Oregon Ducks football – Page 3

Report: Troy Dye reunites with Justin Herbert in Los Angeles

Former Oregon linebacker Troy Dye has signed a one-year contract with the Chargers, reuniting him with Justin Herbert.

Sales of Los Angeles Charger jerseys are going to receive an uptick in Oregon.

Not only does former quarterback Justin Herbert lead the Chargers offense, but now former Oregon linebacker Troy Dye signed with Los Angeles as a free agent.

The Norco, Calif. native played out his initial four-year contract with Minnesota where he played in 60 games. But playing time with the Vikings was going to be diminished some, so Dye hit the market and his now going back to his home state.

He signed a one-year deal, but should have a good chance at being a starter for the Super Bowl hopefuls. Linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. signed a two-year contract with the Tennessee Titans and his backup, Amen Ogbongbemiga, signed with the Chicago Bears.

In his four seasons up in Minnesota, Dye had 80 tackles, 44 solo, and 1 forced fumble. Dye started eight games.

Report: Ducks add Matt Lombardi as analyst to football program

Report: The Oregon football program is expected to hire Matt Lombardi as an analyst.

According to Matt Zenitz of 247sports.com, the Oregon Ducks football program is expected to hire Matt Lombardi as an analyst.

Ever since Dan Lanning arrived in Eugene, he has transformed the football staff to look more and more like a professional organization and the hiring of Lombardi is another step in that direction.

The newest member of the Duck football staff is coming most recently from the Las Vegas Raiders and he has experience with the Carolina Panthers. With the Raiders, Lombardi was an offensive assistant and an assistant receivers coach.

A bonus is that he worked with current offensive coordinator Will Stein when the two were at Louisville.

Spring Position Preview: Evan Stewart, Tez Johnson lead WR room stacked with talent

Oregon might possess the most talented and deepest WR room in the country in 2024.

After a couple of long off-season months, the grass is starting to grow and trees are getting ready to bloom. Spring is coming in Eugene, and with it comes the long-awaited return of football for the Oregon Ducks. A lot will look different in this new year for Dan Lanning and his team, with several of last year’s top players moving onto the NFL, including guys like Bo Nix, Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Brandon Dorlus. All of that is not to mention the fact that the Ducks are joining the Big Ten, and have a new-look conference to get used to on top of a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff to strive for.

It’s safe to say that there are a lot of things to talk about going into this spring season, and a lot of storylines to discuss. To get things started, we want to give a position-by-position breakdown of Oregon’s current roster, getting readers up to date on which players left, which players are returning, and what the overall outlook is going into the spring. So far, we’ve looked at the quarterbacks and the running backs. Now we’ll examine the Ducks’ receivers’ room.

The Ducks have had some great receivers in the past, but this particular group might be the most talented and deepest receiver corps Oregon has ever had. It’s not often that you see arguably the best WR in school history come and go in one season, and expect the talent level to rise the next year, but that could be the case in Eugene with this group that is ready to wreak havoc on Big Ten defenses.

Led by Tez Johnson, Evan Stewart, and Traeshon Holden, Oregon’s receivers have all the qualities a coach would want. There are big, speedy, and tall ones for Gabriel to choose from. The only problem might be there is just one football to spread the wealth with. Fortunately, it’s a problem most teams would love to have.

Here’s a full breakdown on everything you need to know regarding the receiver position, from who left, who joined, and some of the biggest storylines to follow.

Trio of Ducks selected in first-round of post-combine NFL Draft

PFF says Bo Nix, Troy Franklin and Jackson Powers-Johnson all improved their draft stock with good showings at the combine.

Before the NFL Combine occurred last weekend, former Oregon players Troy Franklin, a receiver and center Jackson Powers-Johnson were slotted as late first-round, early second-round selections by most mock drafts.

But after Franklin sped through the 40-yard dash, Powers-Johnson showed off his brute strength, and Nix showed his arm strength, all are considered strong first-round possibilities.

According to PFF.com, Powers-Johnson shouldn’t have to go that far from Eugene as he could be picked No. 16 to Seattle.

This is what writer Gordon McGuinness had to say about Powers-Johnson and the Seahawks.

Evan Brown is an unrestricted free agent and ranked 27th among starting centers in PFF grade in 2023, while 2023 fifth-round draft pick Olusegun Oluwatimi didn’t show enough to make passing on Powers-Johnson an option. Impressive as both a run- and pass-blocker, he allowed just four total pressures on 758 pass-blocking snaps in college.

Franklin will have a longer flight after he’s drafted as PFF says he could go No. 21 to Miami.

“The Dolphins are top-heavy at the wide receiver position, with little to get excited about beyond Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle,” McGuinness said. “Adding a third option like Franklin could help keep this offense ticking. The Oregon standout averaged 3.32 yards per route run last season, trailing only Nabers and Harrison in this class.”

There’s one more Oregon player that improved their draft stock and that of course is quarterback Bo Nix. Where he might end up is quite interesting. PFF projects Nix to go to the Rams at No. 19. If this is the case, both Nix and Justin Herbert could rule Los Angeles in a few years.

“I ultimately think Nix — or whoever the fourth quarterback in this class winds up being — comes off the board earlier than this, but the fit here makes so much sense to me,” McGuinness said. “Nix earned the second-highest PFF grade among quarterbacks in this class. Drafting him (and the highs he brings) and letting him learn behind Matthew Stafford for a year would give him the best chance of success at the next level.”

Jackson Arnold outside the top 10 in ESPN’s 2024 spring quarterback rankings

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold just outside ESPN’s 10 ten QBs for the 2024 season ahead of spring ball.

Anytime you have turnover at quarterback, there are bound to be questions about how the offense will perform the following season.

The Sooners are one of the teams across the country that will be starting a new quarterback in 2024. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] takes over for [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], who transferred to Oregon. And while there may be some uncertainty, the Sooners have one of the best young quarterbacks in the country.

The former five-star prospect isn’t one of the favorites to win the Heisman in 2024 and at this point. At this point he’s just outside the top-10 of ESPN’s quarterback rankings heading into the spring. And a lot of where Arnold is ranked is likely related to his inexperience at the collegiate level.

The only player without much experience that’s ranked ahead of Arnold is Tennessee Volunteers quarterback [autotag]Nico Iamaleavea[/autotag].

Arnold has a lot of talent and is a highly-regarded quarterback, but he and Iamaleava have a lot to prove still. But they’ve got all the talent in the world, and both former five-star quarterbacks were able to get their first start during bowl season.

Arnold and Iamaleava will likely provide the fireworks in the Oklahoma Sooners first conference game in the SEC when they welcome the Tennessee Volunteers to town. That could be the start of a fantastic quarterback battle over the next several years. In the offenses they run with the talent that both schools possess, both former five-star quarterbacks could be dark-horse Heisman contenders in 2024 and frontrunners in 2025.

For the Sooners, everything is set up for Arnold to find himself ranked much higher in these quarterback rankings by the end of the season. The offensive line will come together and the Sooners have a deep pool of skill talent for Arnold to work with.

Here’s a look at ESPN’s top 10.

Assessing Evan Williams’ performance at the 2024 NFL Combine

All of the best college football has to offer have gathered in Indianapolis this weekend for the NFL Combine and Oregon safety Evan Williams is among those trying to help out his draft status.

Right now, scouts consider Williams as a backup safety who will play on special teams, but with a strong combine and the possibility of a good pro day in a couple of months, that evaluation will improve.

When Williams transferred to Oregon from Fresno State, he filled in a huge need at the back of the secondary for the one season he was a Duck. He may not have all the talent in the world as compared to those elite safeties, but an NFL team, should they choose to select him, will get a player who will outwork any of those elite players in camp.

Assessing Khyree Jackson’s performance at the 2024 NFL Combine

Assessing Oregon Ducks’ CB Khyree Jackson’s performance at the 2024 NFL Combine.

The 2024 NFL Draft Combine is well on its way in Indianapolis and Oregon Ducks’ cornerback Khyree Jackson led the way for the Ducks on Day 2 of the annual event.

Jackson, who transferred to Oregon from Alabama for his senior year, turned some heads, especially in the broad jump where he was near the top of the heap.

As for his overall grade, it was pretty good as the scouts rate Jackson as a solid backup for the potential to be a starter in the NFL. As with all things, it just depends on the team that selects him and what their specific needs are.

Here’s the breakdown of Jackson’s day at the combine.

A look at the hectic upcoming 2024-25 College Football Playoff schedule

The college football schedule in December could look a bit hectic this upcoming season with the playoff expansion.

It was a foregone conclusion that once college football went into a playoff format it would be expanded for more teams than just four.

That expansion begins this coming year as the College Football Playoff will include a total of 12 teams with the top four receiving a first-round bye. Those first-round games will be played on campus sites.

Expansion doesn’t just mean more teams, however.

The football calendar will also be pushed to the limit and will resemble the NFL playoffs and will last nearly that long. The days of college football ending on New Year’s are long over.

For those two teams that make the National Championship, they would have played 15 or 16 total games. There was a reason the regular season ended in late November and most bowl games were played in the southern part of the country.

The weather.

A December game played at Wisconsin or Michigan won’t be fun for players or fans, but these extra playoff games will rack in the dough for schools to spread around.

On top of just the new playoff games, coaches and programs will also have to deal with the transfer portal and the early signing period, both of which will come in early December as well. Here’s a look at the upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 season, wich dates set for games this postseason.

Report: Early Signing Day dates set to change once again

According to a report from The Athletic, college football is set to change its December signing date and add a summer date as well.

It wasn’t too long ago when the first week of February contained the college football signing day for high school football recruits. ESPN would cover it all day long and the college football world would be buzzing.

Now , the early signing day is in December, the transfer portal is in play and the February date has been downgraded some. But according to a report from Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, more change is coming our way.

Those who control these things are looking to move the December date up to the Wednesday before the conference championship games so the high school signings don’t interfere with the transfer portal signings. Right now, they all seem to roll together and it could get confusing.

With that, the college football leaders are also looking into potentially adding another signing date in the summer leading up to fall camp.

College football is quickly turning into a year-round sport with very little breaks in between.

Oklahoma top 10: Updated look at the top 15 in 2025 team recruiting rankings

A look at the top 15 teams in the 2025 recruiting cycle according to 247Sports.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a blazing start in the 2025 recruiting class. Their 10 commitments put them way ahead of the pace from 2024 when they didn’t get their first commitment until late March before the signing class.

Headlined by a group of Oklahoma products, the Sooners currently rank inside the top 10. They should see significant movement if the current predictions for blue chip prospects Jonah Williams, Tory Blaylock, and Cobey Sellers come through with commitments.

The Sooners are also in great shape with a number of highly-regarded targets like offensive tackle Michael Fasusi and tight end Nate Roberts.

With more than nine months before the early signing period and Oklahoma about to transition into spring ball, recruiting is about to heat up. The Sooners are well situated to maintain their recruiting floor in the top eight but could push the 2023 recruiting class for the best of the Brent Venables era.

Here’s a look at the top 15 programs in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings, the number of blue-chip prospects for each school, and their highest-rated prospect.