Fear not my friends. After many dark months of intense emotional pain and anguish, this long, national nightmare is over. That’s right, with the first practice of fall camp kicking off today, college football is officially back. Hallelujah!
While we’re still almost a month away from the season officially kicking off when the Eastern Washington Eagles invade Autzen Stadium on September 5th, today marks the first official move from the idle speculation of the offseason to actual, honest-to-goodness football.
The Oregon Ducks are coming off one of their best seasons in school history, which included a school-record 14 wins, a second National Championship game appearance in five years, and the school’s first Heisman Trophy winner. The only thing missing, of course, was a win in said Natty. Even with the departure of their award winning QB, expectations remain high in Eugene heading into this season, as the Ducks look to finally climb that last elusive mountain.
As is always the case in the ever evolving world of college football, there was a lot of change for the Ducks this offseason; seniors graduate, returning players step into new roles, and a new crop of freshman join the fray. It’s this constant state of upheaval that makes college football so unpredictable, and thus so much fun.
With that in mind, let’s take a moment, as they head into the first practices of the year, to celebrate the official arrival of the college football season by looking at the five of the biggest stories that could potentially shape the Ducks’ 2015 season.
The Return of Bralon Addison
After a breakout 2013 season, WR/PR Bralon Addison was poised to become the next in a long line of superstar offensive playmakers for the Oregon Ducks. Heading in to 2014, he was ready to establish himself as the go-to-guy for (then) Heisman Trophy hopeful Marcus Mariota, and was prepared to ascend to college football superstardom. At least, that was the plan.
A torn ACL during spring practice put an end to that plan, though, as Addison missed the entirety of the 2014 season recovering from surgery. Addison returns for his junior season (he redshirted last season) fully healed and is poised to deliver on all those expectations, albeit a year late. If Addison can indeed return to his pre-injury form (and all indications are that he can), that adds yet another in a long line of dangerous weapons on the outside for whoever ends up running the Ducks offense (more on that later).
Addison isn’t just a dangerous player catching balls and returning punts, though, and it’s that versatility that makes his return so exciting. He is also a deft runner out of the backfield, and as a former high school quarterback, serves as an intriguing run/pass option in such scenarios. Addison attempted 3 passes in this year’s spring game, completing all 3, including a 10-yard scoring strike to Darren Carrington. Expect to see that duel threat ability to pay dividends at some point this season, and lots of high fives to follow.
Impact True Freshmen
From DeAnthony Thomas to Bralon Addison to Arik Armstead to Royce Freeman, the Ducks have seen more and more true freshmen not just see the field in their first year on campus, but make major impacts. This year’s crop of recruits should be no exception.
On offense, look for versatile playmakers Kirk Merritt, Taj Griffin and Malik Lovette to battle over the opportunity to see the field in both the traditional running back and hybrid “TZR” roles. Merritt, the Nike SPARQ champion at recruiting mega-event The Opening, is probably the odds on favorite to break into the Ducks talented stable of skill players, but, all three have the ability to be a difference maker from day one. Also keep an eye on WR Alex Ofodile and OL Zach Okun, as both will have the opportunity to avoid a redshirt and get on the field sooner than later.
On the defensive side of the ball, mammoth defensive lineman Canton Kaumatule (6-7, 295) looks to work his way into the rotation along the defensive line (and continue the success of Hawaiian Ducks), and is almost assuredly going to see the field early and often. Along with Kaumatule, the next most likely to see immediate playing time on defense is highly touted CB Ugo Amadi. Amadi’s talent mixed with the Ducks uncertainty at the CB position give him an excellent opportunity to not just play, but, possibly even start in his first season in Eugene.
In addition, special teams is always a great way for freshmen to get on the field early if they have veterans above them on the depth chart at their primary position. One prime candidate to see action on kicking downs is S/LB Fotu Leiato. Leiato is a ferocious hitter and absolute ball hawk who seems tailor-made for kick and punt coverage duty. Also, look for the aforementioned trio of Merritt, Griffin and Lovette to potentially be in the mix for kick and/or punt return duties, as well.
What Position(s) Does Charles Nelson Play?
One of last year’s breakout players was true freshman Charles Nelson. Technically listed as a WR, Nelson first made his mark on special teams, where he displayed an uncanny nose for the ball in leading the team with 17 special teams tackles. He quickly began earning time on the offense, ending the year with over 1,000 yards in all-purpose yards and 7 TDs as a WR, RB, KR and PR, becoming a fan favorite in the process.
Yet, while his offense got all the headlines, Defensive Coordinator Don Pellum clearly took notice of Nelson’s proclivity to be in on what seemed to be every special teams tackle last season. So much so, that he successfully lobbied Nelson (and Head Coach Mark Helfrich) to make the move to the defensive side of the ball to help fill out the Ducks’ suddenly inexperienced secondary.
