Tag: Kris Hutson

Former Oregon linebacker and wide receiver announce transfers to Washington State

Former Oregon linebacker and wide receiver announce transfers to Washington State

Former Oregon Ducks linebacker Keith Brown, out of Lebanon, has announced he is coming back to the Pacific Northwest with the Washington State Cougars.

Brown was a Duck from 2021-22 before transferring to Louisville for the 2023 season. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for Brown as he had an injury-riddled season where he played in just four games and just had one tackle.

Moving back home, so to speak, and playing for the Cougars, Brown will be looking to resurrect a once-promising career.

As a Duck, Brown played in 18 games with 36 tackles, one for loss.

He’ll also be joining receiver Kris Hutson in Pullman, who also announced he is transferring to WSU. In his four seasons a Duck, Hutson caught 80 passes for 936 yards and scored two touchdowns.

WR Kris Hutson announces transfer from Oregon Ducks

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Kris Hutson has announced his intention to transfer from the team after four seasons in Eugene.

Transfer season is now upon us, and the Oregon Ducks are not immune to players wanting to leave the program to try and find a better situation elsewhere in the nation.

One of those players is wide receiver Kris Hutson, a player who has been with the team for four seasons, dating back to 2020 under Mario Cristobal. During his time at Oregon, Hutson caught 80 passes for 936 yards and 2 touchdowns, highlighted by a 2021 season where he had 31 catches for 419 yards and 2 touchdowns.

With the arrival of Tez Johnson and Gary Bryant in 2023, Hutson took more of a backseat role in the Ducks’ offense, playing in only four games for the Ducks with just a single catch for 8 yards. Going forward. he still has two years of eligibility remaining should he utilize a redshirt for this past season.

As a member of the 2020 recruiting class, Hutson was a 4-star recruit who was rated as the No. 229 overall player, and No. 41 wide receiver in the class.

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‘It’s what he does when no one is around;’ Bo Nix continues to impress as a leader of Ducks

The young and talented Ducks receivers are benefitting from a great leader on and off the field in quarterback Bo Nix.

Some coaches have compared the games on Saturdays during the fall to a test, and the week of practice leading up to it is study time. Most wins or losses can be attributed to what kind of practice occurred the week before.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix has taken that concept to heart, and so far, he’s been passing with flying colors. A large part of his preparation for Saturday success is building chemistry with his receivers Monday through Friday.

According to the Ducks co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Junior Adams, Nix’s leadership has made the receivers, both veterans and underclassmen, even better than they already were.

“I think Bo is doing a really good job of taking the leadership role and putting an arm around the wideouts when things don’t go the way we want them to go,” Adams said on Tuesday. “He’s doing a good job of getting us into the right play call.”

One thing that makes Nix stand apart from a majority of college quarterbacks is his ability to be flexible at the line of scrimmage. Former offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham allowed Nix the autonomy to check in and out of play calls last season, and that’s expected to continue under Will Stein this season.

However, the biggest form of leadership that Nix has shown during his time at Oregon is his ability to lift other players up, and make sure that everyone is bought in on the common goal.

“It’s what he does when no one else is around, and how he corrals the guys who sit with him and watch film,” Adams said.

And when there are no receivers around, Nix will peek into coaches’ meetings and take mental notes that he can use later.

“He’ll be in the offensive staff meeting and hear what the coaches are talking about,” Adams said.

Oregon is building quite the WR room with the likes of returners Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson, along with incoming transfers Traeshon Holden and Tez Johnson. But the talent doesn’t stop there as redshirt freshmen Kyler Kasper and Justius Lowe look to gain experience and absorb all they can for the future of Oregon football, while true freshman Ashton Cozart and, eventually, Jurrion Dickey work to get acclimated as well.

Luckily they all have a great quarterback throwing them the football on the field and a teacher who has bought into their growth off of the field.

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Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden bringing healthy competition to Ducks’ WR room

With Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden now fighting for targets in the WR room, Bo Nix knows that the end result will be everyone getting better.

One of the several areas on the Oregon Ducks’ 2023 roster that can stand to add a couple of pieces going forward is the wide receiver position. After losing a handful of players over the last two years, Dan Lanning and Co. have done a nice, job of adding some talented players, but they still have room to grow, especially when it comes to depth.

This offseason, both Traeshon Holden and Tez Johnson were added to the roster. Each presents a different skill set — Holden is more of a big-bodied, physical receiver, while Johnson’s slight frame allows him unique speed and agility in open space — but both can provide major upsides for the Oregon offense.

The one potential downside of bringing in the new guys is current players feeling slighted by the additions.

It’s not a uniquely human experience. At some point in all of our lives, we have likely been worried about being replaced and cast to the side, be it by a friend or in a job situation. With the Ducks’ WR room, that’s always something that you at least have to be aware of. On Saturday afternoon, quarterback Bo Nix talked about the reality of more mouths to feed leading to increased competition among pass-catchers.

“The first thing I did was called Troy Franklin, Kris, and those guys to make sure ‘Hey, like we’re trying to provide competition in the room, we’re trying to provide explosive playmakers,'” Nix said on Saturday after practice. “And the thing is, if you talked to a guy like Troy or Kris, they love that and they don’t shy away from it.”

While the increased competition could mean less of a target share for these players down the road, it’s also likely to bring out the best in them going forward. With more talent to compete with, they will have to rise up to prove good enough to deserve the opportunity. “Iron sharpens iron,” has head coach Dan Lanning often says, and the Ducks are carrying that mentality into spring ball with gusto.

“I think it’s made Kris better. It’s made Troy better. It’s made everybody in that room better,” Nix said. “When they’re getting better, we’re all getting better, I’m getting better, the offense is getting better.”

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Oregon Spring Ball Position Battles: WR room should be main attraction

There’s a ton of talent at the WR position in Eugene. Watching players jockey for position on the depth chart this spring will be fun.

For many reasons, the 2022 season felt like a breath of fresh air for Oregon Duck fans, offensively speaking at the very least.

After a few years of gritting through the vanilla offensive scheme that came with Mario Cristobal and his tenure in Eugene, Duck fans were treated to a new system, headed up by Kenny Dillingham. This hurry-up, no-huddle (HUNH) system threw a litany of new elements at the Ducks, including a few things that we hadn’t seen for quite some time in Eugene, like QB snaps from under center, and the reintroduction of the deep ball.

It’s that latter half of the equation that really got fans buzzing inside Autzen Stadium.

With deep passing back in the mix, the Ducks saw a resurgence at the wide receiver position. No longer were wideouts confined to catching short screens or 5-yard curls over the middle, but they could open up and run, trying to get behind the defense and take the top off. This gave us the emergence of Troy Franklin, who quickly became the team’s top receiver, and one of the best receivers in the Pac-12.

While we don’t expect that to change in 2023, what will be interesting to see is who steps up alongside Franklin. Chase Cota was a solid piece last year, but he graduated this off-season. Dont’e Thornton had his moments, but a transfer to Tennessee after the season left his spot on the depth chart vacant. Kris Hutson is still on the team, and he likely has a leg up when it comes to divvying up target shares. However, there is a lot of new competition that he will have to hold off.

The Ducks were active in the transfer portal at the WR position this offseason, adding proven players like Traeshon Holden and Tez Johnson to the mix. They also have a handful of incredibly talented, but unproven players who came to Eugene over the past 2 seasons as recruits. Guys like Kyler Kasper, Justius Lowe, and Ashton Cozart will all vie for targets this spring, while 5-star WR Jurrion Dickey will work to state his case for playing time when he arrives in Eugene this summer.

As we start to dive into Oregon spring football and look at some of the biggest questions to answer, and position battles to watch, we wanted to begin with the wide receiver position. It’s shaping up to be among the most entertaining battles in Eugene, and watching players jockey for position on that depth chart going into the spring game is going to draw a lot of attention.

Here’s our case for each player to earn a portion of the target share, and where I think they end up after spring ball concludes.

Oregon vs. Utah: ‘Tale of the Tape’ for No. 13 Ducks vs. No. 10 Utes

Cameron Rising vs. Bo Nix? Oregon’s offense vs. Utah’s defense? This may be the most evenly-split matchup we’ve had all season, on paper, at least.

If this matchup weren’t already viewed as one of the more important and thrilling games of the season for either team, it certainly is now.

With the Oregon Ducks’ loss to the Washington Huskies last week, they opened the door for a whole lot of chaos that could now take place in the race for the Pac-12 Championship. The Ducks still may hold an inside track — win out and they’re in — but their opponent this weekend, the Utah Utes, is in quite a similar scenario.

On top of that drama, you also have the situation surrounding Oregon’s quarterback position, where it’s currently unclear whether or not Bo Nix will be healthy enough to play after suffering a knee injury vs. Washington. You have head coach Dan Lanning saying that Nix is preparing as if he’s going to be able to play, but then WR Kris Hutson declaring that it’s “next man up” with Nix unable to play.

The confusion has caused the betting lines for this game to move quite a bit, and left both fans and media members uncertain about what, or who we’re going to see on Saturday.

As much as we can, we want to keep things on schedule this week, though. That means we’re going to dive into the tape and try to determine which team has the edge on paper, according to the numbers. For this scenario, we are going to assume that Nix is the QB for Oregon.

Let’s get into the tape.

Kris Hutson’s comments about Bo Nix, Ty Thompson cause massive odds shift for Oregon vs. Utah

Uncertainty about Bo Nix’s health has swirled all week. Some comments from WR Kris Hutson on Wednesday caused ripple effects in Las Vegas.

A lot has taken place in Eugene over the past 24 hours, and one person’s comments have created a huge ripple effect that may cost Las Vegas oddsmakers quite a bit of money.

For four days, Oregon and Utah fans have been trying to figure out whether Ducks’ quarterback Bo Nix is healthy or not. He went down with an apparent injury in the fourth quarter against Washington and left the game. However, he came back for the team’s final drive. Naturally, the question everyone is asking is can Nix play in the big-time matchup between No. 13 Oregon and No. 10 Utah.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has been close to the vest with his information, and everyone in the organization is being close-lipped, for obvious reasons.

On Wednesday afternoon, though, a crack in the dam formed. The flood of shock and outrage came quickly.

During media interviews, Oregon wide receiver Kris Hutson was asked about his confidence levels in backup QB Ty Thompson, should Nix not be able to play. His answer might have revealed more than he planned. 

“Obviously, Bo is down, so it’s the next man up,” Hutson said. “He’s good at decision-making. He has a great arm. He can extend plays. He’s learned a lot from Bo, so he’s kind of taken his game to the next level also. Ty is a good player, a great quarterback; very smart. I can’t wait to see him out there ready to go.”

That seems notable, at the very least.

Whether you believe the comments at face value or not is up to you. I personally am not ready to say Nix has already been ruled out, based on what I’ve heard. And Lanning came out Wednesday night and said Nix was preparing to start.

“He’s preparing himself as if he can go,” Lanning said on his weekly in-house radio hit. “But we also got some other guys ready to go if needed.”

Basically, it’s up in the air whether Nix plays on Saturday, but that uncertainty has caused numbers to move in Las Vegas. Check out the latest betting lines for Oregon-Utah:

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With endless options, Ducks to use ‘return by committee’ method for special teams work

Oregon has an endless list of guys capable of making plays in the return game. It sounds like they will all get a shot.

In the past couple of decades of Oregon Ducks football, there have been a few players to stand out in the special teams landscape thanks to their abilities to return punts and kicks.

Guys like Cliff Harris, or Keenan Howry, or DeAnthony Thomas, or LaMichael James come to mind, all possessing blazing speed and quick agility that makes them perfectly suited for the position. It’s always one of the things that fans want to know most about a team whose roster is in the building stage — who will be the kick and punt returners?

For the Ducks in 2022, that question doesn’t have a simple answer.

“I really think that will be by committee,” said Joe Lorig, the special team’s coordinator. “You know, I think we’ve got a bunch of guys that are really capable that I’m really excited about. So yeah, not because I’m trying to hide anything just because I think it’d be by committee. I really do.”

That’s a pretty large committee. Throughout fall camp, the following players have been seen rotating through kick and punt return drills, all taking relatively equal reps for the most part:

  • Christian Gonazlez (Kick Return)
  • Kris Hutson (Kick Return/Punt Return)
  • Seven McGee (Kick Return/Punt Return)
  • Sean Dollars (Kick Return)
  • Jordan James (Kick Return)
  • Bucky Irving (Kick Return)
  • Byron Cardwell (Kick Return)
  • Noah Whittington (Kick Return)
  • Chase Cota (Punt Return)
  • Josh Delgado (Punt Return)

The rotation of these players could be sporadic as well. Lorig clarified that he could foresee multiple players fielding kicks and punts in a single game, and it won’t always change on a week-by-week basis.

“Even within the game, whatever, who’s the most fresh? Who’s hot that day?” Lorig said. “You know, that kind of thing. I really feel like we have a number of guys in both those areas that are that can be pretty effective, depending on the situation.”

One has to wonder if that list will get trimmed down as the season goes on and the team finds a select number of players they feel comfortable with. To start, though, as a new coach on the staff, Lorig wanted to get a wide range of guys who could bring something to the table.

“I didn’t look at anything that anybody had done before,” Lorig said. “You just kind of know by the position that they play. And then talk to him. You know, do you guys want to return kicks, you wanna return punts?”

