The Oregon Ducks have been cleaning up in the transfer portal so far this year, picking up five high-end transfers that fill major positions of need on the 2025 roster.
They might not be done, though.
Oregon has gotten elite players in the defensive secondary with Theran Johnson and Dillon Thieneman, and on the offensive line with Alex Harkey and Isaiah World. They also grabbed an incredibly talented tight end with Louisville’s Jamari Johnson.
Now, a new target may have entered the mix.
On Friday, it was announced that former Miami Hurricanes tight end Riley Williams was entering the transfer portal after two seasons under Mario Cristobal. This is interesting for the Ducks since Williams is a former player from Central Catholic High School in Portland who took an official visit to Eugene and was close to committing to Oregon before making the move down to Florida to follow Cristobal.
At one point, both parties were interested, but now that we’re two years removed and Oregon has already found one tight end from the transfer portal—a major position of need with Terrance Ferguson and Patrick Herbert graduating—is there still going to be interest?
It wouldn’t shock me in the slightest. While the Ducks did pick up Johnson to fill one spot on the TE depth chart, there still could be a need for more depth, depending on what Lanning and his staff feel they have in some of the young guys on the roster.
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Kenyon Sadiq will return next year, and Oregon brings back both Roger Saleapaga — injury status pending — and AJ Pugliano. On top of that, they have incoming freshman Vander Ploog, and Johnson as an incoming transfer. Is that enough to feel comfortable going into the new season? That’s not for me to decide.
At the very least, I would be surprised if there isn’t some contact between Williams and the Ducks. He is a talented player with 15 catches for 187 yards and 1 TD in his career. As a former 4-star recruit who was rated as the No. 4 TE in the 2023 class, the ceiling is high under the right coaching staff.
Is that coaching staff in Eugene? We will likely find out over the coming days and weeks.
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