It’s been practically two full months since the 2019 season ended for the Oregon Ducks; a season that will be long remembered as a year of resurgence for the Oregon football program.

A Pac-12 Championship. A Rose Bowl victory. A second consecutive star-studded recruiting class signed, sealed, and all but delivered. Those types of accomplishments simultaneously restore the integrity of a proud program while also serving as an emphatic launch point for a new era under the direction of Mario Cristobal.

Yet, as strange as it may seem, the time for reminiscing and the savoring of moments from the recent past is over – at least insofar as it relates to Cristobal and his coaching staff. The countdown to spring practice can be marked by days, if not hours, and with it marks the first tangible signs that preparations for the upcoming 2020 season are underway.

With spring football set to begin in earnest for the Ducks on March 5, culminating with the annual spring game on April 18, WFOD is taking the time between now and then to examine the prevailing storylines at each position group.

Today, our Spring Storylines series continues with a look at wide receiver.

What can be expected from Devon Williams in year one?

It’s been a slow, but steady rehabilitation process as it concerns the reputation of Oregon’s wide receiver unit. Aside from the singular brilliance of Dillon Mitchell in 2018, the Ducks’ receiving corp was as unreliable as an ice cream machine at a McDonald’s, as the group’s maddening number of drops largely overshadowed Mitchell’s individual exploits.

Last season, the wide receiver unit took a commendable step in the right direction, as Johnny Johnson emerged as the Ducks’ most consistent receiver after he was the polar opposite of that a season prior. Juwan Johnson, Jaylon Redd, and to a smaller extent, Mycah Pittman, also had games where they flashed an ability to the the focal point of the passing game, though consistency, whether related to injury or performance, often waned.

Of that core group, Juwan Johnson is the only one who won’t return in 2020, leaving the Ducks with Johnny Johnson, Redd, and Pittman as the central figures among the incumbents at the position. Bryan Addison and Josh Delgado are also expected to take notable steps forward after making modest impacts a season ago in their first full seasons in Eugene, and this spring should be telling when it comes to the progress that highly-touted freshmen Lance Wilhoite and JR Waters have made after redshirting in 2019.

But the one player who could radically shift the perception of this talented, yet fickle group is a player who didn’t officially join the team until late September of last year.

Formerly a USC Trojan who appeared in 13 games for the Men of Troy over the past two seasons, Devon Williams looks to emerge this spring as a primary weapon for the Oregon offense after making a name for himself on the scout team this past fall. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, Williams is a former four-star recruit who nearly committed to the Ducks’ 2018 recruiting class as the nation’s sixth-ranked wide receiver recruit before making the call for the Trojans just before signing day of that year. Now in Eugene, Williams enters the upcoming spring as one of the most intriguing names to monitor once practices commence.

Almost immediately, Williams stands to find himself in direct competition with Addison for one of the outside receiver positions opposite of Johnny Johnson. Both 6-foot-5 with good speed and the skills to be serious red zone nightmares, the only evident edge that Addison has over Williams is a handful of games of experience (18 to 13) and time spent within the program. And even then, with Joe Moorhead’s arrival as offensive coordinator taking over for Marcus Arroyo, that minor edge held by Addison could be overcome rather easily should Williams carryover his performance on the scout team this fall to spring practice.

What is known is that the Ducks could desperately use a big bodied receiver to help fill the void left by Juwan Johnson, who overcame injury adversity during the first half of last season to become one of Oregon’s most important offensive cogs.

Should Williams (or Addison) prove capable of filling those considerable shoes, it would go a long way in rounding out a receiver group that looks to only build on the marked progress they’ve made since serving as a popular punching bag in 2018.

Spring Storylines: Is Tyler Shough ready to ascend to true QB1 status?
Spring Storylines: How much might Sean Dollars’ role expand in 2020?

Top Photo: Oregon WR Devon Williams (GoDucks.com)