When Willie Taggart arrived at Oregon in December, he had a message for all returning players: time to earn your spot.
Taggart wasn’t about to let Oregon repeat its mistakes after a tumultuous 2016 campaign where a reported lack of leadership and accountability inevitably doomed the Ducks’ season.
So far in his tenure, Taggart has made recruiting a focal point of the program in hopes of not only getting the best players, but players who will push returners who may have gotten too comfortable with their roles on the team.
As week three of fall camp wraps up, it’s apparent that approach is working. Some members of Taggart’s inaugural class have impressed Oregon’s staff enough for them to be discussed as potential starters.
Even though Oregon returns a seasoned core for its 2017 season, there should be no shortage of young players who will see significant playing time in the months to come.
“They got an opportunity to take somebody’s job,” Taggart said. “We’re giving them that and I think you’ll see a lot of freshmen play for us this year.”
While Oregon’s 2018 recruiting class is the one making headlines for its historically high ranking, it’s the quickly-compiled 2017 class that is already making an impact on the practice field. To some, it’s their talent that stands out most about this fall camp.
“They really look good coming in,” senior offensive lineman Jonah Moi said. “I mean, they’re just flowing into college practices and stuff and they look good.
“That’s what been most surprising for me, is how fast they are, how strong they are.”
Moi added that this group of freshmen has learned schemes and plays at a much quicker rate than he’s seen from freshmen in the past. He credits a lot of that to their work ethic — staying late at practice, for instance — and how they’ve listened to what upperclassmen are teaching them.
For some freshman, their talent alone has elevated them into conversations about starting roles. Defensive lineman Jordon Scott and corner Thomas Graham Jr., both who also impressed coaches during spring practices, are so far succeeding in their position battles against a slew of veterans.
While other freshmen, like defensive lineman Austin Faoliu and linebackers Sampson Niu and Isaac Slade-Matautia, don’t appear to be in the running to start, they should still be in line to receive a fair amount of playing time this season.
But for others, extended playing time may come out of sheer necessity. With the transfer of Travis Jonsen and the dismissal of Darren Carrington, depth at wide receiver and quarterback is thin.
On the surface, Oregon should be fine at those positions. Charles Nelson returns off a career year, Dillon Mitchell is set for a breakout season and Justin Herbert should improve from his freshman year. But it’s when you look past the first-string depth chart that questions arise.
At quarterback only former walk-on Taylor Alie has converted an in-game pass attempt. And aside from Nelson, Oregon’s returning wide receivers own a total of three collegiate receptions. The lack of depth at the position has even forced safety Brenden Schooler to the offensive side of the ball for the first time since high school.
Co-offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said that the newcomers are learning, but that they’re also “drinking out of a fire-hose right now” in terms of new information and schemes being thrown at them.
“90 percent of the wide receiver room … every guy that raises their hand in that room is in their seventh practice,” Arroyo said during the second week of fall practice.
Oregon possesses plenty of talented young players who may be forced into the starting lineup sooner than expected. Don’t be surprised if there are at least a few freshmen starting in the Ducks’ season opener on September 2.
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris