Stock Report: Oregon’s secondary shines, defensive line shows major push

Similar to Week 1’s blowout win over the Portland State Vikings, it’s pretty hard to nitpick a game like Saturday’s against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The Oregon Ducks won, 55-10, in dominant fashion.

The offense put up numbers, the defense shut things down, and a long list of young players and depth pieces were able to get on the field and see some meaningful minutes.

All in all, it was a great day at Autzen Stadium, outside of those frustrating penalties that once again proved a problem. Dan Lanning addressed that after the game, but he was also eager to highlight the performances of his players. As we do each week, here is our stock report following the game, highlighting the players who did the most to help or hurt their case going forward:

Stock Up: Jahlil Florence

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It appears Jahlil Florence has solidified one of the starting CB spots for the Ducks, and he has done incredibly well for himself in the new role. Oregon’s stats show he only had one tackle. According to Pro Football Focus, Florence allowed one reception for 15 yards on four total targets, which was the best rate on the team for any player with more than a single target in the game.

“I think he’s always been capable. I think he’s focused,” Lanning said of where Florence has improved the most after the game. “He’s gone to another level. I think there’s another level in there. I think there’s another step for that guy. But I think he’s got a great ability. I want to continue to challenge him to, you know, get better and continue to make plays and become elite in that area.”

It’s clear Florence is starting to reach that elite level of play Lanning foresaw when recruiting him early in his tenure. Let’s hope the same trajectory starts to happen for the other young Ducks as well.

Stock Up: Khyree Jackson

When Khyree Jackson can play mistake-free football, he is incredibly good. That means he needs to continue to cut down on pass-interference penalties, and dumb after-the-whistle fouls. He is getting there. On Saturday, he had another stellar game, wracking up 3 total tackles and 1 interception, his second on the season.

Jackson was the second-highest graded defender for Oregon, according to PFF, giving up two receptions on five targets throughout the game. He and Jahlil Florence appear to have solidified their holds on the starting corner roles. I think at this point in the season, Duck fans can feel relatively confident in their abilities.

Stock Down: Penalty Issues

Technically, the penalties did get better for the Ducks. In Week 2 against Texas Tech, Oregon had 14 penalties for 124 yards. In Week 3 against Hawaii, Oregon had 9 penalties for 76 yards.

That is nowhere near the level of acceptability.

“We’re gonna do something different, right? We’ll figure out if we can get it fixed, right? If we can’t, then they can’t be on the field. If you’re gonna get penalties, you can’t be on the field. And that’s gonna be that simple, right? If you get a penalty you can’t play for us. You’re hurting the team.”

It’s a hard statement from Lanning, but it could end up being what the team needs in order to clean things up.

Stock Up: Popo Aumavae

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After missing the 2022 season with an injury, Popo Aumavae is back for his send-off with the Ducks in 2023. He’s making it count thus far. Aumavae had a sack on Saturday afternoon, and he was a consistent presence in the Hawaii backfield, making life tough on QB Brayden Schager. In all, Popo registered three QB pressures and showed he can be an incredibly valuable piece of this Oregon defensive pass rush.

Stock Up: Tysheem Johnson

Courtesy of Ethan Landa

We have a three-game sample size for safety Tysheem Johnson, and I’m ready to name him my favorite player to watch on Oregon’s defense. Every game he is flying around the secondary and making plays at every level of the field. On Saturday, he led the Ducks with eight total tackles. While PFF credited him with seven receptions given up, he was routinely there to clean up the plays underneath, allowing just 7 yards after the catch.

Oregon’s safety play needed improvement a year ago, and it appears they found a great answer with Tysheem.

Stock Up: Jordan Burch

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Welcome to the stat sheet Mr. Burch. The South Carolina transfer registered his first sack as a Duck on Saturday afternoon and had two total tackles. While it is still relatively small production for some who has such a big ceiling coming to Eugene, it’s good to see Burch getting on the board and having an impact.

Stock Down: Jackson Powers-Johnson's Superman Imitation

Courtesy of Ethan Landa

Jackson Powers-Johnson has proved a great center for the Ducks this season. He stepped nicely into the Alex Forsyth role and is leading the offensive line well.

His Superman impression needs quite a bit of work, though.

Early in the game while Bo Nix was rolling left, JPJ went to be a lead blocker for his QB. At the end of the play in an attempt to take out two guys at once, Powers-Johnson decided to do the logical thing … full-extension dive to try to clip both players. It ended up looking like this.

Great future as a football player, terrible future as a superhero.

Stock Up: Tez Johnson

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One of my biggest takeaways from the game on Saturday was about Tez Johnson, and how he has clearly elevated into the WR2 role for the Ducks. He took that role and ran with it on Saturday, hauling in 4 catches for 77 yards and 2 TDs. The connection he has with Bo Nix is obvious, and they clearly find it easy to operate in sync on the field. It will be fun to watch that connection continue to grow over the coming weeks.

Stock Up: Traeshon Holden

For the first time this year, we saw a breakout game for wide receiver Traeshon Holden. I think all of us felt that it was going to come eventually, but it was good to see him finally get on the board as a Duck. It also speaks to the unreal depth that Oregon has at the WR position, having the luxury of going from Troy Franklin, to Tez Johnson, to Gary Bryant to Traeshont Holden, if needed. That could pay dividends down the road.

Stock Up: Kenyon Sadiq

It was brief, but Kenyon Sadiq showed flashes of what is to come when he can get a bigger role on the offense. There was one play in the first half where the true freshman got the ball on an end-around and took it upfield for a gain of 12, sidestepping a defender and prancing down the sideline. For a player as big as he is, it’s encouraging to see how he can move with such grace on the field. He is going to have a great career in Eugene.

Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire