will stein – Syndication Server

Oregon OC Will Stein details the luxuries and the challenges of having so much depth at WR

There are a lot of mouths to feed in Oregon’s WR room, but only one ball. It’s a good problem to have, says Will Stein.

It may seem ironic, but sometimes it isn’t easy in college football to have a roster as complete as the Oregon Ducks do ahead of the 2024 season.

The Ducks are coming off a season in which they boasted a top-10 offense and a top-10 defense in points and points allowed per game — something only two other FBS teams did. Somehow, on paper, they’ve improved.

Although Oregon is losing Troy Franklin this offseason, the Ducks’ WR room looks like one of their most talented and deepest position groups, with elite talent at the top and bottom of the depth chart. For the 2024 season, Oregon is returning Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden, and Gary Bryant Jr., and they’ve added Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart and a trio of freshmen in Jeremiah McClellan, Ryan Pellum, and Dillon Gresham as well. Be sure not to sleep on Jurrion Dickey and Kyler Kasper, either.

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After practice on Tuesday, Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein spoke about the luxury of having so many talented wide receivers on a team.

“It’s huge,” Stein said. “I mean whenever you can roll six or seven deep at wideout, you know you’ve got a really good room. We still want to keep our play count up, and earlier in the year especially with the weather and the heat, we want to roll a lot of guys in there.”

It’s tough to say at this point in the process who Oregon’s top receivers will be, but Johnson, Stewart, and Holden are the early favorites to lead the WR room. With the quality receivers Oregon has in addition to those three, though, Stein may have a tough time balancing everyone’s usage.

“It’ll be fun, but it’s going to be stressful too,” Stein said about the challenge of getting everyone involved. “There’s a lot of players on our team. It’s a wonderful problem to have. It comes back to game planning and when you’re in that setting, personnel-specific plays are, I think, huge. We’ll see when we get there.”

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In addition to the wide receivers, Stein will have the challenge of working the ball to Oregon’s talented tight ends. Terrance Ferguson is coming back for his final season this fall, and last season he showed he is one of the best TEs in college football. Earlier this spring, Stein even said that he “needs to get him (Ferguson) the ball more.” Patrick Herbert and Kenyon Sadiq are two other TEs who could be big producers for the Ducks in the fall.

Like Stein said, having a variety of weapons at your disposal is a great problem to have. It should lead to a more diverse offensive strategy, making things more difficult for opposing defenses by throwing different concepts at them. It should also help the Ducks’ players manage their load, hopefully mitigating injuries.

“Shoot, we’ve got a lot of really good players. It’s about getting those kids the ball and getting their confidence up early,” Stein said.

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Oregon quarterbacks to get equal reps, chance to shine in Spring Game

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein says the quarterbacks should get their chance to show out on Saturday.

That quarterback room inside the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex is quite literally brimming with talent. The only problem is that there is just one quarterback can take the snap from the center at a time.

Fortunately, the Spring Game on Saturday can be maneuvered in such a way where all the quarterbacks will get their time to shine on Saturday. According to offensive coordinator Will Stein, not everything has been put together yet, but it will be.

“We haven’t necessarily mapped (quarterback snaps) out quite yet, but it’ll be somewhat even,” Stein said. “You want to give everyone an opportunity and see what they can do in that setting.”

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Fans want to see those signal callers such as Dillon Gabriel, Dante Moore and Austin Novosad show out inside Autzen, but they’ll need receivers running routes and catching passes in order to do so. Those three signal callers have a lot of choices down the field.

“We get evaluations on them every single day and we’ve had two scrimmages already,” Stein said. “We definitely want to give them the limelight with the fans, with the real clock and real officials out there. We’ll get it set and try to make it as even as we can, but it’s never perfect.”

It’ll be quite different to see Gabriel sling it from the left side and just to have anyone other than Bo Nix out there will be an adjustment for everyone. Fans have been waiting a long time to see Moore in a Duck uniform and after a year playing for the UCLA Bruins, they’ll get the chance to see the Detroit prep star in the green and/or yellow.

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They all saw a glimpse of Novosad’s arm in the Fiesta Bowl four months ago, but he’ll be able to show it off inside Autzen in front of a bunch of friendlies.

The immediate future as well as the distant one will be on display for the Ducks and as long as no one suffers an injury, it should be all fun and games for all involved.

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Will Stein and his system helped bring Gabriel to Oregon

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel says he was attracted to Will Stein’s system and proven track record in his transferring to Oregon from Oklahoma.

