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10 biggest position battles to watch ahead of Week 1 for Oregon Ducks

zachary neel
·5 min read
1

Fall camp officially ended for the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday afternoon, wrapped up with a media availability for both head coach Dan Lanning and quarterback Bo Nix.

While the past several weeks have been filled with schematic install and getting the players into football shape, the next few days will mainly consist of figuring out the final spots on the depth chart, and working towards the Week 1 clash with Portland State.

For the most part, the Ducks should feel pretty good about where they stand when it comes to the depth chart. Some of their top positions — quarterback, running back, tight end, defensive line — have established starters returning for another year, so there isn’t a lot of skepticism about who is starting where. At other spots on the roster, though, we can’t say the say.

Earlier this week, we gave our final depth chart projection going into the last week of fall camp. Over the next several days, though, these position groups need to be figured out.

Here are some of the biggest position battles to watch play out over the next week for the Ducks:

Wide Receiver

(Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)

Players to Know

Analysis: There is so much depth and talent at the WR position for Oregon, but only so many spots are available. We can know for certain that Troy Franklin will be a starter and the WR1 on the team. Behind him, though, I could see a lot of different things happening. Tez Johnson will likely be a starter, and Traeshon Holden is probably next in line to grab the third starting spot. Between Gary Bryant, Kris Hutson, and Kyler Kasper, I don’t know who will see the field the most, though.

Left Guard

(AP Photo/Young Kwak)

Players to Know

Analysis: The competition for left guard got a little interesting on Wednesday, the final day of fall camp, with Nishad Strother absent from practice. It is unclear if he is injured or was just gone for the day. Between him, Marcus Harper, and Junior Angilau, the Ducks have a lot of talent to work with, so the eventual winner of the starting spot will certainly have earned it.

Right Guard

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Players to Know

Analysis: Junior Angilau makes the list here again. He has been working at both RG and LG this fall camp, but Lanning said on Wednesday that most of that is coming at the RG spot. He will have to beat out veteran Steven Jones for the starting spot, which would be no small feat.

Cornerback

Players to Know

Analysis: A week ago I felt that I had a pretty good grasp on Oregon’s CB starters, predicting that it would by Khyree Jackson and Nikko Reed to be at the top of the depth chart. However, Reed has since said that he is working primarily at the STAR safety spot, which throws this into question a bit. I would expect that Jackson and Trikweze Bridges would be the starters, but you have to consider both Dontae Manning and Jahlil Florence in the equation as well.

Safety

(Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)

Players to Know

  • Evan Williams

  • Tysheem Johnson

  • Steve Stephens IV

  • Bryan Addison

Analysis: I was close to not including this one on the list, because I feel about 90% confident in who the two starters will be: Evan Williams and Tysheem Johnson. Originally, I thought that Johnson would come over and play the STAR spot for the Ducks, but he has said during fall camp that he’s working between both, primarily back at safety, though.

Defensive Line

Players to Know

  • Casey Rogers

  • Popo Aumavae

  • Taki Taimani

  • Keyon Ware-Hudson

Analysis: The Ducks have four very talented defensive linemen to rotate through, but I’m curious to see who is deployed first, and how often they rotate. I think that both Casey Rogers and Popo Aumavae will be the first two out there, but the latter missed a bit of time this spring with an injury.

STAR

Players to Know

  • Tysheem Johnson

  • Cole Martin

  • Nikko Reed

  • Jahlil Florence

Analysis: If Tysheem Johnson does indeed play back in the secondary at the safety spot, then I think either Cole Martin or Nikko Reed will start at STAR. Behind them, we’ve heard that Jahlil Florence has been playing a lot of STAR rather than CB as well.

Tight End

John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Players to Know

Analysis: The starting TE will undoubtedly be Terrance Ferguson, but I am curious to see the competition behind him. Patrick Herbert is the veteran, but Oregon brought in Casey Kelly from Ole Miss, who has been drawing some high praise this fall camp.

Linebacker

Players to Know

  • Devon Jackson

  • Jamal Hill

  • Connor Soelle

Analysis: Like at the TE spot, I think we can feel confident Jestin Jacobs and Jeffrey Bassa will be the starting linebackers. Behind them, though, I am curious to see who gets the nod. Devon Jackson has gotten a lot of praise, and we expect big things from Jamal Hill as well. Jacobs has missed a couple of practices this past week, though, so watching his availability will be important.

Punt Returner

Players to Know

  • Tez Johnson

  • Cole Martin

  • Kris Hutson

  • Gary Bryant Jr.

Analysis: There are a lot of punt returners that Oregon can rotate through, and I think they won’t settle on a starter until they get to see a few of them in action against Portland State. In the end, I would put my money on either Tez Johnson or Gary Bryant.

Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire