Snap Count Takeaways: Biggest notes from Oregon’s usage report vs. Texas Tech
It turns out that Oregon Duck fans are incredibly interested in seeing the snap counts after early season games with new-look rosters. After releasing my takeaways on the usage report following Oregon’s Week 1 blowout win over the Portland State Vikings, I saw a ton of feedback on how valuable the information was to in-tune fans.
So, back by popular demand, we have some snap count takeaways for Week 2 against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
While the Ducks didn’t play quite as many players on Saturday down in Lubbock — which is no surprise considering how close the game was to the very end — we still saw some surprising occurrences when it came to personnel decisions. It’s clear now after two games of the season that there are established starters, and a long list of younger players on the roster who the coaching staff obviously feels confident playing.
There were 79 total defensive snaps for Oregon and 78 offensive snaps on Saturday. Without further ado, let’s dive into the usage report for Week 2 and look at some major takeaways from the numbers:
Total Snaps — 71-80
(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Offense
QB Bo Nix (78)
LT Josh Conerly (78)
RT Ajani Cornelius (78)
C Jackson Powers-Johnson (78)
LG Marcus Harper II (78)
WR Troy Franklin (71)
Defense
S Tysheem Johnson (76)
Total Snaps — 61-70
Evan Williams — Oregon Ducks vs. Portland State Vikings (Photo Courtesy of Ethan Landa)
Offense
WR Gary Bryant Jr. (66)
Defense
S Evan Williams (70)
Total Snaps — 51-60
(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Offense
RG Steven Jones (58)
Defense
LB Jeffrey Bassa (60)
CB Khyree Jackson (59)
CB Jahlil Florence (57)
LB Jamal Hill (56)
Total Snaps — 41-50
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Offense
TE Terrance Ferguson (59)
RB Bucky Irving (46)
TE Patrick Herbert (42)
Defense
DL Casey Rogers (46)
DE Brandon Dorlus (45)
Total Snaps — 31-40
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Offense
WR Tez Johnson (36)
TE Casey Kelly (32)
Defense
DT Taki Taimani (39)
S Bryan Addison (37)
EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei (34)
Total Snaps — 21-30
Offense
RB Noah Whittington (21)
Defense
EDGE Jordan Burch (29)
DT Popo Aumavae (26)
EDGE Teitum Tuioti (25)
CB Trikweze Bridges (25)
S Steve Stephens (25)
DT Keyon Ware-Hudson (25)
STAR Nikko Reed (22)
Total Snaps — 11-20
(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Offense
RG Iapani Laloulu (20)
RB Jordan James (13)
Defense
CB Dontae Manning (20)
LB Bryce Boettcher (17)
LB Devon Jackson (16)
LB Mase Funa (15)
EDGE Emar’rion Winston (13)
EDGE Blake Purchase (12)
Total Snaps — 0-10
Offense
WR Traeshon Holden (9)
LT Faaope Laloulu (4)
Defense
EDGE Jake Shipley (10)
LB Connor Soelle (10)
Takeaway: A Starting OL is Cemented
It appears that the days of offensive line rotations under Mario Cristobal are over in Eugene, as we expected. The starting offensive line — other than RG Steven Jones — played the entire game. It will be interesting to see how things change when Nishad Strother returns, and when Junior Angilau gets back to full health. However, for now, it seems that the Ducks are cemented with their group up front.
Takeaway: Bucky Out-Snaps Noah
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One of the most notable things that we learned in 2022 was the fact that Dan Lanning and Kenny Dillingham wanted to deploy RB Bucky Irving and RB Noah Whittington on a relatively equal basis, keeping both of them as fresh as possible throughout the season. So far this year, Irving has been the clear No. 1 RB. Of course, Whittington did not play in Week 1 vs. Portland State, but he was clearly out-snapped by Irving in this contest.
Takeaway: Jahlil Surpasses Dontae
(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
A week ago, it was Khyree Jackson and Dontae Manning who started at the CB spots, getting 28 snaps each. This week, it was Jackson and Jahlil Florence, getting 59 and 57 snaps, respectively. Manning played only 20 snaps in the game. We will see going forward if Florence has surpassed Manning in the depth chart. He performed well vs. Texas Tech so it could be his job going forward.
Takeaway: True Freshman Cracks OL Group
(Photo Courtesy of Zachary Neel | USA TODAY)
I continue to be incredibly impressed with true freshman Iapani Laloulu, and the coaching staff appears to be as well. While the starting OL looks cemented, we did see one player rotate in at RG, and that was the true freshman, splitting a little bit of time (58 snaps for Jones, 20 for Laloulu) on the right side. As the season goes on, we will see how much that continues, but the Ducks obviously like what they have in the true freshman.
Takeaway: Gary Bryant is WR2
Gary Bryant — Oregon Ducks vs. Portland State Vikings (Photo Courtesy of Ethan Landa)
We had questions coming into this season about who the WR2 on the offense would be behind Troy Franklin. I feel comfortable saying that it is Gary Bryant Jr. at this point.
Bryant had the second-most snaps of any WR on the team Saturday, with 65 total, behind Franklin’s 71. Compare that to Week 1, and Bryant saw 40 snaps, tied with Traeshon Holden for the highest of any WR on the roster. In Week 2, Holden only got 10 snaps in the game.
I think it’s safe to feel that Bryant is the No. 2 guy now in this passing attack.
Takeaway: TE Split Not Even
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
One of my questions coming into this game was about the tight end split, hoping to see whether or not we would get a relatively even share of the load between the scholarship tight ends on the roster. It didn’t happen. Terrance Ferguson led the group with 51 snaps, while Patrick Herbert had 42, and Casey Kelly had 32. True freshman Kenyon Sadiq did not see the field at all.
Takeaway: New Safeties Lead Defense
(Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
With Evan Williams sitting out Week 1 vs. Portland State, we couldn’t get a great feel for how the safeties were going to play out for Oregon. After week 2, it is clear that both Williams and Tysheem are going to be two of the leaders of this defense. They led the defense in snaps vs. Texas Tech, and both played pretty well. I’m not surprised to see these two incoming transfers take over in the secondary.
Takeaway: Tuitoti's Big Debut
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Though he didn’t play in Week 1 vs. Portland State, the Ducks threw true freshman Teitum Tuioti into the mix early and often in Week 2. Tuioti saw action on the first drive of the game, and was a meaningful contributor for the defense, playing 25 snaps on the night. We’ve heard great things about Tuioti all offseason, so it’s not a big shock to see him out there early on.
Takeaway: Total Number of Players
As you would expect, fewer players saw the field in this Week 2 game against the Red Raiders, quite simply because it wasn’t a blowout and the Ducks didn’t have the ability to get young guys some garbage time action. However, Oregon still got a lot of players on the field — 21 on offense and 26 on defense — for a total of 47.
That’s not much compared to the 72 who played in Week 1, but it’s still clear that this coaching staff likes the depth they have on the roster, and is not afraid to rotate players in early and often.
