A Deep Dive Into the 2024 Oregon Ducks

Intro Dan Lanning has done a great job of building Oregon into something that he envisioned for a long time this is a team that expects big things in 2024 even with a transition to a new conference they joined the Big 10 but they fully expect to win the Big 10 in their first season with the conference so let's take a deep dive into the Oregon Ducks before we do that though make sure you subscribe to the channel like the video share the video we are wrapping up our Deep dive series and it has been a great series for the channel that's not possible without all of you and I can't thank all of you enough for what you have done if you're new to the channel make sure you subscribe this has been a really fun ride there's a lot to talk about I love talking about college football and all of you are very passionate as well so I'm excited to keep this going and let's do that with the Oregon Ducks now when Dan Lanning Coaching Staff came to Oregon there's a lot of excitement he is a guy who brings a lot of energy to the program and he is someone who has high expectations for his team and it's easy to see why he has done a great job of recruiting he's embraced nil he has a great message a a coach that I think is going to push you quite a bit but he's also a coach that looks like he really cares about his players and I think that's a great combination of things to have in a head coach and he is someone that has brought Oregon to a good place and he's in a position that has a ton of resources and he is embracing this new era of college football from nil to the transfer portal he's also leaning into something that's been an advantage for Oregon in Nike for a long time and that's going to be a lot a lot for this team have success for the long run and Dan Lanning could really build Oregon into something special you also bring back will Stein who had a major impact on this team last year one of the best offenses in college football under his watch under his play calling and Tosh leoy is back to run the defense a defense that was also one of the better groups in college football so you have a coaching staff that feels like it's in a great spot you also feel like there's a ton of talent coming back as well as from the transfer portal that makes you feel really good now the transfer portal was very kind to the Transfer Portal Oregon Ducks not that you needed it to be because this staff knew exactly what they needed in terms of talent and they did a really good job of bringing in elite players as well as players that are maybe going to fill some rotational roles so you have to tip your cap to this staff now you bring in a talent like Derek Haron to compete on the interior defensive line you also bring in Jamari Caldwell from Houston now Jamari Caldwell is someone that people did not know heading into 2023 and I don't think a lot of people knew who he was until he committed to the Ducks honestly a lot of people did not pay attention to Houston last year and obviously there's a reason why because they struggled so much but Jamari Caldwell's tape was super impressive so let's be honest if someone tells you that they're a big Jamari C Ball fan and they're not from Houston I probably wouldn't believe them honestly I probably would say that they're they're not really paying attention they just noticed that he committed to Oregon but that says a lot about what his talent level can do and he is someone that I think is going to have a Major Impact early for this team now when you look at what else they brought they now this Jabar Muhammad get coming from Washington he initially committed to Texas and Oregon actually flipped him to come to Oregon that's a huge addition when you lose certain players like Kyrie Jackson rip to Kyrie that's obviously a tough loss for this program but you bring in a talent like Jabar Muhammad to potentially replace him and what Jabar Muhammad did in 2023 for Washington speaks volumes to what he can do in 2024 and Oregon expects big things from him C Alexander comes in from UTSA could also do similar things there you also bring in Brandon Johnson from Duke in the secondary as well you get Cruz rushing from Arizona Kobe Savage so I think that you have certain players that are ready to take on new challenges with their new school and the the Oregon Ducks are excited to see what they can do on the defensive side of the ball then you get to the big ones Evan Stewart coming in from Texas A&M that was a huge addition for Oregon especially with the talented player you lose in Troy Franklin they expect some big things from him you also obviously got two quarterbacks in Dante Moore who appears to be the future of this program and you bring in Dylan Gabriel who is the hasman front runner for college football so you feel pretty good about what you bring in you also bring in Matthew Bedford to play tackle from Indiana so this is a staff that's done a good job on the recruiting Trail they've also done a good job of getting guys from the transfer portal now you didn't honestly I don't feel like they lost a ton of players that maybe make a huge dent in certain positions I think that certain players were were solid but I don't know if you necessarily lost anybody that you feel was Irreplaceable or just is is going to be really tough to move on from that's speaks a lot to what this staff has done they figured out who do they need to retain who do they need to in and who were they okay with losing and I think when you look at this list of Departures you don't feel like you have a ton of concerns if you're an Oregon fan and we'll start with the offense here we'll start with QB & RB Will Stein's group there's a lot to be excited about like we mentioned before and everything obviously starts with Dylan Gabriel now Dylan Gabriel has had quite the journey the former at one point Army commit I I can't I think people just take that for granted when you look at that you you just this is a guy who is going to commit to a team that's going to run the triple option and rarely throw the football and Dylan Gabriel is looking to break records as a passer now that's just a wild Journey that's so fun to watch you know he starts his career with UCF transfers to Oklahoma and has solid time at Oklahoma and then hits the transfer portal once again and goes to what a lot of people consider nil heaven in Eugene Oregon so he comes in and it's not that Dylan Gabriel is going to be the most talented quarterback that you ever have but he is someone who is a smart decision maker he understands what he needs to do with the football and he takes care of the football maybe doesn't have the biggest arm but he does throw a pretty long ball as well so you have the ability to stretch the field vertically you also have the ability to make some smart plays Dylan Gabriel is going to give you that and that's huge for a guy like Dante Moore who's going to learn a lot sitting behind him now Dante Moore had a very Rocky experience at UCLA there's a lot of hype about him committing to the Bruins at one point he did commit to the Ducks so it was almost like a full full circle moment for Oregon to get him back and he is going to be the future of this program learning from Dylan Gabriel is going to do a lot for his career I think Austin novasat is behind him I don't expect no to compete with Dante Moore long term Dante Moore is the future of this program and it's going to be be fun to see what they both learned from Dylan Gabriel Gabriel has played a lot of college football so he has plenty of experiences to share with these two so we'll see what that all means for this team the rushing attack you lose Bucky Irving and let's be honest that's that's a big loss Bucky Irving honestly even with the amount of people talking about him last year Bucky Irving did not get the love that he deserved he was an absolute phenomenal Talent arguably the toughest running back to tackle in college football you'd simply just could not tackle him I mean just ask Washington how much fun it was to tackle him he was so good but this staff feels really good about what they have coming back Jordan James was a backup last year played a big role 759 yards averaged 7.1 yards per carry last year you also get Noah Whittington back and somehow noan Whittington is only a junior that just seems wrong to me I feel like his Western Kentucky days he was there for forever and he's been at Oregon for what feels like a long time so I just yeah that's crazy but he is back as well a good player for this team you also feel pretty good you added a solid player in the transfer portal in Jay Harris 6 foot2 25 pounds so while you have Jordan James coming in at 510 210 and Winnington at 58 194 you had a good siiz running back in Jay Harris that could play a big role for that rushing attack as well that's a good Trio to have jayen Lamar is another one that could play a bigger role in that rushing attack as well so the running attack even with losing Bucky Irving they feel like you're they're in a good position you don't have a ton of concerns if you are the Ducks and the uh Dylan Gabriel can also Run keep that in mind too they're not going to want him to run a ton but he is capable of running he is capable of picking up big again re of the army approv there's the reason why Army wanted him and it wasn't because they wanted him to throw the football this is a guy that can run the football is gonna help with this rushing attack he's going to make this offense really explosive really fun to watch and that's going to be a a fun Back Field to pay attention to whether you're a college fantasy player or whether you're just a college football fan Oregon has again an once again Oregon has a really exciting backfield that could light up scoreboards this year and we go to the WR & TE guys that are going to catch passes from Dylan Gabriel and once again you have a group that going to be lights out at times very electric very explosive wilstein has a an abundance of riches at the wide receiver position and you feel pretty good about what you have coming back say Johnson is one of the fastest players in college football he is back once again Tran Holden they're looking for him to take a step forward in terms of being an explosive weapon for this offense I think that he has shown times a couple flashes they are waiting for him to be a better player than what we've seen so far and if he does take that step this offense feels like it's in good hands Evan Stewart we talked about before 6'3 175 pounds comes in from Texas A&M had over 1100 yards with the Aggies in his two years there so you feel like you're in great hands with him coming in you also return Gary Bryant a very slept on player and Bryan can get on the field I think that he has a good value for this offense outside of that is where you kind of have maybe some concerns you have unproven talent behind those guys uh so that maybe the the depth if you will is a concern for Oregon's passing attack but again once you get outside of Johnson Holden Stewart and Bryant you maybe don't know if you necessarily need those guys to be regular contributors unless someone goes down with an injury or whatnot the tight end position is going to play a big role as well and you feel really good about what you have coming back there Terrence Ferguson comes in at 66 248 pounds at 44 yards last year was a pretty important player for this offense and should be that once again he's one of the better tight ends in college football Patrick Herbert the brother of Justin Herbert we saw him at random times I think when you watch the the Washington game he had a couple of big plays and so you have good depth at the tight end position Kyan sadik is another guy who could play a big role so again you feel pretty good about the tight end position you feel really good about you have the wide receiver position again depth maybe is a concern but again you you have to see multiple guys go down before you truly have to tap too far into that depth and that's going to be a really fun group to watch and then also you have a really fun offensive line that's going to take OL care of business as well that's going to make life very easy for Dylan Gabriel and the skill position players and that's going to be huge and and Dan Lanning understands that he needs good offensive lineman if he wants to win football games and winning in the Big 10 is going to require you to be physical and winning a national championship is going to require you to do the exact same thing if you want to win a football game your offensive line has to be a strength of your team and Oregon has one of the best offensive lines in college football now obviously everyone's going to point to Josh connly you have a future NFL talent in him at left tackle Johnny Cornelius had a really interesting year last year he transferred from Rhode Island and stepped in right away to compete for a starting spot so that's going to be another guy to keep an eye on maybe not as hped as Josh connly but you still feel really good about what he brings back you have three seniors a junior and a sophomore that are going to lead the charge here the guard positions feel like they're in good hands Matthew Bedford we talked about before coming in from Indiana Marcus Harper is back for another year those are guys that have a ton of experience the center position is really where things are kind of up for grabs maybe Charlie Pickard is going to be that guy aani lolu is going to be in that rotation as well competing for that starting spot I should say played 14 games had a start last year picker just played two games in his first two years 13 games last year so both of those guys will be in the running for that the center position is such a vital position for any offense and Oregon is no exception to that but uh you feel pretty good even with the center position maybe being up for grabs you have plenty of talent coming back you have plenty of talent and plenty of experience that's going to be huge especially with the skill positions being what they are for Oregon so if you're looking at this from an Oregon Ducks perspective you honestly should feel really good even if you are biased you have plenty of talent to utilize offensively and there's good talent on the offensive line to handle life in the trenches so not too many concerns if you're Oregon's offense you obviously want to keep keep Dylan Gabriel healthy and you have the playmaking talent to make that happen now the defense is going to be interesting to watch you return you had some surprises return to this defense and one of them was on the defensive DL line was probably one of the bigger surprises getting Jordan Burch back was one of the bigger surprises in college football I don't think a lot of people expected him to come back but there was a chance that he was going to so he comes back and he is someone that is set to have an even bigger year than he did in 2023 it might be a little bit more difficult now that teams know exactly what he's capable of doing but again you're going into a new conference so maybe teams aren't fully aware of what he is capable of doing behind him amarian Winston could play a bigger role this year as well I think that he is set he played in in 14 games last year had 19 tackles Blake purches could also be one of those guys opposite of Jordan Burch a lot of people are going to compete for this spot so you Tatum tuoi excuse me teot is going to be one of those guys that competes Mato OU angal is another guy that we saw last year in flag Elijah rushing is someone that this staff was really excited about to get him out of high school I think that they are expecting big things from him so that spot is up for grabs and it's a spot that has a lot of potential to be really good with Jordan Burch commanding so much attention we talked about Derek Haron at the defensive tackle position coming in from Michigan State he is someone that is ready to show that he can he has experience in the Big 10 so that won't be much of a shock for him he just doing it with a different team that's joining a new conference Amari Washington could be behind him Jamari cell we talked about before an absolute phenomenal Talent very athletic for his size 6'1 325 pounds this is a group that has really good size up front a lot of explosive players you could also see someone like Keon we Hudson play a role as well so you feel pretty good about the depth you have at the defensive tackle position so even if you have some faces that need to step up Jordan bir is that that anchor if you will that foundational piece that you return and then you just have to find guys that can play I think Matteo OU angal is one to keep an eye on for sure he is someone that showed really explosive flashes in 2023 but again there are some really good players toochi is one of those guys that's going to compete with him and Elijah rushing again when you're recruiting at the level that Oregon's playing guys like Elijah rushing could have bigger roles than maybe people anticipate and again it's not a bad thing to have as much depth as you do and Oregon feels like they're in a good spot even with those new faces taking over the linebacker position should be LB just as good as it was last year you have a lot of good talent coming back and it starts with Justin Jacobs and Jeffrey Bassa so you have a lot of players that are coming in to play bigger roles but you also have players returning that are going going to give you that stability and these are two players that do that now Jeffrey Baza is back for another year he is the leader of that defense you've seen if you watch on film he's a very good communicator that's one of the things I've noticed about him he is going to get the guys in right positions if he even sees the slightest thing different with the offense he is pointing it out he is Shing his guys to either adjust or point something out hey he's going this way it's going to be this play that kind of stuff he is a student of the game very aware of what's going on behind them Devin Jackson could be someone that plays a bigger role for them again they're going to need someone to play a bigger role so you have someone like him Conor soell is going to be another guy the Arizona transfer Arizona State transfer I should say is going to be a fun player to watch as a backup as well so you have certain players that have experience but Jacobs and Bassa are going to be those two leaders the senior have a major impact on this defense already and they are ready to do it once again so you feel pretty good about where you're at at the linebacker position it's just maybe a question of who's going to be the depth piece that steps up who's going to be part of that rotation to make those plays because NASA again is going it's gonna be tough to get him off the field because of his not only his physical abilities but his mental abilities as well Justin Jacobs has the ability to be a special player for the Ducks and with the talent they have up front sometimes they're going to make really easy plays because of the disruptiveness of the group in front of them now the secondaries where you see a little bit of turnover you're going to see some fresh faces but honestly I Secondary think you might see a group that takes a step forward because of the guys that they brought brought in now Brandon Johnson is one of those guys he's a guy who played in the nickel for Duke last year and he's going to play that similar role the star position for the Ducks he is someone that knows exactly how to play that position he's very comfortable it's just a matter of learning a new system and learning what he's expected to do and how to communicate with his teammates if he needs to do that dalen Austin could be another guy that's in that rotation but Brandon Johnson that's his spot to lose the cornerback position is in great hands with Dante Manning coming back you also like we talked about before you bring in Jabar Muhammad so you don't have really any concerns about the cornerback position again another example of you could you almost feel like you're taking a step forward because of the talent that you have coming in you bring in Nico Reed from Colorado now again I don't know if you're necessarily not bringing a talent like Nico Reed in two years ago if you aren't sold on his abilities because again Colorado was not good defensively by any means so that's definitely a name to keep an eye on cam Alexander will push for starting time as well I I think that you also even if you look at Jil Florence you feel pretty good about the depth you have at the cornerback position again Jabar muhamad and Dante Manny will be the starters but if you see one or both of them go down I don't think you have a ton of worries if you're Oregon the level of play will obviously dip there's a reason why the starters are the starters but if you lose those two guys you don't necessarily have to panic over what might be the safety position kind of similar I wouldn't say it's as good as the corner position although Kobe Savage was a huge addition from Kansas State a guy who has been a starter for them for quite a bit of time and he is someone that is going to step in and be a Major Impact player for this team right away Tyler Turner behind him is a red shirt freshman again talking about that young talent that is going to potentially give this group good playing time right off the bat and we'll see what kind of depth we get there taim Johnson comes in from Old Miss so you're looking at what this team brings and taim Johnson and Kobe Savage feel like a solid Duo maybe kind of an underrated Duo if you will you also brought in pton Woodyard from the transfer portal so you have guys that are going to step up and play what I think is going to be a high level if you're the Oregon Ducks you feel really good about that situation and you're going to face some really talented offenses you're going to face some really talented wide receiver groups and one of the benefits of Oregon is that their secondary and the wide receivers get to go against each other so you're going to face some really good competition and practice so that when you get to the games you don't necessarily have to worry about the shock of playing a really good player because you've done that all week you've done that all offseason you've done that all year you do not have to worry about that and you also brought in good talent that should step up now there's going to be some chemistry that needs to be figured out with that many new fa is you're going to have to figure out how to communicate with your new new teammates so that's one thing to keep an eye on but again minor things when it when you look at the bigger picture so Oregon feels like it's in good hands with the talent it has returning and that bodess well for them with the schedule that they have now the schedule Schedule for the Oregon Ducks doesn't necessarily get off to a difficult start but it's definitely an interesting start Idaho is going to be a win although Idaho was a pretty good FCS team last year so that'll be fun to see how Idaho competes against Oregon then you also look at Boise State that's a team that is looking to get to the college football playoff and a strong performance against the Ducks could make their case much better but I expect Oregon to win that game the one thing I'll will say and I talked about this in my boy State Deep dive is Boise State got smoked by Washington and Washington was a playoff team I kind of expect Oregon to do the same thing because Oregon is going to be a playoff team this year and Boise State just isn't on that level Boise State fans are pretty confident about their abilities if this was at Boise State maybe but the fact that it's in Eugene tells me all I need to know then you play Oregon State the next week now that's an interesting game because while Oregon is the better team it is that rivalry game and one of the things that I don't like about the the uh conference reignment is that you're losing some of the rivalry games or you're moving those to different aspects and maybe Oregon fans don't care about the Oregon State rivalry anymore but that's one thing that just kind of bums me out I just wish that we could keep everything the same as what it was but again conference reignment money rules the world but still it's a tough game to to play this early in the season the fact that it's a road trip makes it a little bit more interesting but again if Oregon is truly a playoff team then you shouldn't have too many concerns about that game and then you get two weeks off before you travel to UCLA which is a Big 10 conference game which feels weird but that is a game that Oregon should win you get Michigan State at home that's another game that you know you face a familiar foe in Jonathan Smith we'll see what Michigan state is at that point and then the big one Ohio State at home October 12th that's the one that everyone's been talking about already so we don't have to really dive into that we'll obviously preview that later on this channel when that comes up during that week that's going to be a big one that determines a lot for the Big 10 Championship race as well as the college football race there so then you go to at Purdue you get Illinois at home those are two games that I don't have any concerns about at Michigan is going to be a tough one because we'll know how legitimate Michigan is at that point so if they are a good team then uh Michigan is going to give them quite a bit of trouble but I think that Oregon is the better team I think Michigan is going to take a little bit of a step back this year and also it just reminds me of watching Dennis Dixon do the Statue of Liberty and the fake Statue of Liberty I just got flashbacks of that so maybe you'll see you know maybe you'll see an Ode to them maybe that's something that Dan Lanning has up his sleeve but also he's just trying to win football games so he probably doesn't care about that but that would be really fun to watch in Oregon's return to the big house Marilyn at home shouldn't be a concern Wisconsin could be a tricky game if Wisconsin truly is better than what they were last last year so we will see what happens but if they are better than last year I think that you're looking at a game that could be potentially Troublesome the fact that it is in Camp Randall makes it a little bit more difficult a more challenging atmosphere but we will see what happens with that Washington I don't know Washington feels like it's going to take a step back as well so it's still G to be tough Oregon is gonna have a chip on their shoulder from losing two games last year to the huskys so that's another game to keep an eye on Okay so then we get to this point ceiling is definitely 12-0 I don't think anybody's really debating that and it's just a matter of what the floor is when you look at losable games I honestly see three that I could honestly honestly I see one that I could convincingly argue is a loss and that's Ohio State game Michigan and Wisconsin are ones that I'm not too sure about but again those feel like more wins than losses so the the floor I'm conservatively go 9 and three knowing full well that I expect them to be more on the the 12 and0 side so we'll see what happens with that we don't exactly know what is going to happen with this team but it feels really good if you're an Oregon fan you feel like you're in a good spot Dan Lanning has done a great job on really all fronts and it's just going to come down to can you win football games can you win close football games because that Ohio State game is going to be back and forth and Dan Lanning gets a chance and honestly Dan Lanning gets a bad rep from the the Washington game some of the the decisions he made during the game were obviously criticized and they didn't work out but I honestly would rather have him make those decisions again because he's putting faith in his his his team he's been faith in his players and that says a lot about what he expects from them and he's going to probably make those same decisions again and if they can execute a little bit better that's going to be a team that has the potential to win a National championship and that's exactly where Oregon wants to be at the end of the year