When Oregon faced Washington State last weekend, the Ducks lost more than just the game. In the third quarter, when the game was beginning to get out of hand, senior linebacker Johnny Ragin III went down, clutching his left leg after a tackle. Trainers rushed to help him off the field and Oregon’s leading tackler was carted away.
But Ragin exiting the game seemed to light a fire under the Ducks, who played some of their best defense of the game after his injury.
“I’d say that helped us a little bit — not helped us in terms of like him getting hurt — but as far as like emotionally, I feel like it did,” linebacker A.J. Hotchkins said. “[It] kinda gave us a spark. I feel like in the third quarter, we started playing a little better on defense, started getting stops, and from there, we just started to compete a little bit more.”
Head coach Mark Helfrich also praised his team’s reaction, saying they didn’t get down on each other and kept fighting.
“I was really proud of our reaction to that and how the guys stuck together and competed through that,”Helfrich said. “Obviously injuries are the worst thing about this whole deal, but how they stuck together was very encouraging.”
Despite Oregon’s positive play after he left the game, Ragin’s injury turned out to be serious. According to a report by the Register Guard earlier this week, Ragin will miss the rest of the season.
This is another huge blow for a struggling Oregon defense, which is already dealing with injuries to prominent members of the defense like Hotchkins and defensive lineman Jalen Jelks and Drayton Carlberg.
Ragin was also an emotional leader for this Ducks team. He was part of the group of senior leaders that addressed the team following losses to Nebraska and Colorado.
He also has a team-high 29 tackles this season.
“His presence on the field and in the locker room will be missed sorely but the next guy has got to step up,” Oregon linebackers coach Don Pellum said.
“Whoever is on the field is going to have to do a little more. Because Johnny was really good at seeing a real big picture and being like a coach,” Pellum said. “So everyone else is going to have to grow up faster now.”
The question now turns to who will fill the Ragin-sized gap at the weakside linebacker.
At the time of his injury, Oregon was rotating about “five or six guys” at the position, according to Pellum. De’Quan McDowell, Ragin’s backup in the Washington State game, finished the game admirably with four tackles. He could be in line for more minutes in Ragin’s palce. Freshman La’mar Winston could also be a beneficiary of this situation.
Ragin has remained a vocal leader at practice this week despite not being able to play. Linebacker Jonah Moi said that everyone has been stepping up in Ragin’s absence, both freshmen and veterans alike.
“There’s definitely a lot of young guys stepping up,” Moi said. “The DB’s are talking a lot more, you know the older guys, Reggie [Daniels], Tyree [Robinson], just getting us lined up.”
That’s a good sign for the Ducks as they will welcome No. 5 Washington to Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris
Johnny Ragin’s injury means next man up for Oregon defense
Gus Morris
October 5, 2016
Taylor Wilder
Oregon Ducks linebacker Johnny Ragin III (27) adjusts his mouthguard while warming up. The No. 2 Oregon Ducks play the California Golden Bears at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California on October 24, 2014. (Taylor Wilder/Emerald)
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