There’s a lot that goes into a college player’s decision-making when they enter the transfer portal. One of those decisions right off the bat is to whether or not go in the portal in the first place.

Once they do go into the portal, the road to another destination has some bumps have curves. It’s rarely smooth sailing. That wasn’t the case for new Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel. It seemed as if once he decided to leave Oklahoma, he had his bags packed for Eugene.

The Ducks success with players coming from the portal is one of the best out there. According to Gabriel, offensive coordinator Will Stein was a huge part of his decision to become an Oregon Duck.

“I think it’s the track record of what Coach (Stein) has been able to do at a bunch of different spots at a bunch of different levels as well, he said. “I also think proven concept, right? Being here and seeing all the guys who’ve done what they’ve done. Two 1,000-yard-plus receivers. The quarterback has thrown for 4,000 plus yards with 40-plus touchdowns. And also winning a bunch of games, which is the main thing.”

In his one season is Stein’s offense, Bo Nix’s numbers went up and he led the Ducks to an 11-2 record, including a Fiesta Bowl win over Liberty. It’s the kind of success Gabriel wants to duplicate or improve upon, if possible.

“When you look at the offensive side of the ball, it’s how you continue to be ahead of the chains and score a bunch of points,” Gabriel said. “They’ve been able to do that. That for me was intriguing.”

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Kenyon Sadiq could prove to be a ‘matchup nightmare’ for teams in 2024

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein is excited about the versatility and talent of tight end Kenyon Sadiq.

The Oregon Ducks football team will miss some of the players who played their last game in 2023. But with all teams, the Ducks have some up-and-comers who are anxious and ready to make their own mark in the program.

Oregon has many young players who have the talent to make sure there’s no dropoff in 2024. One player in particular, tight end Kenyon Sadiq, makes offensive coordinator Will Stein excited for the present and the future.

“Kenyon has had a great camp so far in just two practices. He’s another guy who is a matchup nightmare with his speed in the slot,” Stein said. “You can line him up all over the field. It’ll be fun for me this year to try and get everyone the ball. It’s a good problem to have.”

The Ducks like to have players who are versatile, which makes them nearly impossible to prepare to defend for opponents. Sadiq is one of those players. Not only can he be a tight end, but Sadiq, who is 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, can line up wide and be a nightmare for a cornerback. While he could split out wide when needed, for now the redshirt freshman is sticking in the TE meeting room.

“Coach Mehringer does as good of a job as anybody holistically teaching our offense,” Stein said. “If you told Kenyon to go play X, he’d run the right route because he knows the concepts. If you put him in the backfield to pass protect, he knows the protections in six-man pro. We cross-train guys. We teach the entirety of the offense to every player. But with Kenyon, we really believe we have a special player there.”

With Terrance Ferguson and Patrick Herbert returning for the 2024 season, opportunities could be hard to come by for Sadiq, but if he proves to be as dominant as we’re hearing in spring football, the coaches may not have a choice but get him the ball as much as they can.

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Jurrion Dickey is living up to expectations as Ducks’ spring practice begins

Oregon Ducks redshirt freshman WR Jurrion Dickey has started to turn heads and live up to expectations in Eugene.

The Oregon Ducks are in the tough position of having to replace one of the best players to ever come through Eugene this offseason. Troy Franklin, arguably the No. 1 wide receiver in program history, is heading to the NFL draft later this spring after putting up historic numbers in 2023.

Of course, the Ducks aren’t lacking for talent in the WR room, with guys like Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden, Gary Bryant Jr., and Evan Stewart all looking to take over as the No. 1 option in 2024. However, it may be a player who is not currently a projected starter, and who only has one catch on his resume that could make the biggest impact going forward.

Redshirt freshman Jurrion Dickey is ready to become a household name.

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A year ago, he signed with the Ducks as a 5-star prospect, ranked as the second-best receiver in the nation, and the 18th-best player in the 2023 class. He stands behind only Cameron Colvin as the highest-rated receiver to ever sign with Oregon.

While an injury sidelined him for much of his freshman season, Dickey looks primed for a breakout in 2024.

“He looks like the player we all anticipated he would look like,” Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein said on Saturday after the Ducks’ second spring practice. “He’s in shape and healthy. I love that kid. He has worked his tail off to get in good shape to go out and produce for us. The sky is the limit for Jurrion, as we all know.”

Talent was never the problem for Dickey. While the knee injury was partly responsible for his limited action a year ago, the understanding of a complicated offensive system also played a part. Oftentimes, fans see a generational talent like Dickey and expect him to be able to contribute right away, but they overlook the necessary intake process for a young player trying to learn a new scheme.

