Tag: Tez Johnson

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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Dan Lanning isn’t concerned about relative lack of depth at WR position

Oregon has a lot of quality inside the receivers room, but not a lot of quantity, Lanning isn’t too concerned with reinforcements coming.

The Oregon Ducks football team has more quarterbacks in the system than experienced wide receivers at this moment of spring practice. After losing players like Chase Cota and Dont’e Thornton, Oregon only returns Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson as proven difference makers.

They also brought in Traeshon Holden and Tez Johnson through the transfer portal, and have a couple of young and talented players like Kyler Kasper and Ashton Cozart, but when it comes to established players, the Ducks are a bit thin at WR.

Those kinds of numbers would be worrisome for most coaches. Apparently, Ducks coach Dan Lanning isn’t among those concerned.

“I don’t think that’s as big of a piece for us. There were times we were operating with less last year,” he said. “So it’s more about quality than it is necessarily quantity. We have good ones there and we have more coming in as well this summer, so it’ll be different once we get to the (regular) season.”

If it’s quality in receivers you’re looking for, Eugene is definitely the place to be. With Franklin, Hutson, and incoming transfers Johnson and Holden, most teams would be happy to have that those three at the top of the depth chart.

Franklin burst onto the scene last year as a sophomore with career highs in receptions (61), yards (891), and touchdowns (9). He was also a second-team All-Conference performer and was a go-to guy for quarterback Bo Nix. That shouldn’t change in 2023.

Hutson also had a nice sophomore season with 44 catches for 472 yards. Although he didn’t find the end zone in 2022, he came up with for than a few catches that resulted in important first downs that kept scoring drives alive.

Although Johnson is new to the program, he has a lot of experience coming from Troy. The junior already has 36 games under his belt and has caught 141 passes for 8 touchdowns.

Holden had quite the adventurous off-season with a dustup with the law, was dismissed from the team, had the charges dropped and he’s a Duck once again. Hopefully, with that behind him, Holden should be a nice piece to the offensive puzzle for the Ducks. In his 26-game career at Alabama, Holden has 46 catches, 570 yards, and seven touchdowns with six of those scores coming last season.

Those reinforcements Lanning was referring to would be those incoming freshmen that will arrive over the summer, such as 6-foot-3 Jurrion Dickey who many consider one of the top recruits in the country. Dickey finished his prep career with 140 receptions, 2,537 receiving yards and 42 total touchdowns and has the talent to make an immediate impact in 2023.

Other than receivers, Oregon has plenty of tight ends and running backs capable of catching passes out of the backfield.

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‘He’s got speed;’ Dan Lanning marvels at what WR Tez Johnson brings to the Ducks

Dan Lanning didn’t hold back praise when talking about WR Tez Johnson on Tuesady.

There is a lot of talent in the Oregon Ducks’ wide receiver room, but outside of Troy Franklin, we don’t really know who is going to fill the starting spots when all is said and done.

There are guys like Traeshon Holden and Kris Hutson who will have a good shot at ending up near the top of the depth chart, and some of the younger players like Kyler Kasper, Ashton Cozart, and eventually Jurrion Dickey will have a say as well. One player who has been making some waves early on in spring camp thus far, though, is Troy transfer Tez Johnson.

Johnson was a relatively under-the-radar transfer for Oregon, but he brings a massive upside to the table. In 2022, he was the No. 2 rated WR in the nation according to Pro Football Focus, ranked behind only Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr.

With over 1,800 yards and 8 TD in his career, it’s clear that Johnson comes to Oregon as more than just a depth piece. He has a real chance to make an impact and potentially crack the starting lineup.

“He’s got speed, I think that shows up,” Dan Lanning said when asked about Johnson on Tuesday. “He has the ability to get in and out of breaks, he can really create separation with his speed. Obviously, he’s a little bit lighter, so we got to get him to continue to bulk up and wait for him to be a consistent player because if you take a couple of hits at that size, you’re not going to be able to be as productive.”

Johnson is listed at just 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, but he knows how to take advantage of his small frame work around a defense. His quickness is impossible to ignore, and his breakaway speed is something else. I have been told already by someone inside the program that Johnson is among the most impressive players that they’ve seen thus far at spring practice, and he’s elevating the wide receiver group for the Ducks.

It will be a few weeks before we get a chance to see what he can do with Oregon at the spring game, but there’s a chance that he really breaks out and gives the fans a show.

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Transfer Profile: 5 things to know about Oregon’s new WR Tez Johnson

Here are five things Oregon fans should know about the Ducks’ newest receiver Tez Johnson.

Oregon’s receiver room in 2023 is going to be ridiculous and that was going to be the case before Troy’s leading pass catcher Tez Johnson transferred in.

Quarterback Bo Nix is going to have a bevy of options to throw to and he wanted another familiar face in Johnson, which we’ll get into a little more later in this post.

At 5-foot-10 and just 150 pounds, Johnson should be able to play all around the field and in a number of formations to make it difficult enough for the defense to keep track of.

It’s likely he’ll bulk up some in the Oregon weight room, but fans should think of players such as De’Anthony Thomas, James Rodgers or even (old school) Samie Parker when comparing Johnson.

Ducks add transfer WR Tez Johnson, former leading receiver at Troy

The Ducks got a commitment from WR Tez Johnson, the adopted brother of Bo Nix who led Troy in receiving with 863 yards and 4 TD in 2022.

The Oregon Ducks appear to be making it a family affair, adding a commitment from former Troy Trojans wide receiver Tez Johnson, the adopted brother of quarterback Bo Nix.

Johnson became a hot name in the transfer portal earlier this year after being named the highest-graded WR in the group of 5 conferences this season. He led Troy in receiving with 863 yards and 4 TD in 2022.

This is the second WR that Oregon has added to the roster through the transfer portal this offseason, with the other being former Alabama WR Traeshon Holden. The Ducks also added WR Jurrion Dickey and WR Ashton Cozart in the 2023 recruiting class as well.

Tez Johnson’s Transfer Portal Profile