Stock Report: Jordan Burch officially arrives, while Troy Franklin makes another statement
Over the last several weeks, our stock reports for the Oregon Ducks have gotten a little bit chummy, to be completely honest.
It’s hard to knock these players for much when they are winning games by an average of 39.8 points per game and are 5-0 on the season for the first time since 2013.
While we normally set out in a stock report article to highlight who played well, and who might need to perform a little bit better, there have been very few things to criticize over the last several weeks.
That was the case again on Saturday in a 42-6 win over the Stanford Cardinal. The Ducks struggled early, punting on their first two possessions and falling behind 6-0. A 42-0 run from there left any doubt about this team behind.
There was some fantastic play from the defense, explosive play from the offense, and, all-in-all, an impressive performance from the Ducks.
Here’s our stock report following all of the action:
Stock Up: Jordan Burch
Courtesy of Ethan Landa
It was admittedly a slow start to the year for Jordan Burch, but he’s really turned things on over the past couple of weeks and become a dominant defensive player for the Ducks.
The former five-star transfer from South Carolina had just five total tackles through the first three weeks of the season, but he’s racked up 10 tackles in the last two games combined, including two tackles for loss against Stanford, and two sacks a week prior against Colorado.
Oregon’s defense has been one of the stories of the season so far, completely turning things around in Eugene and putting forth a really strong unit that looks capable of slowing down the top offenses in the Pac-12. If that’s going to happen, Burch is going to be a big part of the reason.
Stock Up: Troy Franklin
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
At some point, we’re going to stop being impressed by this type of performance from Troy Franklin and just expect it instead.
On Saturday, Franklin caught all seven of his targets for 117 yards and two touchdowns, giving him his fourth game of the season with 100-plus yards, and his third multi-touchdown game of the year. I plan to do a deeper dive into Franklin’s numbers during the bye week and compare him both nationally and in Oregon history, but for now we can feel satisfied knowing simply that he is among the best receivers in the nation this year, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Stock Up: Terrance Ferguson
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After what we’ve seen in past years from Terrance Ferguson, it’s fair to say his start to the season was a bit mundane. It wasn’t like it was playing poorly, but rather his role in the offense was not as abundant as I personally expected it to be. Through the first four games, he had just 11 catches for 80 yards and 0 TD.
Ferguson finally got on the board on Saturday afternoon and in impressive fashion. With a fourth-and-2 end zone target, Ferguson went up and caught a TD over the defender, hauling in his first score of the season to go along with 49 yards.
With the depth at the WR position, it doesn’t come as a major surprise that Ferguson has had a lesser role this year, but this may be the game that he needed to jump-start his season.
Stock Down: Camden Lewis
Courtesy of Ethan Landa
That was an uncharacteristic performance from Camden Lewis, to say the least.
So far this year, Lewis has been among the best kickers in the nation, thanks to both his field goal kicking and his impressive touchback percentage on kickoffs. Both of those aspects of his game were off on Saturday. Lewis sent two kicks out of bounds off the tee and missed an easy 38-yarder to end the first half.
It’s unclear what was off for Lewis, but the veteran kicker has a bye-week opportunity to reset and get back to his normal level of play.
Stock Up: Nikko Reed
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The Ducks were dealt an unfortunate blow early in the game when cornerback Khyree Jackson left with an apparent hip injury. They were fortunate to have Nikko Reed step up in his absence. Reed had just one tackle and one pass breakup, but he was routinely in and around the plays, covering well on the outside, giving up zero receptions on three targets.
We will see when Jackson can return, but should he miss some time, Reed has proved that he is more than capable of stepping up when needed.
Stock Up: Jerry Mixon
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Sometimes you see performances from young guys on the roster that make you feel great about the coach’s ability not only to recruit but to identify talent at the high school level. True freshman linebacker Jerry Mixon was not highly rated coming out of the prep level, rated as a three-star who was the No. 717 player in the nation. However, he has shown so far this year that he can absolutely play at this level, notching his first career sack of the year on Saturday.
Mixon is a highly rated player according to Pro Football Focus so far this year, and he has the tools to be a great addition to this defense. After five games, it’s not hard to see what the Ducks went after him in the 2023 cycle.
Stock Up: Jordan James
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Jordan James just continues to impress. With Noah Whittington out of this game with an injury, it was going to be on both James and Bucky Irving to step up and shoulder the load offensively. Both did great in that role, but I was really impressed by what we saw from the sophomore, who racked up 88 yards and a TD on six carries.
Going into the year, I think many people thought that it would be Irving who was the home-run threat out of the backfield, capable of taking any carry to the house, no matter where it came from on the team. So far, though, it’s been James who brings that to the table.
Stock Down: Tez Johnson
Forgive me for nitpicking a little bit at this point in the article.
For the first time this season, Johnson was held without a catch, missing on both of his targets in the game, including a deep would-be TD from Bo Nix that fell right through Johnson’s hands.
It isn’t indicative of how good of a player he is, or where his season will go from here, but in a game where there was almost nothing but positives, Johnson’s play is one of my only nitpicks.
Stock Up: Steve Stephens IV
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
With an opportunity to start because of the absence of safety Bryan Addison, it was Steve Stephens who stepped up the most on Saturday, leading the team with eight total tackles on the day. Stephens gave up two receptions on his three targets, but limited them to 11 total yards.
Back to my point earlier on the depth and ability for Oregon’s defense to have players step up when called upon, Stevens showed that on Saturday in impressive fashion.
Stock Up: Evan Williams
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
I said it on Saturday, but is there anything more fun to watch than Evan Williams coming up the middle on a safety blitz?
The Fresno State transfer got home once again on Saturday against Stanford, notching his second sack of the year to go along with seven total tackles, second-most on the team. Williams has been one of the biggest difference-makers for the Ducks so far this year, and he is clearly a core member of the defense going forward.
