‘He’s a raw talent’: Oregon players and coaches impressed, entertained by WR Jurrion Dickey
If you were to take a random poll of 100 Oregon Duck fans going into the 2023 season, asking them which young player they are most excited to see in the upcoming months, I think the overwhelming answer would be wide receiver, Jurrion Dickey.
As a former 5-star recruit, and the second-highest-rated receiver to ever sign with the Ducks, expectations are high for Dickey. He was rated as the No. 2 WR in the 2023 class, and the No. 18 player in the nation. His reputation precedes him.
While Dickey was not in Eugene for the spring football season, he has been able to take flight with the Ducks over the past few weeks once fall camp started. In many ways, the true-freshman WR has made a strong first impression on players and coaches in Eugene.
That’s easy to do when you walk onto the practice field sporting the No. 99 on your jersey. While most skill-position players have numbers in the single digit range, or from 10-20, and 80-90, Dickey is a bit different. He wanted that to be known from the jump.
“That’s the number he wanted. He wanted #99, so he got #99,” WR coach Junior Adams said. “If you know Jurrion, that’s Jurrion.”
Some may think that an obscure number for a true freshman might be the result of other numbers already being reserved for established veterans. For Dickey, though, it’s just part of the package.
“He’s the first guy I’ve ever seen that came out there with #99, but that’s kind of his swag, and I think it’s cool that everybody just lets him be him,” said transfer WR Gary Bryant Jr., who came to Eugene via USC. “You’ve got to know your players and understand when to let him be him. Whatever he can do to go out there and play well on Saturdays and practice well, we will be all for it.”
From the sound of it, Dickey appears to be holding up that end of the bargain. While coaches have said that he is doing a good job of picking up the playbook and studying hard to grasp the schematics of Oregon’s offense, players say that what he’s done on the field thus far is what really stands out.
“When we first got here in fall workouts, we got some player-run practices with no coaches out here,” Bryant said. “He was out there making one-handed catches, making plays. I was like ‘Oh okay, this kid can play.’ He’s a raw talent, he already has it. All he’s got to do is polish it up, learn the playbook, and be detailed, and the sky is the limit for him.”
With the extensive depth of Oregon’s WR room, there’s no guarantee that Dickey will see the field as a true freshman. In order for him to get an extended run, he has to compete with the likes of Troy Franklin, Traeshon Holden, Tez Johnson, Gary Bryant, Kris Hutson, Kyler Kasper, Ashton Cozart, and Justius Lowe.
The talent may be there to hold his own in that competition, but talent only gets you so far at the college level. In order to have an impact, Dickey needs to know the offense inside and out.
“I think he’s doing a good job in meetings; he’s asking good questions, he’s taking good notes,” Adams said. “Obviously making the transition from high school to college, he’s just learning how to practice. But he’s doing good, he’s made plays and he’s running around, playing fast.”
After missing spring ball, Dickey was thrown into the deep end in the fall, where he now has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to install and comprehension. If he keeps making strides of improvement, though, there’s a good chance we see him get some time at points this fall.
From there, as Bryant said, the sky is the limit.
