Oregon Offense – Page 3 – Syndication Server

4-star TE Damarion Witten names the Ducks in his top five

Damarion Witten named the Ducks as one of his top schools. Check out the 4-star TE’s recruiting profile:

With official visit season a few weeks away, high school football stars across the country are continuing to name their top schools. In the 2024 recruiting season, the Oregon Ducks have already secured a large load of commitments, and plenty of players have named the Ducks as a finalist. The newest recruit to do so is 4-star TE, Damarion Witten.

Witten is from Cleveland, Ohio, so it’s no surprise that the Ohio State Buckeyes are among his top schools. Multiple 247Sports experts have released crystal ball predictions of Witten to the Buckeyes, but Witten has still yet to announce his commitment.

Early in the spring, it was clear that Oregon had a lack of depth at the TE position, especially after Terrance Ferguson’s injury. Freshman Kenyon Sadiq was impressive in the Ducks’ spring game, but the addition of a TE like Witten would help solidify Oregon’s TE depth chart.

Damarion Witten’s Recruiting Profile

4-star RB Christian Clark, puts Oregon in his top five schools

It appears that RB coach, Carlos Locklyn, and head coach, Dan Lanning have drawn interest from another elite running back. In the class of 2023, it was Dante Dowdell and Jayden Limar, and in 2024 it could be 4-star Christian Clark, who has named the Ducks one of his top five schools.

Clark is from Phoenix, Arizona, and in his junior season, he gathered 1110 yards along with 17 TDs. Clark is one of a few 2024 RBs that have shown an interest in Oregon, along with 4-star, Ca’lil Valentine and 4-star Anthony “Turbo” Rogers. Currently, Clark is ranked by 247Sports as the 22nd-best RB in the class of 2024.

If the Ducks are able to land even one of these high-quality RB prospects, they are on the verge of building a running back dynasty. With the success of the 2022 transfer additions, Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington, along with the potential of Dowdell and Limar, the Ducks could create a pattern of landing and developing elite RBs for years to come.

Christian Clark’s Recruiting Profile

Ducks Legend LaMichael James is among the 2023 Oregon athletics Hall of Fame inductees

On Tuesday afternoon The University of Oregon athletic department announced its 2023 Hall of Fame class, and it includes former Oregon RB LaMichael James. James played 3 seasons for the Ducks racking up 5668 all-purpose yards and 56 TDs. James was a member of the 2010 Oregon team which advanced to the national championship game against Auburn.

James was a large part of the Ducks’ success that season, rushing for 1731 yards and scoring 24 total TDs. His efforts in 2010 put him in the running for numerous awards including the Heisman Trophy, which he placed third in voting for, and the Doak Walker Award (Nation’s best RB) which he won.

James was equally dominant in 2011, even though Oregon was unable to make it back to the national championship. That season, James rushed for 1805 yards and scored 19 TDs. After the 2011 season, James declared for the NFL draft where he was taken in the second round by the San Francisco 49ers.

James wasn’t just a football star with the Ducks. In 2010 and 2011, James competed in the 100-meter dash and the 4×100 relay for the Oregon Track and Field team. In 2010, James placed fifth at the Pac-10 championships and first at the Oregon Twilight meet in the 100-meter.

While he didn’t have the same success in the NFL that he did as a Duck, James has been quite successful off the field since his days at Oregon. Currently, James owns three Killer Burger restaurants —one of which is in Eugene — and could open more.

Second only to Royce Freeman in career rushing yards, and the holder of three of the top six rushing seasons, James is a Ducks legend, and arguably one of the greatest Ducks ever. He was a member of the greatest Ducks’ team ever, and his induction to the Oregon Hall of Fame is well-earned.

No. 4 2025 QB, Deuce Knight places the Ducks in his top ten schools

Under Dan Lanning’s tenure, the Oregon Ducks have attracted many elite QB recruits. In the class of 2023, it was top 15 QBs, Dante Moore and Austin Novosad, though Moore ultimately flipped to UCLA. In the 2024 recruiting cycle, the Ducks have secured commitments from 4-star QB Michael Van Buren and 3-star Luke Moga. Looking to 2025, it seems the Ducks’ streak of QB fortune could be continued.

Earlier this month, Oregon native Bear Bachmeier — a 4-star QB in the class of 2025 — received an offer from the Ducks and expressed great interest in Oregon on Twitter. Now, it seems the Ducks have garnered the interest of another high-level 2025 QB prospect in Deuce Knight. Knight is a 4-star player rated as the 4th best QB in the class of 2025. On Friday, he announced his top ten schools, which included Oregon, Georgia, and Tennessee. While most of Knight’s schools are located in the midwest and the south, Knight also named Washington in his top ten, meaning Oregon hasn’t been the only Pacific school to draw his interest.

Deuce Knight Recruiting Profile

No. 1 2024 TE Jaden Reddell puts Ducks in his top five

The No. 1 TE in the 2024 class put the Ducks in their Top 5.

After Terrance Ferguson went down this spring, tight end immediately became a position that the Oregon Ducks need to recruit. Since then, true freshman Kenyon Sadiq has been impressive and a few days ago, the Ducks picked up TE Kaden Ludwick from Colorado. Still, tight end has remained a focus., and the Ducks still want to bring in high-end talent.

In the class 2024, the No. 1 TE in the country, Jaden Reddell has shown interest in Oregon. On Wednesday, he announced that he has narrowed his search to five schools, one of which is the Ducks.

As a high school player, Reddell seems most comfortable lining up out wide, catching the ball over the middle, and maximizing his yards after the catch. While he is somewhat undersized for TE, he has above-average speed and quickness that allows him to create separation against both man and zone coverages.

Of Reddell’s top five schools, Oregon is the only one near the west coast, which could mean Reddell has his heart set on staying out east, or he could be including Oregon because he wants a change of scenery. Regardless, he is a skilled player, that will make a strong impact wherever he ends up.

PFF names Jackson Powers-Johnson the best returning guard across college football

Of all the returning offensive guards across the nation in 2023, Jackson Powers-Johnson tops the charts according to PFF.

The biggest question for the Oregon Ducks heading into the 2023 season is how well the offensive line will fare. After losing most of the 2022 starting linemen, there is some questions about how consistent Oregon will be in the trenches, though there are also reasons to be hopeful.

One of the only returning O-linemen from last season is Jackson Powers-Johnson, a fourth-year guard. Ahead of the 2023 season, Pro Football Focus graded Powers-Johnson the highest out of all returning guards in FBS at 84.1 out of 100.

Last season the Ducks’ offense relied a lot on running the football and Bo Nix passing from the pocket, both of which were possible due to the blocking success of the offensive line. Powers-Johnson was a large part of that success. He played in all but one of the Ducks’ 13 games last season and consistently used his quickness to get outside and set the edge on run plays.

There definitely are questions about the offensive line that will only be answered when they are tested on the field. Still, Oregon’s O-line has the potential to be elite like it was last season, it is just unclear if that potential will be maximized.

In addition to the return of Powers-Johnson, former 5-star recruit, Josh Conerly Jr. will enter his second year and likely fall into a starting role at left tackle. Furthermore, Ajani Cornelius — a 4-star transfer from the University of Rhode Island — is expected to start at right tackle for the Ducks, and Interior O-lineman, Junior Angilau — who transferred from Texas — is expected to be another high-caliber player.

The Ducks have talented O-Linemen, but besides Powers-Johnson, most of them aren’t proven. Time will tell if Oregon’s offensive line can approach the level of last season, but the presence of Powers-Johnson on the line of scrimmage should provide some much-needed experience.

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How the potential addition of Gary Bryant Jr. could impact the Ducks; offense

The Ducks are currently the favorites to land former USC WR Gary Bryant Jr.

What type of impact would he have on the Oregon offense?

Since the transfer portal opened a few weeks ago, many college football players around the country have packed their bags and begun setting up shop with their new teams. The Oregon Ducks have had some notable signings in the portal this offseason, such as Jordan Burch and Ajani Cornelius, and they added TE Casey Kelly from this most recent portal window as well.

Even though most of the high-quality transfer targets have already signed with new schools, there are still a few gems that have yet to be picked up.

One of those is Gary Bryant Jr, a former 4-star WR that was at USC for three seasons before deciding to it was time to move on. Although he hasn’t announced where he’ll play his 2023 football, 247Sports’ “crystal ball” predicts Bryant to sign with the Ducks later this May.

If 247Sports’ prediction is correct, Bryant could end up being a valuable addition to Oregon’s offense. Following Oregon’s 2023 spring game, WR seems to be a position that could stand to benefit from some added depth. While the top three or four Ducks wideouts look strong going into next season, there are question marks below them on the depth chart.

On 3rd downs last year, one of Bo Nix’s favorite targets was Chase Cota. Cota was targeted frequently largely because of his ability to find soft spots in opposing defenses’ pass coverage. Looking to 2023, Bryant could play a similar role. One of the strongest parts of Bryant’s game is his route-running and ability to get into open spots in the secondary when the opposing defense employs zone coverage. The combination of those two strengths could make Bryant useful for Will Stein in 3rd and 4th down situations next season, much like Cota was in 2022.

Byrant’s best season at USC came in 2021, which was his sophomore season. He finished the year with 579 receiving yards and 44 receptions, seven of which were touchdowns. Bryant seemed poised to have a strong 2022, but with the addition of Lincoln Riley came the addition of new WRs. It is speculated that the added depth at WR is why Bryant chose to redshirt in 2022, and then leave the program for 2023.

Currently, the receivers that show the most promise for the Ducks are Troy Franklin, Kris Hutson, Traeshon Holden, and Tez Johnson. Johnson has blow-you-away speed, Hutson is solid when catching passes thrown over the middle of the field, and Franklin is an all-around talent — expected by some to be taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Beyond those three guys, there are a lot of talented, yet unproven players. With three scholarship spots to play around with, it makes sense that the Ducks would go after a WR like Bryant, and if he does end up in Eugene, he could be an impactful player.

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Ryan Walk accepts invite to rookie mini-camp with Jacksonville Jaguars

Former Ducks offensive lineman Ryan Walk was unable to sign with an NFL team as an undrafted free agent, but he did accept an invite to the rookie mini-camp for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

As a local kid who went to Sheldon High School, Walk joined the team as a walk-on player in 2017, utilizing his redshirt as a freshman. He played sparingly in 2018 and 2019 and then became a full-time starter at right guard in the 2020 season. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Walk was a main-stay on the offensive line for the Ducks, and was one of the leaders of a unit that was arguably the best in the nation last season.

At 6’3″ and 295 pounds, Walk may have some bulking up to do in order to play on the interior offensive line against NFL defensive linemen, but hopefully, he’s up to the task.

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Oregon OL TJ Bass signs with the Dallas Cowboys as UDFA

As expected, Oregon offensive lineman TJ Bass watched the NFL draft come and go without his name being called, but that didn’t deter him from signing with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent.

The Cowboys perennially produce a good offensive line, and TJ Bass will be the newest member of that group. After a disappointing end to the season in 2022, the Dallas Cowboys parted ways with their former star running back, Ezekiel Elliot. Next season, Dallas will be looking to reshape their offense and it will be interesting to see if Bass has a role to play in their 2023 system.

The 6-foot-4, 325-pounder from Deming, Wash. came to Oregon in 2020 Bass as a junior college transfer. He was a four-star recruit coming out of Butte College and was the No. 1 junior college offensive lineman in 2019.

Last season, the Ducks had one of the strongest O-lines in the PAC-12. Bass was a big part of that success and was named first-team All-PAC-12 and second-team All-American, for his efforts. Bass is proficient at both pass and run blocking which makes a desirable player at the guard position.

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Ducks Wire Player of the Game: WR Tez Johnson

Any Oregon fan left the spring game on Saturday knowing that Tez Johnson is the real deal.

For the first time in 5 months, there was football in Autzen Stadium on Saturday. The Oregon Ducks roster — bolstered with new recruits and transfers — was split into two teams: green and yellow for Saturday’s spring game.

While there was great play from Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson, WR Tez Johnson was the star of Saturday’s game. Johnson finished the game with 3 catches 78 yards and a touchdown. Tez’s touchdown was a 63-yard play, with 59 of those yards coming after the catch. Johnson caught Ty Thompson’s pass in the middle of the field and then bounced outside making multiple defenders miss as he took it to the house for the Yellow team’s first score.

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After the game, players had a lot to say about Tez’s performance, specifically his staggering speed out on the field.

“He’s not the biggest, but he is the fastest,” said Duck’s linebacker Jefferey Bassa.

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In addition to the praise for Johnson’s speed, defensive back Trikweze Bridges pointed out his other strengths.

“He’s good pretty good hands too,” he said.

Tez Johnson played his first two seasons of college ball at Troy, but transferred to Oregon this offseason. His 2021 and 2022 seasons were both impressive gathering 50+ receptions and 700+ yards receiving in each season.

Since last season, there have been notable departures at WR this off-season. Chase Cota declared for the draft and signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent. The Ducks also lost multiple receivers to the transfer portal in Dont’e Thorton and Issah Crocker. After losing that depth, Johnson may see an increased role for 2023, and hopefully with it an increase in production.

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