Oregon football's Jurrion Dickey, other Duck freshmen who could play in Fiesta Bowl
Oregon will be without its No. 1 wide receiver in Monday’s Fiesta Bowl.
However, the Ducks will finally have their No. 1 recruit from 2023 ready to roll.
And by all accounts, Jurrion Dickey has the potential to play a significant part in Oregon’s game plan against Liberty at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The former five-star Dickey was the highest-rated recruit when he signed with the Ducks last December, but he arrived in Eugene over the summer still recovering from a knee injury he suffered during his 2022 senior season at Menlo-Atherton High in East Palo Alto, California — the same high school that produced Troy Franklin, Oregon's record-setting receiver, who opted out of the bowl game to focus on the NFL draft.
Because of the injury, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Dickey was eased into his first season of college football. He saw action in four games this fall to preserve his redshirt, and didn’t have a catch.
Judging by his performance during the past few weeks of game prep, that is expected to change on Monday.
“He feels confident in the routs, in the calls, that he can go play fast, and his talent will show,” Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein said. “He’s had a great camp. He’s set to make an impact in this game. How many times will that happen? We’ll kind of see where we’re at, but he’s definitely played himself into the discussion for next year being an impact player for us right away.”
Dickey admitted the regular season wasn’t the easiest for him, as he worked primarily with the scout team and had limited opportunities to showcase his talents.
He also said the benefits outweighed the negatives these past five months.
“It was frustrating but you got to go through it sometimes,” Dickey said. “… I look back at it and I improved a lot. It was actually a good thing because I learned a lot of things that I wouldn’t actually pay attention to when I wasn’t injured. … With the injury, my development has been going up. My development has been climbing and climbing each day stacking mentally and physically.”
Stein said Dickey simply wasn’t in shape physically when he arrived to be a viable player for the Ducks, who relied instead on veteran group of receivers in Franklin, Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden and Gary Bryant Jr.
“You can do all the running, all the working out in football, but the way get good at football and get in shape to play football is you’ve got to play the game," Stein said. "He’s now to the point where he can maintain long stretches of running.
“The best thing about Jurrion is that he’s humble and he was not pressing early on. He knew where he stood. He knew he had to be fully prepared before he went into a game because he wants to make a great impression when he goes into a game.”
And, Stein added, Dickey absolutely has the talent to make an impression.
“This guy is special when the ball’s in the air, like at the reception point, that magical moment, he makes the catches,” Stein said. “I think that’s the sign of a good receiver. It’s not when you’re wide open, it’s when you’re covered, and he showed that ability right away.”
Dickey isn’t the only freshman who could get a chance for extra playing time in the Fiesta Bowl.
Several others have used bowl game prep — as well as the depth-chart thinning departures of players through the transfer portal or for the NFL — to possibly move into a more prominent role.
Here are a handful to watch.
Offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu
To be fair, the 6-2, 325-pound Laloulu has played in every game this season as the primary backup on the interior line. But when All-American center Jackson Powers-Johnson opted out, Laloulu became a starter, most likely at center.
“Those are some big shoes to fill,” Laloulu said. “Jackson, he kind of set the tone. But we’ve got some good O-linemen. If you’re going to come here, you’ve got to be ready to play.”
Laloulu has proven to be up to the task all season.
“A lot of these guys come in and are highly rated, but then you come in at 280 and you’re going against (defensive linemen) Brandon Dorlus and Taki Taimani … there’s a physical gap,” Stein said. “(Laloulu) comes in and he’s well over 300 pounds, he’s strong as an ox, and then you add the intelligence he has, that allows him to play early.
"The physicality in the trenches, he was able to match that early on. When he’s pulling, he’s knocking people back. He’s moving bodies, grown men. When you see that as a coach, you feel confident.”
Quarterback Austin Novosad
When Ty Thompson entered the transfer portal earlier this month, Novosad became the primary backup for Bo Nix.
The 6-3, 200-pound former four-star recruit saw action in two games this season — against Portland State and Hawaii — and completed all four of his pass attempts for 14 yards.
“He’s a kid that preps like he’s starter,” Stein said. “He’s had a really good bowl prep and gotten better every day. I think his time going back and forth with the scout team this year gave him quality game reps against a top-10 defense in the country, so he’s been playing at game speed all year.”
Cornerbacks Rodrick Pleasant and Solomon Davis
Oregon has had some attrition in the secondary with starter Khyree Jackson opting out, reserve Trikweze Bridges transferring to Florida and starter Jahlil Florence potentially out with an injury.
Enter Pleasant and Davis, who have both played this season.
Pleasant has played in six games, including the Pac-12 championship game, and made three tackles and one pass breakup. Davis played twice, against Portland State and Hawaii.
Defensive tackle A’Mauri Washington
Washington has played in seven games with his lone tackle coming against Stanford on Sept. 30. But the Ducks liberally rotate their defensive linemen to keep them fresh and with Popo Aumavae opting out of the game, playing time should increase for Washington, who is from Chandler High just outside Phoenix.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon football freshmen who could help the Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl
