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 defensive back.
How do Heyward, Chance manage reps in a loaded secondary?
There are worse problems to have than having perhaps the nation’s deepest collection of talent in the secondary, but for safeties coach Keith Heyward and newly named cornerbacks coach Rod Chance, managing a rotation with so many capable contributors figures to be quite the challenge.
After ranking second in the Pac-12 in passing defense (220.1 yards/game) and opponent QB rating (113.69), and second nationally in passes intercepted (20) in 2019, the Ducks look to only improve upon those numbers in 2020 with every starter from last year’s Pac-12 champion and Rose Bowl winning secondary set to return. That reality was solidified in mid-January when cornerbacks Thomas Graham and Deommodore Lenoir announced they would be returning for their senior seasons in Eugene instead of foregoing their final years of eligibility to declare for the 2020 NFL draft.
Combined, Graham and Lenoir have started 66 career games, nabbed 13 interceptions, and broken up 53 passes, making them one of the most experienced and productive cornerback tandems in the entire country entering the fall. Needless to say, both players have a firm grip on starting jobs this upcoming season, but that doesn’t mean they won’t face stiff competition week-in and week-out from a handful of game competitors at the cornerback position.
Chief among those game competitors is sophomore Mykael Wright. Rated a four-star recruit and the no. 4-ranked cornerback in the 2019 recruiting class, Wright wasted no time making his presence known as a true freshman last season. A strong performance in last year’s spring game spilled over to the fall, where Wright essentially rose the the level of a co-starter alongside Graham and Lenoir, finishing his first year on campus tallying 21 tackles (including 2.0 tackles for loss), four pass break ups, and an interception. And as good as Wright was on defense in his debut season, he was even more impactful on special teams, proving to be one of the Pac-12’s most dangerous kickoff return men with 380 return yards and two touchdowns on just 10 return attempts. Finding ways to get Wright on the field even more in 2020 will be perhaps the greatest challenge facing Heyward and Chance this fall.
Still, even with three legitimate top flight corners vying for significant reps, the Ducks have considerable depth at the position that must be accounted for. Alabama natives in sophomore DJ James (who appeared in 13 games last season) and redshirt freshman Trikweze Bridges, are two players who have demonstrated promise in the year they’ve been on campus and are primed for expanded roles this season. Add in highly-touted true freshman JJ Greenfield, who is already on campus, as well as five-star prospect Dontae Manning and four-star prospect Luke Hill who will arrive this summer, and you begin to realize that the Duck coaching staff is likely going to have to get creative with their rotations at corner.
The outlook at safety is just as strong and Rubik’s Cube-y for Oregon’s defensive coaches.
Next to junior left tackle Penei Sewell, junior nickel Jevon Holland may be this team’s best overall player. With nine career interceptions (five as a true freshman in 2018, four as a sophomore in 2019), Holland has been a stalwart for the Ducks both on defense and special teams through two seasons. His 66 tackles (including 4.5 tackles for loss) ranked second on the team a year ago, while his ability as a punt returner (16 returns for 244 yards) gives Oregon a chance at outstanding field position every time he touches the ball. Despite being a year younger than both Graham and Lenoir, Holland is every bit the leader of those two players and is a true front man for this talented Duck defense.
Joining Holland in the back end is a pair of senior safeties in Brady Breeze and Nick Pickett. Combined, the two have played in 76 career games for the Ducks, providing serious leadership for not only the secondary, but the defense as a whole.
Of the two, Breeze will be perhaps the most intriguing player to watch in the secondary this season, as no one seemed to benefit more from the arrival of defensive coordinator Andy Avalos than the Lake Oswego native last season. After making his name mostly on special teams through his first two seasons on the field, Breeze erupted as a key defensive contributor as a junior. His 62 tackles ranked tied for fourth on the team in 2019 with Isaac Slade-Matautia, while also adding three fumble recoveries (two returned for touchdowns), two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), and one forced fumble. Breeze was at his very best in some of Oregon’s most important games last year, as his effort on the road at USC, in the Pac-12 Championship Game vs. Utah, and in the Rose Bowl vs. Wisconsin (earning Rose Bowl Defensive MVP recognition) were signature performances that catapulted Breeze to star-level status.
The depth behind Holland, Breeze, and Pickett, meanwhile, is fully capable of starting for a number of teams in the Pac-12. Redshirt sophomore Verone McKinley appeared in 14 games a season ago, starting 11, and tied Holland for the team lead in interceptions (4) en route to earning Freshman All-American honors. He is joined by another former Freshman All-American in Bennett Williams, who was sensational at the University of Illinois, leading the Illini in interceptions (3) while finishing fifth on the team in tackles (62) in 2017 before being dismissed from program one game into the 2018 season. After starring at the College of San Mateo (Calif.) last season, Williams – like McKinley – could factor in at safety or nickel depending on the situation. Likewise for sophomore Jamal Hill, who was a February addition to the Ducks’ 2019 recruiting class, but emerged as one of the surprise freshmen signees last season after a strong fall camp had him firmly in the mix at nickel. Appearing in 14 games last season, mostly on special teams, look for Hill to have an expanded role on defense with an impressive spring.
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Spring Storylines: Who steps up at tight end?
Spring Storylines: How does Oregon go about replacing four starters along the offensive line?
Spring Storylines: What is the next evolution in Kayvon Thibodeaux’s game?
Spring Storylines: What might 2020 have in store for Oregon’s young guns at linebacker?
Top Photo: Oregon safeties coach Keith Heyward (CBS Sports)