Nelson reportedly spent a majority of spring drills working as a cornerback, and it looked like the Ducks might have yet another ball-hawking defensive backs in place for the next few years. Then came the spring game, where the Ducks newest defensive back ended up racking up a game highs in catches (5), yards (144) and touchdowns (2), as well as a quote from Mark Helfrich that Nelson would “definitely” see time on both sides of the ball.
Most rosters still list Nelson as a DB, and it’s still possible that Nelson could provide the most value on that side of the ball. At the same time, he just may be the most versatile and explosive offensive player on a team full of them. It’s no doubt that Nelson will have a major impact on this upcoming season, it just remains to be seen where all he’ll be lining up along the way. Fall camp should provide some answers as to where he spends a majority of his time in 2015. Or, given the secrecy which typically surrounds practices in Eugene, it may only provide more questions. Only time (and Mark Helfrich) will truly be able to tell what lies ahead for the Ducks most versatile player.
Replacing Thomas Tyner
With news breaking yesterday that Ducks backup RB Thomas Tyner will likely miss the entirety of the 2015 season after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder, all of a sudden what was once considered maybe the most talented position group in all of college football is searching for some answers. While Royce Freeman proved last season that he was fully capable of carrying the load as a primary running back, the Ducks typically prefer to have two or three reliable ball carriers to lean on in their run-heavy offense. With the veteran Tyner now out of the mix, that suddenly opens up some question marks in the ducks offensive backfield heading into fall camp.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that there may not be a team in the nation better prepared to deal with the loss of a talent like Tyner. The Ducks have a plethora of options to step up and into a major role, starting with last year’s leading receiver Byron Marshall. Marshall, as most will remember rushed for over 1,000 yards as a sophomore in 2013, before moving to WR after the injury to Addison coupled with the emergence of Freeman. With a trio of freshmen receivers breaking out last year (Charles Nelson, Devon Allen and Darren Carrington) and the return of Addison, it would seem that the Ducks are well stocked out wide and could thus afford to slide Marshall back to primarily running back duties.
Of course, if the Ducks don’t want to ask Marshall to switch positions yet again, they have plenty of other options for backup running back duties, most notably from a quintet of highly touted freshman ready to show their worth. Beyond the aforementioned true freshmen trio of Merritt, Griffin and Lovette, there stands the pair of freshmen running backs in Kani Benoit and Tony Brooks-James who are coming off their redshirt year and are no doubt anxious to get on the field after a year served as practice fodder.
Keep particular eye on Brooks-James, a speedster who also dabbles as a sprinter on the National Championship winning University of Oregon track team and was named the 2014 scout team player of the year during his redshirt season. He’s the kind of small, shifty back that has found success in Eugene in recent years, and may remind Duck fans of another James who excelled on the scout team as a redshirt, before being unexpectedly thrust into a bigger role during his first season on the field. Of course, if Brooks-James can have even half the impact as a freshman as LaMichael James, you’d have to consider that a major win (to say the least).
Quarterback Battle
Ah, the main event. This is easily the most intriguing and headline grabbing storyline to follow this fall. Jeff Lockie, who spent the last two seasons as Marcus Mariota’s primary understudy, is the current frontrunner heading into camp. In fact, there really isn’t anyone currently on the roster who looks ready to compete with Lockie for the starting spot.
Of course, it’s that pesky word “currently” that is driving all the intrigue. That’s because there is another newcomer set to join the Ducks roster (possibly as early as this Friday) in senior transfer, and former Eastern Washington star-QB, Vernon Adams.
Adams used both his arm and legs to dominate the FCS competition over the past three seasons, amassing over 11,000 total yards and 121 total TDs in his three year career, including runner-up finishes for the Walter Payton Award (aka the “FCS Heisman”) in each of the past two seasons. And, it isn’t just Adams’ domination of the “little sisters of the poor” in the FCS division that has Duck coaches (and fans) excited. In his two games playing against Pac-12 competition, Adams showed that he was right at home playing with the “big boys” as he accounted for over 900 yards of total offense and 13 TDs in just two games as he led the Eagles to an upset win in Corvallis in 2013 and within a hair’s width of another last season in Seattle.
There’s no doubt that Adams’ physical abilities fit perfectly into the Ducks high-powered spread-option attack. The question is if those physical abilities will be able to overcome a late arrival at camp and the experience of Lockie, who will enter fall practice as the clear #1. That being said, Adams didn’t transfer to Eugene to finish his illustrious collegiate career riding the bench, so, conventional wisdom is that even if he doesn’t start in Week 1, he’ll eventually usurp the starting job at some point during the season. Of course, Jeff Lockie still may have something to say regarding that “wisdom.”
Needless to say, whoever eventually wins the starting job will have earned it, as both players seem more than capable of getting the job done. While that may make some uncomfortable as it brings about thoughts of a burgeoning “quarterback controversy” and the dreaded “platoon” at the games most important position. However, at the end of the day, competitions like this tend to bring out the best in both players, which is good news for Duck fans, regardless of who ends up ultimately winning the starting job.
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