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From Year 1 to Year 2, that’s one of the things that has changed the most for Dickey.

“He knows what to do and where to line up,” Dickey said. “When you know what to do and where to line up, you can play fast and play to your ability. When you don’t know where to line up and are looking for help, you can’t play at full speed because you don’t know what route to run. That has nothing to do with his intelligence. Jurrion is an extremely intelligent guy. It’s just new. Now he’s at a point where he gets lined up like that. He knows his routes.”

Of course, knowing what to do and having the ability to do it won’t always be enough. In order for Dickey to see the field and actually have an outsized impact in his redshirt freshman season, he’s going to have to compete at a high level. The Ducks have one of the most talented receiver rooms in the nation, with high-level returners and an elite prospect coming over from Texas A&M in Stewart — the No. 1 WR and No. 6 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class.

Stein sees a path forward for Dickey, though, and a world where he can crack that rotation.

“Just keep competing. When the ball is up in the air, go make the play,” Stein said. “He’s a big-bodied receiver. On 1-on-1 contested catches, we expect him to go catch the ball. It shouldn’t be a 50-50 with him, he should go make the play. That’s what he’s shown. He really took a big step in bowl prep. It was like another 13 practices of spring football going over the base install again. You saw those down-the-field routes develop with him, and with like Troy or Ferg, he’s taking the ball off of defenders’ heads.”

Over the next 13 spring practices, we will get to see and hear how Dickey continues to grow and find a place in the offense. It will all culminate in the annual spring game on April 27th, where fans could be in store for a breakout from one of the most talented WRs that the Ducks have seen in quite some time.

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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.

ESPN names biggest unanswered question for Oregon in 2024 spring season

The 2024 football season is still a long way away, but the hype around the Oregon Ducks is already starting to grow. In several national preseason polls (including ESPN’s), the Ducks are ranked as high No. 3 in the country, behind the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes.

On Wednesday, a crop of ESPN writers listed the biggest questions for spring football for each of the top 25 teams. For the Oregon Ducks, their choice was, “Who will win the quarterback battle,” and staff writer Paolo Uggetti had this to say:

“Bo Nix’s years of eligibility have finally expired, and Oregon will need to play a new quarterback this coming season. In some ways, the biggest spring question for the Ducks has already been answered as coach Dan Lanning & Co. pounced on the transfer portal to bring in not only Dillon Gabriel from Oklahoma but five-star recruit Dante Moore from UCLA. Coming off a 3,660-yard, 30-touchdown season at Oklahoma, Gabriel appears to be the likely choice to start, but Moore’s potential has clearly been unrealized through one season. Moore struggled to lead the Bruins in his first year but showed flashes of what made him one of the top high school quarterbacks in his class. Oregon has national title aspirations, and answering its quarterback question (as well as outfitting an offense around said quarterback) will go a long way toward helping the Ducks actually hoist the trophy.”

Despite Oregon picking up two marquee QBs this offseason, all signs have pointed to Dillon Gabriel being the Week 1 starter. If you asked me, I’d say the odds of Gabriel not starting in Week 1 for Oregon are about 100-1. Still, Uggetti wasn’t far off with the premise of his question.

To me, one of the biggest questions for 2024 is how well Gabriel will fit into Oregon’s offense. In his first five years of college, Gabriel has proven he’s an elite QB, but we’ve still yet to see him in a Ducks uniform, running Will Stein’s offense. If the Ducks are going to accomplish all of their goals next season, Gabriel will need to be consistently exceptional.

Dan Lanning obviously believes Gabriel can help Oregon reach new heights, otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought him into the program. And with Gabriel under center next year, the offense will look much different than it did under Nix, which is a good thing. Gabriel will need to make this team his own, and if he does, Oregon will shatter their ceiling.

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‘He’s not just a track kid;’ Will Stein weighs on 5-star Oregon WR commit Gatlin Bair

The Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein expressed his excitement for the addition of 2024 5-star wide receiver Gatlin Bair.

At the end of early signing day in December, there was one asterisk tacked on to the Oregon Ducks’ already historic 2024 recruiting class. Gatlin Bair, a top-30 recruit in the 2024 class, was still uncommitted, and although he was leaning towards Michigan, the Ducks were still very much in the running for the elite wide receiver.

Fast forward five weeks. The Wolverines have won the national championship, and Jim Harbaugh has left Michigan for the Los Angeles Chargers, leading Bair to commit to Oregon just days before national signing day.

