Willie Taggart is no longer in Eugene, however the reverberations stemming from his brief stint as the head coach at Oregon linger to this day.
One significant change that came with Taggart’s time as the Ducks’ headman is the radical change in mentality and approach when it comes to recruiting. To his credit, Taggart assembled a crack staff of elite recruiters, headlined by his eventual successor Mario Cristobal, and emboldened by the hiring of assistants like Keith Heyward, Marcus Arroyo, and Joe Salave’a.
On the not-so-sunny side, Taggart’s departure after less than a year on the job also simultaneously left Oregon in a lurch with regard to recruiting. Not only did Cristobal and his staff have to prepare for a bowl game that was days away, while also rallying a team that had felt jilted by Taggart leaving for Tallahassee, but they also had to do their best to hold onto an elite recruiting class that was slowly but surely beginning to fall apart.
That last item left the remaining coaches in Eugene scrambling as the early signing period in December fast approached. While Cristobal and company should be commended for holding together much of the class, there’s no doubt that the complexion of the 2018 recruiting class was notably different in February than it had been just two months before.
With that, Cristobal and his assistants earnestly turned to the grad transfer market this spring in order to help fill the holes they were unable to address during the 2018 cycle.
Below we examine the four graduate transfers the Ducks have brought on board, and set expectations for what their impact will be for the upcoming season.
Tabari Hines
Wide receiver was far and away the position group in the 2018 recruiting class that was most impacted after Taggart left in December for Florida State. Prior to Taggart leaving, the Ducks had five verbal commitments at the position. Once the recruiting period was over, the Ducks had seen all five players commit to other schools. Fortunately for Oregon, they were able to fill the void to a degree by landing commitments from Isaah Crocker, Jalen Hall, and J.J. Tucker, but with Hall’s status with the team in question after leaving Eugene one day into spring practice, the Ducks remain quite thin at the position heading into the year. However, there is help on the way in Wake Forest grad transfer Tabari Hines. In three seasons with the Demon Deacons, Hines tallied 123 catches for 1,496 yards and 13 touchdowns, coming on particularly strong late last season as one of Wake’s most productive receivers. In his first and only season in Eugene, the 5’10”, 175-pound Hines is expected to challenge for the starting slot receiver position when Oregon opens their season Sept. 1 versus Bowling Green.
Kano Dillon
Dillon’s role with the Ducks will be interesting to monitor once fall camp begins in August. For one, the Ducks have no senior tight ends returning to the roster for the 2018 season. Starter Jacob Breeland, and reserves Cam McCormick and Ryan Bay, each saw extensive playing time last year and all three figure to command their fair share of snaps this upcoming season. Oregon will also welcome true freshman Spencer Webb to the fray; a highly-touted player from the Sacramento area with the physical ability to make his own legit case for playing time despite the depth and experience ahead of him on the roster. Unless Dillon blows away the coaches with his performance in the lead up to the season, expect the 6’5″, 256-pound transfer from USF to be more or less limited to spot duty as an extra tight end in situations where the Oregon offense goes heavy.
Dallas Warmack
Considering there are no senior offensive linemen currently on the roster, plus the fact the Ducks signed one of their largest classes of offensive linemen in school history last recruiting cycle, Oregon isn’t exactly hard up for bodies in the offensive trenches. Yet, when your head coach has the kind of pedigree coaching offensive linemen that Cristobal has, I suppose you make some exceptions. In this case, the exception is Dallas Warmack; a graduate transfer from Alabama who was originally recruited to Tuscaloosa by Cristobal during his four-year stint as the Crimson Tide’s offensive line coach. Standing 6’2″, 308 lbs., Warmack is the younger brother of former first-team All-American and NFL first round draft pick, Chance Warmack. Before redshirting last season, Warmack had appeared in 16 games between his freshman and sophomore seasons at Alabama, and will have two years of eligibility with the Ducks beginning this fall. The one position along the offensive line where Oregon is lacking experience and proven depth is at right guard, where Warmack is expected to be a primary contender for the starting job along with Jacob Capra and perhaps one of the many redshirt or true freshmen on the roster.
Tim Hough
There may not be a position where the Ducks are more desperate for bodies entering the upcoming season than at cornerback. Enter UNLV grad transfer Tim Hough, a 5’11”, 185-pound native of Las Vegas who Oregon hopes can provide some measure of depth behind sophomores Thomas Graham and Deommodore Lenoir. In his three years with the Rebels, Hough accumulated 79 tackles, three tackles for loss, eight passes broken up, and four interceptions. With Graham and Lenoir all but locked in as Oregon’s starting corners to begin the season, Hough should figure squarely into the mix for a backup role alongside JUCO transfer Haki Woods, and true freshmen Verone McKinley and Kahlef Hailassie.