What Does Oregon Still Need After Early Signing Day ?

[47sgs]

   Signing day has past.  We've added 30+ new players, many at positions of need, both through signing day and the portal.  Where are we still the weakest?  Where can we improve or upgrade positions?  What players are available still in the portal or second signing period that would help us in areas of need?

 

  I'm sure after spring practice, there will be another wave of players to enter the portal, so maintaining depth will need to considered as well.

[Mic]

Offensive linemen.  A team can never (imo) have too many good O-linemen as injuries are so prevalent there.  I cannot ever remember any coach at any level telling the media they were over-stocked on the O line.  And no other position, other than QB, can an injury or two destroy a team's playoff hopes.

[Lono]

A pass rusher. It usually takes a freshman a year or two to develop

[idontrollonshobbas]

Secondary......most glaring weakness last year and we lose our best players in Gonzo and Williams.  I am not sold on Manning. The Bama transfer helps if he gets on the field, but we are still shy at least 2 solid role players with him.

 

I am hoping that the front 7 emerges from the plethora of D linemen we now have plus the Brown/Taggart/Harrison/Bassa LB's.  But the backend needs buttressing.....no pun intended.

[Charles Fischer]

Oregon was looking at a JC center who is 6'2" and 325 lbs., and apparently they love how he can MOVE.  I recall the plays versus Arizona where Forsyth was out there on the edge blocking, and this center could do that.  And with his low center-of-gravity and weight--he would be hard for Nose Tackles to Bull-Rush.

 

And...I would like another quarterback, because we have gone through four in one season before.  (2007) Perhaps a PWO at another school who wants to learn?

 

Utah beat WSU in Pullman in a Thursday night game with a former walk-on QB, so they are out there.

[latracey]

One critical area I’d like to see Oregon improve on is the quality of their punters and kickers. Kicking the ball out of bounds on kick offs hurt the Ducks in several games. Punter errors contributed to losses.
 

Great teams have kickers  who consistently kick the ball in end zone on kick offs. Punter errors hurt us in the Washington loss and were instrumental in the loss to Oregon State. 

 

I know Oregon signed an Australian kicker who has never played organized American football and they are rumored to have a few others as preferred walk ons. Hmmmmm…

 

Some aspect of the kicking game has been a thorn in Oregon’s side for several seasons now. It’s a critical aspect of the game as evidenced by the loss to Oregon State. I hope Lanning and his special team coaches make it the recruiting priority it needs to be.
 

 

[OregonDucks]

Great question!

 

I’ll start off with the positions that I feel most confident in. Oregon is absolutely stacked at running back and wide receiver!  We might have the most talent and depth at those positions in Oregon’s history. 
 

At QB, I feel okay. I’d love to add a proven QB transfer like Hudson Card to back up Bo Nix but that seems unlikely. Adding a walk on QB or two would be a wise move, IMHO. 
 

I feel a lot better with the 3 offensive line transfer pickups. Those players should be able to step in right away and contribute. We also have some talent returning and hopefully they are ready to step up by the fall. 

 

I’m personally most concerned about all 3 levels on defense (DL, LB, secondary) with what we saw last year and the players that are leaving the program due to graduation or the NFL. We have a lot of scholarship players on defense, perhaps too many. However, are the players we have upgrades vs. last year, in the short term?