247 Sports ranks Bair as the 27th best player in his class, the No. 6 WR, and he is one of the Ducks’ two 5-star recruits. His commitment pushed Oregon’s 2024 class into 3rd place nationally, behind only Alabama and Georgia.

One of Bair’s best assets on the football field is his elite speed. Throughout high school, Bair competed in track and field, posting a 10.15 100-meter dash time as a junior (for reference, Oregon’s fastest player, Rodrick Pleasant, ran a 10.14 in high school). On Wednesday morning, Will Stein, the Ducks’ offensive coordinator, appeared on the Oregon Football Coaches show where he made clear that there is more to Gatlin Bair than his wheels.

“He’s not just a track kid, he’s a football player,” Stein said. “Not only is he super fast, but when you watch his tape, he’s a football player. When I first watched him I knew he was a track star. But how does that translate to the football field? He has every single movement, every single skill set that you want in a football player.”

Bair is expected to take a two-year Latter-Day Saint mission after he graduates from high school, so it will be a while before we see him on the Autzen sideline, but the Stein and the Ducks’ coaching staff have plans for where he’ll fit when he does join the team.

“He’ll probably play on the edge for us just because he can take the top off the defense,” Stein said. “He has elite hands, elite speed and toughness as well.”

It seemed the only negative Stein could think of about the 5-star receiver was the weather in his hometown, which Stein felt the impacts of on multiple recruiting visits with Bair.

“And he lives in basically the frozen tundra. We got stuck up there twice going to see him, but it was well worth it,” Stein said.

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Oregon OC Will Stein breaks down every offensive signee in Ducks’ 2024 class

Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein broke down every offensive player who signed with the ducks in the 2024 class.

The Oregon Ducks put the final touches on the 2024 recruiting class on Wednesday morning, getting pen to paper for the final two members of a signing class that ranks as the best in school history.

With the addition of 5-star WR Gatlin Bair and kicker Gage Hurych, the Ducks’ 2024 class is now complete.

To celebrate this occasion, a group of Oregon coaches went on with Joey McMurry and Jerry Allen for the Ducks’ National Signing Day show on Oregon Sports Network. The guest list included head coach Dan Lanning, Chief of Staff Marshall Malchow, Offensive Coordinator Will Stein, and Defensive Coordinator Tosh Lupoi.

Both coordinators went through every signee on their side of the ball and broke down each individually while watching some film. Here’s what OC Will Stein had to say about his incoming players:

Oregon OC Will Stein mentioned as candidate for Arizona coaching job

Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein has been mentioned as a candidate for the Arizona Wildcats’ head coaching job.

At the end of the 2022 season, Oregon Duck fans saw offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham leave Eugene to take a head coaching job in the state of Arizona. A year later, it looks like history has a chance to repeat itself.

While Dillingham left to take over the Arizona State Sundevils, the last 24 hours have seen current Oregon OC Will Stein have his name mentioned as a candidate for the open Arizona Wildcats job.

A string of events has led to this. Nick Saban’s retirement led to Washington’s HC Kalen DeBoer leaving for Alabama, which led Arizona HC Jedd Fisch to leave for Washington. Now the Wildcats are looking for someone to take over their top job. According to On3, Stein could be a good option.

The 34-year-old former Louisville quarterback’s rise has been fairly meteoric, and it would be interesting to have the last two Oregon OCs coaching the two sides of the Territorial Cup rivalry. (Stein’s predecessor at Oregon was current Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.) Stein is originally from Kentucky, but he learned to coach in Texas. After joining former Cardinals coach Charlie Strong for a year at Texas, Stein worked at Lake Travis High in Austin before joining Jeff Traylor’s UTSA staff. Stein’s recruiting connections in the Lone Star State are excellent, which would be big for a new Big 12 program.

On3 isn’t the only major publication to list Stein as a potential candidate for the job. The Athletic also put out a list with Orego’s offensive coordinator as one of the names to watch:

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, 34, is another intriguing name to keep an eye on. The former Louisville QB, who later was a Texas high school coach, has had a fast rise in going from UTSA offensive coordinator to a big debut season at Oregon in 2023. His Ducks offense was No. 2 in the nation in yards per play.

While Stein is certainly a strong candidate with his offensive success at Oregon and his strong recruiting ties in the Big 12 base, mainly Texas, it’s fair to say that there are other candidates who will likely be at the top of the list for the Wildcats.

We will see over the coming days who Arizona chooses to replace Fisch, but it will likely happen relatively quickly.