No matter whom it is you choose to talk about, the playmakers for Oregon’s football team can all be characterized by one word: selfless.
Individually, these Oregon athletes are some of the more well-known names in the Pac-12, but when combined, they make up arguably the most formidable group of playmakers in the nation.
Oregon’s offense is among the best in the nation, finishing fifth in scoring offense last year and averaging 48.5 points this year. This group makes up three-fourths of the Ducks’ offensive production.
“There’s no doubt how talented we are with our skill guys — but what sets them apart is how they have to earn every play that comes their way,” Oregon offensive coordinator Matt Lubick said. “They’re a very special group but it’s more than that with them.”
Wide receiver Devon Allen and running back Tony Brooks-James are the speedsters. Allen, the U.S. champion in the 110-meter hurdles who finished fifth at the Rio Olympics, has showcased that speed on the field throughout his career by averaging 17 yards per catch. Brooks-James, a member of Oregon’s 4×100-meter relay team, uses his elite speed to put continued pressure on defenses.
Running back Royce Freeman and wide receiver Darren Carrington are the NFL prospects. Freeman currently ranks third in Oregon history in career rushing yards and is averaging 9.2 yards per carry this season. Carrington is the go-to for Oregon quarterbacks, consistently coming up with catches in big-time situations and winning one-on-one scenarios with his size and speed.

“To us, it doesn’t matter who’s getting the touches on offense — we don’t have to prove anything to anybody as long as we get the wins,” Freeman said. “We have so many guys who can do so many things that we all can’t get the ball. But it doesn’t bother us — all that matters is winning.”
Tight end Pharaoh Brown and wide receiver Dwayne Stanford are the veterans. Brown had a breakout year in 2014 when he was named first team All-Pac-12 after catching six touchdown passes and averaging 16.8 yards per catch. A devastating knee injury cost him the end of 2014 and all of 2015, but his return was solidified after scoring last week against Virginia. Stanford is a possession receiver who seems to make the most of his contributions when plays break down or in the blocking game, a very important staple of Oregon’s offense.
Finally, Charles Nelson is Mr. Everything. Listed at 5-foot-8 and weighing 170 pounds, Nelson is a dynamo who plays bigger than anybody. He’s so versatile that he played safety and receiver last year for the Ducks before converting full-time to offense this year as a running back and receiver.
“My thing with those guys is I don’t want to be able to tell who scored the touchdown by how excited you are, ” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said. “They take a great deal of pride in that.” 

Each one of these athletes were the stars of their respective high school teams. All of them passed up opportunities for bigger roles at other colleges to come to Oregon and be another piece of the puzzle.
“That’s just the culture we’ve built here and what we want to keep here — everybody will get theirs within this offense but all that matters is that we win,” Brown said. “We have so many guys who can do stuff with the ball that you don’t realize how guys are doing [stat-wise] because we just keep scoring.”
Quarterback Dakota Prukop joined the Ducks this year as a graduate transfer and says he’s never played with a group like this before.
“It’s a neat deal to line up at quarterback, look to your left and right and have 100 percent confidence in every player at every position — not a lot of guys can say that,” Prukop said. “Most guys are going out there looking for their one guy; we have four or five of those guys.”
Prukop first noticed how special this unit was during fall camp. According to him, each position group was to come up with three words that define them and then explain to the team why those words were chosen. One of the words the receivers chose was “respect.” What surprised Prukop even more was the explanation as to why that word was chosen.
“They talked about the respect they had for each of the individual’s own skill sets — how Charles is the speedy, quick guy, how Dwayne and Darren are the big possession receivers,” Prukop said. “It was cool to hear them talk like that and see how much respect they have for each other. They do put that ego aside and that’s what allows us to have a great team.”
Lubick knew how good the playmakers were early on when he was at Oregon.
“What makes these guys happy is winning football games. From day one they’ve understood that team goals are more important than individual goals and they live and play by that,” Lubick said. “We have a very selfless group — they get what we are about here as a culture and they’ve not just embraced it, they’ve thrived in it.”
Follow Ryan Kostecka on Twitter @Ryan_Kostecka