It’s finally game week for Oregon football.
During Monday’s press conference, head coach Willie Taggart previewed the 2017 season opener set for Saturday at Autzen Stadium against Southern Utah. Taggart appeared positive ahead of his first season in charge, and he is weary about the Ducks’ first opponents.
“Southern Utah is a feisty group, a team that plays hard,” Taggart said. “They’ve got some guys that can play on both sides of the ball. You watch them last year, when they played a program that was bigger than their team, they showed they can play with those guys. … It’s gonna be fun.”
Oregon’s depth chart was released ahead of Taggart’s press conference. The absence of Tyree Robinson, Taj Griffin and Brady Breeze are due to injuries. Taggart says they are “healing.”
Freshman wide receiver Johnny Johnson III was listed as a starter. He struggled early in camp, but he improved and took advantage of a thin receiver unit.
“He started catching footballs,” Taggart said. “Early on in preseason camp he was dropping a lot of passes but these last two weeks he’s been on fire. He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now.”
The quarterback starting spot is locked up by sophomore Justin Herbert, but the backup roles were still in limbo until today’s depth chart was released. Taylor Alie was given the nod as backup while Braxton Burmeister steps into the third slot.
“Both of those guys, Taylor and Braxton, have made tremendous improvements since spring ball,” Taggart said. “Neither of those guys got a lot of reps the way the quarterback situation was. … You see them get better every single day — been really impressed with both of them this last week.”
Royce Freeman and Henry Mondeaux were announced as captains following a team vote.
“They’re big time roles … you get voted on by your peers,” Taggart said. “I don’t think there’s any other award out there that they can get that’s better than being voted captain of the football team. It’s a big time award for those guys … I think both of those guys want to play here.”
The game on Saturday will be a telling point for the Ducks, especially for the coaching staff who will get the chance to evaluate their players in a real game for the first time this year.
“I think we’ll learn a lot about our football team,” Taggart said. “I’m like you all, I’m ready to see this team as well. They’ve practiced, they’ve done the things we’ve asked them to do. It’s time to go out and do it. I’m excited to watch our guys play. You learn so much about your team in the first football game.”
Taggart is especially excited to be on the Oregon sideline in Autzen, rather than when he stood on the opposition sideline while coaching at Stanford. The Cardinal lost, but the lasting memory for Taggart was the noise inside the 54,000-seat stadium.
“Gotta be like a snake pit when you come into Autzen,” Taggart said. “Our fans are loud, they make a difference. … It motivates your team.”
Ahead of this weekend’s game, the air quality in Eugene has taken a turn with smoke from forest fires entering the Willamette Valley. Taggart said that practice will still go according to plan, and the team will train regardless.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow