BigDucksFan No. 1 Share Posted January 5, 2021 The daily article on FishDuck can be found here. I’m not so sure Verdell will declare for the NFL Draft given that he’ll be leaving on a downward slant. Losing game time like he did for what ever reason will not help his draft status and he also might see it that way and surprise us by returning for one more year. Dollars in turn should get equal time in 2021 to Dye and Habibi-Likio, he’s that good. I think the surprise for us Duck fan’s will be which QB transfers out before the 2021 season starts. Robby Ashford and/or Bradley Yaffe and/or Cale Millen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 2 Share Posted January 5, 2021 No doubt, the breakout star was Henry Katleman! He should be in contention for MVP. Verdell has a tough decision, this wasn't the type of year he wants to go out on, but is it reasonable for him to think he can make it through next season without missing games? Dollars looked like he's ready for more time as the RB's & QB's battle it out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 3 Share Posted January 5, 2021 I would say the surprise standout was Tyler Shough. He passed the ball well and unexpectedly ran the ball extremely well the first few games. But like a baseball player with a flaw at the plate, the pitchers figured him out, and his presence at the plate deteriorated. Tyler showed some true talent early on. His problem was he just couldn't make all the throws. Once the defenses saw this, they new he couldn't get the ball over the defense, nor see all the defenders and expected the run. This then turned his season from hopeful to doubtful. I hope we are surprised next season as he addresses those weaknesses and comes back strong. The real surprise standout was Katleman, great story! My favorite surprise was Dollars. Sean seems to have the shiftiness of Dye and the strength of Verdell. He was fun to watch this season, along with the ball sailing through the uprights! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 4 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Wonderful article Alex, and I think the impact of Jamal Hill has been underappreciated. If you go back to the end of the UCLA game, the final fourth down pass by the Bruins to win the game was broken up by....Jamal Hill. So if we add that game and the miracle interception at the end of the USC game....Hill saved half of Oregon's victories! Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 5 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Dollars looked the part of an Oregon back in the mold of LMJ and Barner... evasive and able to break free on the edge. Verdell isn't Oregon's back of the future, that belongs to Dollars and even Dye was running well in Moorhead's scheme when they limited the use of the pistol. I would say Devon Williams and DJ Johnson were huge this year. Both are big receivers and will be key pieces moving forward. Johnson is an incredible blocker but outside of a couple of drops he is a solid receiver. I will be great to see Webb and Herbert make it onto the field as both were sidelined this year due to injuries to the best of our knowledge. I think there is a lot of solid star power on the offensive line... I do think some incoming freshman might take some of those spots away as there are some weaknesses in the oline... granted the oline missed out on a lot of bonding time with a lost spring and a hasty fall camp. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aheining No. 6 Share Posted January 5, 2021 4 hours ago, Haywarduck said: I would say the surprise standout was Tyler Shough. He passed the ball well and unexpectedly ran the ball extremely well the first few games. But like a baseball player with a flaw at the plate, the pitchers figured him out, and his presence at the plate deteriorated. Tyler showed some true talent early on. His problem was he just couldn't make all the throws. Once the defenses saw this, they new he couldn't get the ball over the defense, nor see all the defenders and expected the run. This then turned his season from hopeful to doubtful. I hope we are surprised next season as he addresses those weaknesses and comes back strong. The real surprise standout was Katleman, great story! My favorite surprise was Dollars. Sean seems to have the shiftiness of Dye and the strength of Verdell. He was fun to watch this season, along with the ball sailing through the uprights! Absolutely, Shough did far better than I anticipated in his limited time on the field this year, and although I hope to see a great deal of improvement in some key areas, the ability is certainly there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl LeDuck 85 No. 7 Share Posted January 5, 2021 Two names I would add into the mix that might not have been anticipated would be Jordan Happle and Bennett Williams. Before Holland and Breeze opted out who would have thought they would have had the role they did? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherOD No. 8 Share Posted January 5, 2021 (edited) Interesting the many different thoughts. The only real "surprise" in this short season IMO was Ryan Walk. Given that the OL remarkably appeared to manage on a 6 man rotation, especially beneficial (if not a bit scary overall). From my perspective, the others weren't so much "surprises" as getting confirmation some guys who hadn't played much, looked very much like they belong at this level, and will likely be successful starters (maybe even more): Devon Williams, the JC OL (Bass, MAL, Moore), Dorlus, Johnson at TE, Kattleman, maybe Sewell (cause you never really know, until you know), probably Hill. Some guys as well, who flashed, and probably would be on the list if the season were longer: Kris Hutson, Kristian Williams, Ware-Hudson, maybe DJ James. It would be awesome to have Dollars on there, it just is hard to do on an 8 carry season. Some guys maybe we would have loved to see more from OR more solid confirmation from (this year) - but will have to wait and see: Tyler Shough, Webb (hurt), Addison, Benson (hurt), Flowe (hurt), Adrian Jackson (hurt), Manning (hurt), Stephens, Tauanu'u. Edited January 5, 2021 by AnotherOD Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 9 Share Posted January 5, 2021 8 minutes ago, AnotherOD said: Interesting the many different thoughts. Your entire post was interesting, but that one sentence said it all. Aside from the players that stood out, this is a really hard season to figure out. I think that Duck fans should be the happiest in the conference, certainly more so than the whiny bunch up north. The Ducks are two time defending champions, the fact that they are crying about it makes me smile. For the second year in a row, the Ducks popped USC's bubble, in LA. What's not to like about that? Oregon State? Maybe, they actually are happier than is Oregon. For now, beating the Ducks makes their season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
