that can likely be attributed to circumstances beyond Stewart’s control. Stewart has since transferred to Oregon, where he’s seen as the replacement for Troy Franklin in the Ducks’ offense. If Stewart puts together a big year in (green and yellow), he could play his way into the first round.

One of the reasons Stewart came to Oregon no doubt was to catch passes from Dillon Gabriel. The Ducks expect Gabriel to have an impact on the receivers similar to what Bo Nix had and Stewart should benefit greatly.

As for Conerly, the former five-star recruit will be a junior and should be one of the top offensive linemen in the Big Ten next season.

“Much like the QB class for next season, I’m not confident about who will be seen as the top tackle in next year’s draft,” Fornelli said. “Last year, it was Penn State’s Olu Fashanu and Notre Dame’s Joe Alt. Several candidates could step up this year, and Conerly is one of my favorites. Oregon’s offensive line was a significant strength last season, and Conerly was excellent in pass protection. He has the production and the traits to garner NFL attention.”

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10 biggest position battles to watch ahead of Week 1 for Oregon Ducks

Week 1 is fast approaching. These are some position battles that we’re keeping a close eye on over the next week in Eugene.

Fall camp officially ended for the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday afternoon, wrapped up with a media availability for both head coach Dan Lanning and quarterback Bo Nix.

While the past several weeks have been filled with schematic install and getting the players into football shape, the next few days will mainly consist of figuring out the final spots on the depth chart, and working towards the Week 1 clash with Portland State.

For the most part, the Ducks should feel pretty good about where they stand when it comes to the depth chart. Some of their top positions — quarterback, running back, tight end, defensive line — have established starters returning for another year, so there isn’t a lot of skepticism about who is starting where. At other spots on the roster, though, we can’t say the say.

Earlier this week, we gave our final depth chart projection going into the last week of fall camp. Over the next several days, though, these position groups need to be figured out.

Here are some of the biggest position battles to watch play out over the next week for the Ducks:

‘We can roll eight-deep;’ Oregon OC Will Stein discusses offensive line depth

“I feel good about our depth. A lot of guys have played and there’s been some newcomers come on that we’re excited about.”

One of the primary things to watch throughout fall camp and early in the season for the Oregon Ducks is the offensive line play. After a stellar 2022 season that saw one of the nation’s best offensive lines deployed in Eugene, there will be a changing of the guard in 2023. Four of the five starters from last year’s unit have graduated from the program, and while there is a lot of talent to replace them, the cohesion will need to be smoothed out early in the season.

After Oregon’s 15th fall practice on Monday, offensive coordinator Will Stein was asked about that cohesion and the depth at the position in particular. What he had to say should be encouraging to Duck fans:

“I think we can roll eight deep, I really do,” Stein said.

While fans may be mostly concerned about the first five guys who will take the field up front, Stein’s confidence in the depth at OL is great to hear. With so much physicality in the trenches, it is rare that you make it through a season relying on only five linemen, so being able to go to as many as eight guys should keep the team rocking and rolling on the front line, especially at the start of the season.

“As you guys know, early in the year temperatures are up, so big boys sweat,” Stein said. “Big boys get a little tired out there. So the only way to really get into shape is to play real football. We can scrimmage all we want, we can practice all we want, but until we put the pads on going to Autzen Stadium on the turf, that type of energy is when you really know what you’re made up of upfront.”

The Ducks currently boast a good mix of experience and young talent on the line. Incoming transfers like Junior Angilau and Nishad Strother bring a veteran presence to the unit, meshing well with sixth-year senior Steven Jones. On the outsides, you have both Josh Conerly and Ajani Cornelius looking for their first season starting at the Power Five level. In between there are a handful of talented linemen who are fighting hard for spots on the depth chart.

“I feel good about our depth. You know, a lot of guys have played and there’s been some newcomers come on that we’re excited about,” Stein said.

Living up to the heights that were reached a year ago is going to be tough, but under a new OL coach in A’lique Terry, the Ducks feel confident that they can once again play to “the standard” that is being set in Eugene.

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These 12 Ducks can become household names as the 2023 season goes on

Oregon’s football roster has seen a lot of turnover this past season and these dozen Ducks could be household names very soon.

Even on a roster of more than 100 players, you’ll need to know the names and faces of numerous new players when Oregon football takes the field this montt.

Many are freshmen from the latest recruiting class. But the transfer portal has become almost as important as those recruiting classes, which adds to the turnover of the football roster year after year. Fortunately for the Ducks, the quality of those they have brought in has been at the highest level.

Head coach Dan Lanning and his staff aren’t messing around. Many of the newcomers and redshirt freshmen have the ability to make an immediate impact on the Ducks this season. Here are a dozen players who aren’t household names yet, but will be as the 2023 season moves along.

Second-year Ducks who have biggest chance to break out in 2023 for Oregon

Fall camp is the best time to identify potential breakout players. In Eugene, these second-year guys have caught our eye so far.

With over a week of fall camp behind us now for the Oregon Ducks, we’ve seen enough football and talked to enough coaches and players to start to get a sense of what is to be expected in the coming season.

One of the things that is always fun to try and identify during fall camp is a list of players who could be primed for a breakout. Whether that is experienced players who haven’t gotten an opportunity to prove their worth just yet, or young players who could be stepping into a vital role with a year of experience under their belts, there are always a handful of guys going into each season that look bigger, better, and ready to contribute.

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Whether it’s due to a massive weight gain or an increased knowledge of the scheme, the Ducks have a long list of second-year players who we have identified as candidates to break out in 2023.

Here’s who our eyes are on:

Josh Conerly Jr. named to Outland Trophy watch list ahead of 2023 season

Josh Conerly Jr. named to Outland Trophy watch list ahead of 2023 season

2023 is expected to be the season where the top-rated offensive lineman in Oregon Ducks school history finally comes into his own.

The word “finally” is a bit misleading there, because as a true sophomore, former 5-star recruit Josh Conerly Jr. hasn’t had a massive opportunity to show what he’s capable of yet with the Ducks, but he did turn heads several times as a true freshman, even catching a touchdown pass on his birthday against the Colorado Buffaloes.

However, with a remade offensive line in Eugene this year, Conerly is expected to step up as one of the driving forces of the unit this season. So it doesn’t come as a surprise to see him named to the Outland Trophy watch list, highlighting the players identified as potentially the best offensive linemen in the nation this season.

The Ducks lost four of their five starting offensive lineman from a year ago, and there will now be heavy competition to fill the remaining starting spots. Among those competing are Conerly, Ajani Cornelius, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Marcus Harper, Junior Angilau, and Nishad Strother.

The only player in Oregon history to win the Outland Trophy was Penei Sewell, who received the honor in 2019, two years before being selected by the Detroit Lions with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

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Where JacQawn McRoy stands among highest-rated OL to ever commit to Oregon

JacQawn McRoy comes to Oregon as the No. 3 OT in the 2024 class. Where does he stand among the best linemen to ever commit to Oregon?

The Oregon Ducks picked up a big-time commitment on Saturday afternoon, landing the No. 3 OT in the 2024 class, and the No. 59 overall player in the nation.

4-star OT JacQawn McRoy announced his verbal commitment to Oregon, becoming the 17th member of the 2024 class that ranks No. 8 in the nation. He is the fourth offensive lineman to join since A’lique Terry took over as the OL coach in Eugene, and the No. 1 ranked OL in Oregon’s current class.

When you look at the grand scheme of things, though, how highly rated is McRoy when you compare him to the best offensive linemen to ever commit to the Ducks?

We went through the archives to find out.