Following a 2017 campaign that began with great promise and excitement accompanying Willie Taggart’s arrival, and ended with great uncertainty and angst following his hasty departure for Florida State, the Oregon football program finds itself in an oddly familiar place as it enters the 2018 season.
Like Taggart, head coach Mario Cristobal approaches the upcoming season riding a strong wave of recruiting momentum and the confidence that can only come with having one of the conference’s – if not the nation’s – best quarterbacks on his side of the field.
Unlike Taggart, however, Cristobal enters his first year tasked with replacing one of the greatest running backs in program history, and building upon a 7-6 season that was widely viewed as a foundational year that eventually sets up a return to Pac-12 prominence.
Are the Ducks in position to take another step towards reaching Pac-12 mountaintop in 2018? Or is there enough reason to believe a Cristobal-led Oregon team will take a step back, halting their hopeful ascension?
Today, we take a position-by-position look at the Oregon offense and evaluate whether requisite gains have been made.
Quarterback:
Has Oregon improved? Well they certainly aren’t any worse. Losing Justin Herbert for five games to a collarbone injury last season showed everyone just how much a difference the Eugene native makes to the complexion of Oregon’s offense. With a healthy Herbert, the Ducks proved to have one of the nation’s most prolific offenses, while he proved to be one of the Pac-12’s most prolific quarterbacks, completing over 67 percent of his passes for nearly 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns (against only five interceptions) in eight appearances. He’s back, as is last season’s backup, Braxton Burmeister. As a true freshman, Burmeister largely struggled in Herbert’s stead. In five starts, Burmeister threw six interceptions and eclipsed 100 yards passing just once (145 vs. Washington State), failing to establish himself as a viable downfield threat as a passer. With a full offseason under his belt, the hope is Burmeister has made significant strides, but he’ll be pushed hard by Tyler Shough, a promising true freshman talent that showed glimpses of immense potential in the Oregon spring game.
Running Back:
Has Oregon improved? Flatly, no. Not only does Cristobal and new running backs coach Jim Mastro have to find a replacement(s) for Royce Freeman, the school’s all-time leader in career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, but they’ll also have to account for the loss of backup Kani Benoit. As a senior, Benoit rushed for 584 yards and 10 touchdowns, establishing himself as arguably the Ducks’ second best ground gaining option behind Rolls Royce. Filling their roles will be a running back-by-committee led by senior Tony Brooks-James. For his career, Brooks-James has rushed for 1,557 yards (averaging 6.9 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns in a reserve role, but he’ll be expected to take on a much larger role in 2018. Whether he’s actually capable of shouldering that load is another question altogether. Vying for carries behind him is a collection of unproven backs in redshirt freshmen CJ Verdell and Cyrus Habibi-Likio, senior Taj Griffin, sophomore Darrian Felix, and true freshman Travis Dye.
Wide Receiver:
Has Oregon improved? Maybe? The Ducks lose Charles Nelson to graduation, while seldom used Alex Ofodile and Darrian McNeal transferred out of the program at the end of last season. The loss of Nelson comes with some sting, but it isn’t the kind of loss that this group can’t overcome. Dillon Mitchell, Johnny Johnson, and Brendan Schooler each had their moments last year, but that trio has yet to put together a consistent body of work that strikes fear in the heart of opposing defensive coordinators. The good news is that Jaylon Redd is a promising sophomore who began blossoming towards the end of last season, while Wake Forest grad transfer Tabari Hines should provide an exciting jolt after hauling in 123 passes for 1,496 yards and 13 touchdowns during his three years in Winston-Salem. Speedy redshirt freshman Daewood Davis also had an encouraging offseason that was capped off by a two touchdown-effort in the spring game. There’s undoubtedly talent here, but it’s hard to say this group is anything more than marginally better as they head into 2018. The immediate emergence of one player from the true freshmen group consisting of Jalen Hall, Isaah Crocker, and J.J. Tucker could go a long ways towards changing the perception of this group.
Tight End:
Has Oregon improved? Yes. The tight end group saw no departures this offseason, meaning the group comprised of Jacob Breeland, Cam McCormick, and Ryan Bay all return a year experienced. In fact, no one from that group is a senior, which bodes well for the immediate future after this unit mostly exceeded expectations last season. Despite battling injury for much of the year, Breeland still managed to find ways to produce, posting 18 catches for 320 yards and five touchdowns in 2017. His health is key to this group taking an even bigger step forward in 2018. The Ducks converted defensive lineman Hunter Kampmoyer to tight end this past spring, while also landing USF grad transfer Kano Dillon. One player to keep a close eye on is true freshman Spencer Webb. The four-star talent from Sacramento has the size (6’5″, 235 lbs.) and athleticism to push his way onto the field in spite of the more seasoned competition.
Offensive Line:
Has Oregon improved? Can you really lose one of the best offensive tackles in school history and be better the following season? Oregon might. There’s no question Tyrell Crosby’s absence will be felt this season, but the Ducks have a good enough blend of experience and young talent to perhaps greatly minimize those affects. Headlining the group is a quartet of redshirt juniors in Brady Aiello, Shane Lemieux, Jake Hanson, and Calvin Throckmorton; four players with 89 combined starts and 96 combined overall appearances over their collective careers. Behind them is a collection of largely unproven, but tenured players. Junior George Moore and redshirt sophomore Jacob Capra figure to be the early front-runners to compete for a starting job alongside Aiello, Lemieux, Hanson, and Throckmorton, while redshirt sophomores Logan Bathke and Sam Poutasi, and redshirt freshmen Ryan Walk, Cody Shear, and Alex Forsyth jostle with one another for reps spelling the first-unit guys. This experienced group is buoyed, however, by what has to be, from a physical standpoint, the largest group of incoming freshmen ever signed by the school. Penei Sewell is a five-star talent who will be difficult to keep off the field, while Steven Jones, Dawson Jaramillo, Justin Johnson, and Christopher Randazzo arrive with high hopes and considerable aptitude when it comes to carving out playing time of their own.
Have the Ducks improved on defense? Click HERE to read!