Oregon Ducks Radio Voice Jerry Allen Previews The 2024 Oregon Football Team | Danny & Dusty

welcome back again to Danny and Dusty I am live at oon Stadium right now looking out over the valley in a beautiful day down here in Eugene Oregon and we are joined with Danny back in the studio up in Portland we are joined Now by a man who usually gets to set the scene but I get to take it over for today Jerry Allen voice of the Ducks how you doing I feel I feel a little uncomfortable sitting this close to you okay so I'm going to widen out just a little bit here I mean is that the real reason why you send me all the way down to the sidelines for these games well just saying uh yeah kind of we voted on it don't feel bad Jerry I literally sit on the other side of an enormous table up here so trust me I get it I get it uh all right here we are we're F it's finally gameweek yeah for the Oregon Ducks this off season it was short because there was a Fiesta Bowl but it's also seemed like it's taken forever because of the hype and the excitement surrounding this team can you remember a time where there has been this much excitement heading into a season you know maybe Marcus Mariota last year when we knew uh that Oregon had a pretty good team and a chance to to get to the national championship game uh he was the guy that could get you there and we could sort of sense that I think Dennis Dixon hit the year that that we lost Dennis we knew uh Midway through the season not preseason going into but once that season started we realized here's a guy that has a great chance to win the Heisman if we could win the national title so there were those times when you felt that excitement but not maybe not as early as we are this year with the change to the Big 10 and all that's you know the nation's talking about Oregon and the Big 10 and Ohio State and the Big 10 and the Ducks and the Big 10 I mean it's it's pretty cool yeah Jerry well one of the things that I I've I've kind of wondered sitting from the outside looking in you've been there for a long time you've seen the different iterations of this program and for me my criticism of Oran has always been that they just didn't have the the the horses in the trenches to be on this the the the the level of saying that we are a national title competitor that feels like and it looks like it has changed over the last couple years and they can put those horses on the front of the cart now and go no we're here with everybody else what has that transition been like kind of watching that Ascension of hey we can do it every couple years too no we're here year after year after year now well we we knew jorgie and I talked about you know the the pieces that were missing or maybe not a pieces that were missing but the depth that did not allow Oregon to continue through a season when they would start well and then suffer some injuries and then you didn't have those those backups that depth but I'm playing Ohio State in in the Rose Bowl and I can't remember what year it was but we matched up pretty well uh linebackers were about the same size both both Sid but Ohio st's linebackers were not only big they were fat faster than I'll get out we couldn't compete with that so there were areas or levels as you say that Oregon wasn't quite at year after year and we've seen it develop now I think Mario christall really should get credit for bringing in some bigger stronger faster guys and and really got Oregon up to a different level and now Dan Lanning has really topped that and so now you're seeing across the board starters that can compete at that level with some of the bigger schools we're talking about Alabama oh State putting guys in the NFL on on the in the trenches Oregon's doing that now and so yeah it's changed and we could see when we weren't there and we've seen them slowly gain ground and get to a point where we believe they are there now with hype do you get a little at times do do you get a little cautious like too many people are talking about the Ducks yeah I do I you know I find myself doing that I mean I got to dial myself back because you watch practice and you talk to the coaches and you and you read the headlin and you listen to ESPN it's like yeah that's us that's what we're going to do you know and it's wait a minute wait a minute okay because I'll find myself starting to talk like that with people with fans and it's like and now I've learned to say that all said everything I just said now you got to prove it okay haven't proved a thing yet gotta prove it Jerry there's a ton of of transfers in into Oregon this year with two very prominent names in in uh Evan and and Dylan outside of those guys who who is just kind of popped onto the scene and through practice through camps that you've been like oh this this looks a little different well it's it it's a little almost a little difficult to answer that question uh one I'm not supposed to talk about what I see in practice they got I think they got a sniper there but but the the real reason is it it used to be that you would see a kid coming in like Jonathan Stewart or Royce fer or some like that and they just stood out you just knew this guy's different and and they would run through people around people and past people um and now you're not seeing that guy I mean sure there are a couple of guys that stand out but the reason you're seeing that one or two guys that are running circles around people in are standouts is because there are more standouts so you you've got in in in you not too long past you had like maybe a five star maybe a four four star maybe a couple of four stars and three stars now you've got fours and five stars in and and so you don't have the the the guys that separate themselves and make you go oh wow you're seeing that more as a team or a group of guys rather than one or two individuals and I think that kind of goes to like it has to be a very specific skill set that makes that guy pop now and that's the credit to the roster building that you're talking about because I remember last year the buzz around TZ Johnson was this guy's just different yeah and then we saw it it took him a while to kind of ramp up and get up to speed with the offense and terminology and such but by the end of the year we were watching Tess Johnson and that twitchiness that speed it's completely different than anybody on the field and those guys like Taz and and Evan Stewart same same thing they make the guys who are around them so much better because they're competing with guys that are a level above them or were you know expected to be a level above them and they're competing with them and it makes them better so you're not seen I mean Tess Johnson I think is a tremendous leader of the white white out groups because guys want to be like him so they're compe with him they're trying to be better than him which has made them better than they were which is maybe kind of odd or hard to understand but um I'm I'm impressed with Oregon's wide wide receiver group running back group I mean when you start breaking down groups there's a there's a guy here and there that stand out but I think the thing that's going to carry this team this year Dusty is that it's not just one or two or three stars or just a couple of guys here and there I think it's the team in general that have raised their level of athleticism and quality Jerry Allen voice of the Ducks you've seen a lot of Oregon football Jerry and a lot of explosive players who are some of the guys that that stick out to you as the game Breakers that were just so much fun to call because cuz you never knew when the game was going to turn on its head you know I'm going to say one of the first guys and you're going to say he he wasn't a game breaker I mean but but he was and that's Bill Musgrave oh yeah okay Bill Musgrave wasn't one of those powerful Runners he didn't have the greatest speed in the world he didn't have the greatest arm in the world Bill musr had a knack of knowing where everybody was at the right time and and getting them the ball uh he wasn't get a fired in there like John Elway he was just going to get him the ball and and that very first game go back to Colorado when they upset Colorado in Boulder it was the beginning of something special it's where we are I think in in 2024 I think he started but he was one of those guys um I think of the I'll to some names that Jeremiah Johnson I saw him at practice the other day JJ had to my mind still the best straight arm as a running back I've ever seen he was he came in right when Twitter had started and almost instantly Jeremiah stiff arm became a Twitter account of its own that took on a life of its own was a thing of beauty it really was just punishing oh yeah ER Eric Castle um uh played in the secretary U along with um oh my gosh uh Ashlin High School uh Chad Kota Chad Cota those guys lay the lumber I mean yeah uh fun watching them come up and hit somebody and and and you know knock the ball loose or do something like that I I think this we were just talking about Royce Freeman Jonathan Stewart is the one of the first guys that I remember when fall Camp started he came in as a freshman and we looked at him and his legs were bigger than my body and and we we we kind of looked at him and went holy cow why didn't he go straight to the NFL and that's the way he played too he was he was a specimen I I think um watching Joey Harrington Keenan Howry it's tough to go down a list and and leave somebody out but those those are the names that that pop out another one is hod oh H was the anchor that every team in America wishes they had every year yeah I mean he was a double team guy you you he was GNA have to be double teamed which made the whole defense better so oh so he was so big that they would double team him and he still wouldn't move an inch oh no yeah he was no he was a rock anchor in the middle and then he got to the NFL and it was like well it's not just a pack 10 problem it's a problem of humans trying to move hell yeah and he was uh so softspoken that you could set this close to him and not hear what he was saying because he was so humbled and very very soft for now there so many of them guys I mean it's hard to hard to stop talking about the list Jerry in that same vein you know unfortunately it's the the end of the Pack 12 but it's the beginning of the Big 10 for for Oregon Washington USC UCLA there's going to be that kind of line to draw where those four teams have some shared history they can bring with them but when you're going into that conference what what are the things that you're kind of hoping to to experience or to see or what what what are the things that you're looking forward to uh as you know you you move into a new conference covering this team well one of the things I'm looking for to may seem odd but I I want to see USC UCLA and Washington continue to have success along with Oregon to be able to put it in the Big 10 and have the rest of the nation finally say holy cow they play football on the west coast I think I think those four teams being in the big tan if they can be successful on a regular basis I think we open a lot more eyes Across the Nation I'm looking forward to that and then obviously the venues the history the tradition Rich Big 10 I mean going back to Ohio State again back to Michigan been to Illinois going to Penn State I mean I mean these are these are venues and teams that have watched for years and years and thought were the you know the hot bed of college football even though we're the West Coast packed 12 that was more college football what is what what place are you most looking forward do to go this year because you got the roseb to start it off you talk about venues the roseb to start it off yeah then uh West laf Indiana Purdue with the big drum that they bring out the big house in Michigan and then Madison Wisconsin and and also research Stadium but that's a familiar Place actually you haven't been there since the new stadium open no looking for okay so those are those are the those are the five right there easy answer for me cuz we've been there um and their fans are much like Oregon fans it's the one of the toughest places to play and that's Madison Wisconsin yeah I I mean when they get jump going uh that place vibrates yeah and uh it's a great College atmosphere and so I yeah I love Camp Randall ESP special hey they don't do any of these places throw things at sideline reporters cuz Texas Tech was not my favorite place to go and get water bottles and tortillas thrown at me for three and a half hours well have you came down at Arizona State uh recently okay no no last year was the one after Texas Tech I was like that Arizona State I can't do it this year oh there L is just tortillas water bottle is a little dangerous though I got tortillas I can eat a tortillas I can send some cheese to some folks in Wisconsin and have them throw that at there you go okay great can't wait for that sure late in the year we'll probably have some snowballs somewhere cuz it's going to be cold that's right mid November November 16th in Madison Wisconsin I'm not built for the cold Frozen tunder you going to be on that sideline wearing one of those puffers is that is that what we're going to get from you I I'm going to look like the Michelin Man on the sideline down there are you kidding me go find George castan's jacket yeah I'm going to look like the little brother from Christmas store doing the star waddle yeah they're going to roll me out out to the sidelines and I'm just going to prop me up I might wear the duck costume I don't know that' keep you warm it would have two pair of long underwear and that puffer coat and it'll be a 75 degree day exactly uh historically speaking we've we've gone through go go to the Big 10 that's going to be an awesome change and it'll be very welcome it's been pretty crazy to think of how much more publicity Oregon Washington USC and uccl have gotten just by this move right everybody wanted to say the East Coast bu wasn't real I think one thing that we have found quite clear is that it's real because you go to the go to that conference and it's like all right now they're playing big boy football are you going to have your eye on any of the other former Pack 12 teams that that you're going to be keeping tabs on yeah I mean I I I'll kind of watch Cal you know with Willcox there and and some of the guys that that you know played for Oregon and coached Oregon I'm I'm ACC football yeah I can't imagine that that is mindboggling to go from the West Coast all the way to the coast come back and play and then go back no it's just it doesn't make a lot of sense I that's got to change in the next two or three years yeah Cal I'll be interested in watching cal um I'm kind of curious to see really what happens with Oregon State and Washington State I I just thought that was so wrong that they did not end up in a power five conference somewhere they deserve to be and so for the next couple of years I want to watch what they do and how that all all plays out I I hope that they are successful and get where they need to be and where they should be other than that I don't care about anybody else perfect yeah I don't it'd be fun to watch Arizona and Arizona State but we don't have to play them glad we don't have to go to Utah anymore yeah see and that was the one I have grown such an appreciation for Utah in their time in Pack 12 them very much yeah and Kyle Whittingham seems like a a guy who is a great guy who kind of does it the right way and he is his program is it is such a it's amazing to see they went from the Mountain West to the Pack 12 and didn't Flinch didn't blink they were ready for the chall I hated playing there because their fans were great yep and it was a tough tough game and uh I'm glad we don't have to play him anymore you know okay maybe they'll make it in the 12 team playoff and we'll make it in the 12 team playoff that would be great I hope that happen okay I hope that several prepack 12 teams as well as several of the Big 10 teams end up all in the 12 team playoff and it would be like the pack 10 over again Pack 12 over again do you think that that's what would get the pack 12 finally some credit is it's finally gone and it's like all right so you got the big 12 champ in Utah you've got you have a big 10 team in in Oregon you can get another bid from you know the ACC I don't know know if that's going to be happening with CER Stanford this year but you could get one feasibly no I mean I think Oregon uh USC I think uh Utah certainly um I don't know Arizona has got a chance I Arizon got a chance so even Arizona State yeah it could happen I think that would be fun yeah that would be it'd be awesome all right you ready for this game yet I mean we got Idaho this week but do you know about the vandals yet vandals uh pretty good ball Club I mean they lost most of their offense uh but most of their defense comes back uh they're they're a good they're a good program it's like um I'm going to say this about everybody Oregon plays this year be aware of your opponent but be more aware and concerned about your own team yeah no don't beat yourself so if you could let Idaho beat you or you can play your game and make them have to try to beat you and that's going to be a tough thing to do but Idaho Idaho's I love playing Idaho love playing Portland State love playing those teams that come to Oregon that was I mean this is the hard part for these FCS schools because Idaho is kind of the poster child for it coach EK down there did a insanely good job of building up a program to be a quarterfinal team in the FCS playoffs a year ago very quickly and then the transfer portal opens up and their quarterback goes and now he's starting at Oregon State and javanni McCoy their running back who's a thousand yard rusher he hits a portal he's going to be playing a lot of snaps for the University of Utah and you go we're back at square one again and putting in all of that work to build up to that point it's it's kind of weird as I've been looking at Idaho and doing the prep it's like a lot of the guys that should be back and making that one more run that we've become accustomed to they've taken off and they they go to another place and it's a credit to the staff of Idaho and also those guys for saying I can go to the power five but it takes away from the the FCS experience a little bit well I think and and you got to be aware that the reason they were good enough to go and make that step up on the portal is because he brought him in y you know he developed so I think he's a great uh recruiter I think he's a great developer of talent so I expect the guys that he did bring in up the portal and the guys who were freshman or soptar last year are going to be improved so I think I think he is still going to have a team that was I'm gonna say just as good as they were last year yeah and the the pride of Lake iggo Jack Lane how about that playing quarterback for the Vandal play going to play in odson stadium Jerry thank you so much for the time man I appreciate it we're going to have to do this more Wednesdays when when I'm coming down here I'm always here be happy to do it and you live here right thrill yeah I live here sleeping bag right over in the corner over there yeah I got bathroom down the hall there's no food up here that's the only problem stale popcorn no food and unfortunately you're parked closer to Dusty thanks for having me on thank you