How Ducks’ safety room looks with Evan Williams transfer, return of Jamal Hill, Steve Stephens IV

With Jamal Hill and Steve Stephens coming back in 2023, plus Evan Williams’ transfer, how does the depth at Oregon’s safety position look?

One of the bigger question marks on the Oregon Ducks’ roster going into the 2023 offseason was on the defense, particularly when it came to the secondary. We knew that Bennett Williams was going to be taking off without any more eligibility remaining, but there were guys like Jamal Hill, Steve Stephens, and Bryan Addison, all of whom had decisions to make on whether or not they wanted to return in 2023 or not.

On Tuesday afternoon, we got a much clearer look at what the safety position will look like going into the fall.

The Oregonian’s James Crepea reported just after noon that both Hill and Stephens would be returning for another year in Eugene. This will be Hill’s fifth season with the Ducks, and Stephens’ sixth.

That news only further boosts the position which already got a positive development earlier in the month with Fresno State safety Evan Williams announcing that he would transfer to Oregon as well.

So with those three anchoring the back end of the secondary in 2023, who will be the other players to look for rotating throughout spring football and into the early part of the season? While the roster is still in flux with potential transfer between now and fall camp, here’s where the depth of the Ducks’ safety position currently stands.

Injury Update: Alex Forsyth, Dontae Manning “full go,” Steve Stephens “has a chance” vs. Washington

Alex Forsyth is said to be a “full go” for game vs. Washington, as is Dontae Manning. Steve Stephens “has a chance” according to Cristobal.

Back injuries are always tough to get through and they can also be unpredictable.

That’s what starting center Alex Forsyth has been dealing with over the past few weeks. But according to head coach Mario Cristobal, the senior practiced “full go” on Sunday and the Ducks are optimistic he could very well return.

It would be perfect timing for Oregon to get its starting center back as the Ducks go to Seattle to face Washington. The coaching and training staffs were hopeful Forsyth would return for the UCLA game, but that unpredictability of a lower back injury showed itself at the last minute and Forsyth could not participate.

In his place, Jackson Powers-Johnson and Ryan Walk have filled in admirably, but getting Forsyth back to snap the ball will allow the other offensive linemen to slide back into their natural positions.

Oregon and Washington are scheduled to kick off at 4:30 p.m. televised on ABC.