That question of ‘Do you want to return kicks?’ is often dangerous though, and Lorig may need to be careful of who is in earshot when he asks it. If a group of defensive linemen is nearby, the answer is going to be an emphatic yes.

“I’m pestered every day by all the defensive linemen, all the linebackers, everybody wants to be the kick returner and punt returner. So, yeah, most of them are just joking around but yeah, everybody wants to do it. But we’re gonna put people on the field that, number one we trust are gonna own the ball and put us in good situations and then number two that can make plays for us.”

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QB Ty Thompson praises WR Dont’e Thornton for making a leap over the offseason

Ty Thompson had nothing but praise for Oregon’s WR room but says it was Dont’e Thorton who impressed him most for the improvements he made this offseason.

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A lot of attention on the Oregon Ducks offense this spring has been focused on the quarterback position, and rightfully so, as the outcome there has one of the biggest impacts on the overall success of the team in 2022.

However, one development that we are going to need to see big returns from is at the wide receiver position, where Oregon lost a total of 4 of their top receivers from the previous season in Johnny Johnson, Devon Williams, Jaylon Redd, and Mycah Pittman.

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That has left a relatively young group of pass-catchers, with many thinking that it will be the underclassmen trio of Troy Franklin, Dont’e Thornton, and Kris Hutson to lead the way this season.

When talking to QB Ty Thompson on Saturday afternoon, I asked what type of growth he had seen from the WR room over the offseason. There seem to have been some positive developments, with Thompson singling out Thornton for his offseason work.

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“Special praise to Dont’e, he’s been out here acting like a senior, and he’s same age as me,” Thompson said. “So I mean, he’s put an extra amount of work. Troy, obviously you see him, he’s really talented. Makes explosive plays. He’s more of a quiet guy. He’ll get the job done. He’s always locked in mentally, he does a really good job blocking and mentally. And that Kris Hutson is just a dog. I mean, he’ll win your one-on-one matchups, he’ll be right whether it’s man or zone and if he’s breaking it off or keeping it vertical. He’s just always in the right spot and always making a crazy play for you.”

Let’s take a step back really quickly… acting like a senior, what does that mean specifically?

“He’s an extra vocal leader,” Thompson said. “I mean, his leadership role from last year to this year, I think, I don’t know if anyone talked to him about it, but he’s elevated it tenfold. Like he’s helped bring people up. He’s helped his receivers with the routes. He’s locked in. So mentally, he spent so much time up here. I see him up here whenever I’m up here. So that’s a lot.”

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In his true freshman season, Thornton — a former 4-star recruit — showed flashes of his potential but didn’t quite see the playing time that would allow him to flourish. In 4 games, he had 9 catches for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns, with an average of 19.4 yards per catch. Watching him in spring practice this season, it’s extremely obvious that he has put on a good amount of weight this offseason and bulked up to be a strong outside threat.

No matter who ends up winning the starting QB battle this offseason, it’s pretty clear that the Ducks have some talent on the outside. While I am excited to see what the whole WR room can do in general, these comments from Thompson have me particularly intrigued when it comes to Thornton’s ceiling this fall.

He’s put in the work this offseason to step up and become a No. 1 option for the Ducks, now we just have to see if he can make it happen.

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Oregon’s Devon Williams declares for the NFL; opts out of the Alamo Bowl

Oregon’s leading WR Devon Williams is the latest Duck football player to opt out of the bowl game and declare for the NFL draft.

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Oregon Ducks wide receiver Devon Williams has announced that he will forego his senior season and declare for the NFL draft.

Williams will also skip the Alamo Bowl in his preparations for the next level.

In the post, he thanked former Duck coach Mario Cristobal, passing game coordinator, and interim head coach Bryan McClendon and academic counselors.

Once a five-star recruit, Williams was considered the top athlete in the country when he committed to USC in 2018. In his one season as a Trojan, Williams played in all 12 games that season, catching four passes for 87 yards with a touchdown.

Williams then entered the transfer portal and it was thought the 6-foot-5, 207-pounder from Lancaster, Calif. was going to end up in Corvallis before settling on Eugene to be a Duck.

He spent two seasons at Oregon where he caught 50 passes for 843 yards and six touchdowns. Ironically, Williams’ best game was against the Beavers three weeks ago where he caught six passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.

With Williams opting out of the bowl game, the Ducks are suddenly thin at the position. Mycah Pittman transferred and Johnny Johnson III is injured. The top receiver remaining is freshman Kris Hutson and his 25 catches for 364 yards and one touchdown.