On fourth down with the game and Oregon’s season on the line, Vernon Adams Jr. blindly tossed the football into the air with a hope and a prayer. It was in the dying seconds of a battle against Arizona State, and the Ducks needed to score a touchdown to bring on overtime.
As his quarterback was fighting to stay alive in the pocket, wide receiver Dwayne Stanford streaked across the field, shaking free of his defender just as the ball was released.
“Once Vernon threw the ball, I just wanted to get my hands on it,” Stanford said. “I knew I would get hit, so I pulled it in as tight as I could and tried to come down inbounds.”
Bouncing off Sun Devil defenders and his own teammate, Johnny Mundt, Stanford was able to haul in the touchdown that sent his team to the eventual 61-55 victory.
Moments like Stanford’s catch have been at a premium for the Ducks in a season where a talented receiving corps has been hamstrung by injuries and instability at the quarterback position.
Coming into the year, the receivers had one of the deepest squads on the team, though that has been diminished since. Senior Byron Marshall suffered a leg injury during a kick return against Utah, forcing him to undergo surgery. Devon Allen has been a shell of his former self as he continues to work back from a ligament tear in his right knee, an injury that hobbled a player who made his living as a burner. And Charles Nelson, who dominated early, was conscripted by the secondary to help fill the holes on defense.
“We have enough depth where if one guy does get nicked up, we still feel pretty good about the guys who are out there,” wide receivers coach Matt Lubick said.
More troubling was the issue at quarterback as the Ducks turned to a rotating cast of throwers, necessitated by Adams’ hand injury, to find someone to lead the offense. This resulted in Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie competing for the start, often switching out multiple times during the game.
“We have to deal with and make plays with whoever is out there,” Stanford said of the quarterbacks. “Whether that’s Lockie, Vernon, Taylor, Bralon, one of the o-linemen — we just got to make plays.”
Though the receivers backed up their teammates, the Oregon offense has been much better with Adams Jr. taking snaps. In the four games he’s been healthy, the aerial attack averaged 285.5 yards per game, better than the 176.3 average without him.
“We have a quarterback out there who can be Houdini at any time,” wide receiver Darren Carrington said of Adams.
With stability back at the quarterback position, the receivers have been getting opportunities to make big plays. During the Oregon two-game win streak, they have totaled 31 catches for 520 yards and six touchdowns.
“I think we are improving on the outside every week,” Lubick said. “More and more guys are getting opportunities.”
Each individual brings a different dynamic to the game. Bralon Addison works the short routes to get the ball then uses his craftiness to pull away, Stanford uses his big frame and soft hands to be a reliable target and Carrington has the speed to whip past corners for long receptions.
“As a group, we just try to be playmakers out there,” Stanford said.
Oregon is going to need as many plays as possible as it heads into the final stretch of games, but if the receivers’ performance of late is anything to go off of, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur