[2022] Oregon Preview

[HAFFnHAFF]

 

Spirits are high in Eugene, Oregon as the Ducks have finally landed a head coach for the 2022 season. Many thought the day would never come and didn't pay any attention to the team, but with the new hiring, football fever has finally descended. Let's take a look at how the 2022 roster compares to the 2021 Pac XII Championship winning roster.

 

Quaterback: 3* QB Robert Sims has graduated and been replaced by a new 3* Sr Nathan Frazier Jr. Last season Sims underwhelmed as a passer, completing only 52.4% of his passes and throwing for just shy of 2,000 yards, but he was electric as a rusher amassing 757 yards on the ground. Frazier doesn't have the scrambling ability that Sims brought to the table so the Ducks will be pinning their offensive hopes on his arm.

 

Running Back: 4* RB Jerry Lawson returns for one final ride in Oregon after putting up 2,250 yards on the ground and 394 yards in the air with 20 total TDs last season. He will be the workhorse while 4* So Ulrick Kahnle plays the lighting to Lawson's thunder.

 

Wide Receiver: 4* speed demon Akrum Robinson graduated and leaves a huge hole in his wake. He reeled in 1,309 receiving yards and 14 TDs last season. The rest of the team combined only put up 839 yards and 6 TDs. Malcolm Tillman will reprise his role as WR2 while Jr. Marshal Bell will attempt to fill the rather large shoes of Robinson.

 

Tight End: 3* Isaiah Alburquerque is gone but 4* Jr. Shawn Meeks looks more than ready to step into his shoes. Alburquerque wasn't particularly productive last season with only 153 yards, so Meeks should be able to provide more of a presence on the offense.

 

Full Back: What is a fullback?

 

Offensive Line: 4 of the 5 offensive line starters from last season graduated. 4* OT Quincy Christian, 3* OG Deone Marte, 3* C Kevin Alcantara, and 2* OG Deon Jamerson all graduated while only 4* OT Luis Hernandez did not graduate.

LT 4* Sr Luis Hernandez

LG 4* Jr Steven Bryant

C 3* C Aaron Marshall

RG 3* So Rondae Miller

RT 3* Jr Dee Gray

 

Starting 4 new offensive linemen, your QB, and the guy who had 61% of your receiving yards. What could possibly go wrong?

 

Defensive End: 4* Sr Andres Harrison graduated after a 7 TFL, 3.5 sack season while his running mate Omar Leroux returned for his senior season following a 9.5 TFL, 1.5 sack, 2 FF effort in 2021. He will be joined by 4* So Vandal Person who did notch a sack and a TFL in limited playing time last season.

 

Defensive Tackle: Similarly to DE, DT saw 1 starter graduate (Christin Turner) and 1 return (Pedro Cothren). Turner had 15 TFL, 2.5 sacks, and 2 FF last season while Cothren had 11 TFL and 3 sacks. Cothren will be joined in the trenches by 4* Jr. Kyle Mengden this season. Mengden had 5 tackles last season as a rotational DT.

 

Outside Linebacker: Last year's starting duo was 2* Sr Rod Velez and 3* Jr Greg Horford. Velez had 36 tackles and 7 TFL while Horford had 44 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, and 2 FF. This year Horford will be joined by 3* Jr Eddie Davis who had 4 tackles last season.

 

Inside Linebacker: Kyle Burns was the heart and soul of the Duck defense last season, racking up 75 tackles and 2 TFL. Unfortunately, he passed that chemistry class after all and was allowed to graduate leaving a huge hole in the middle of the defense. His shoes will be filled by 4* Sr. Steven Brown this season.

 

Cornerback: The starting CB duo from last season, DeSean Williams and Josh Webb, both graduated. Williams recorded 42 tackles and 1 FF while Webb had 8 tackles, 1 FF, and 1 INT. CB3 and CB4 from last season, Nevin Koufos and Quinterrius Koo not only made the all-name team for the Pac XII, but they also were productive last season with Quinterrius Koo notching 2 INTs. This season Koufos and Koo will be the starting CB duo with Breshad Davies manning the slot.

 

Free Safety: Playmaker Thon Burris graduated following his 39 tackle, 2 TFL, 1 FR, 4 INT season. He has been replaced by 3* Sr. Garrett Cook for the 2022 campaign.

 

Strong Safety: Mike Adams is the lone strand of continuity in the Duck secondary, returning for his senior year after a 59 tackle, 2 TFL, 1 FF effort a year ago.

 

Punter: Joseph Mitoctic returns off of a strong freshman campaign where he averaged 54 yards per punt and downed 58.9% of his punts inside the 20.

 

Kicker: 2* Sr. Da'Norris Byrd graduated last season. He had a rough year, only hitting on 90.5% of his PATs and 68% of his FG attempts. despite his accuracy issues, he did have more makes from 50+ than misses including his career-long of 54 yards. Fortunately, he took the student portion of student-athlete very seriously and is now in medical school. He will surely make a much better doctor than a kicker. He has been replaced by 2* Sr. Weston Beckham, mostly so coach HAFFnHAFF can slap him on the back and tell him to, "bend it like Beckham" prior to every FG attempt.

 

Overall it could be a rough year for the Ducks, who saw 7 offensive starters and 7 defensive starters graduate. The continuity of the team and of the coaching staff was severely compromised, but there is strong reason for optimism about the future. Oregon seems to have landed a powerhouse coach in Coach HAFFnHAFF, who just yesterday coached his B league girls flag football team, Show Us Your TDs, to the flag football championship. It remains to be seen if his coaching skills will translate from the intramural fields.

 

With a recruiting class from last year featuring 11 4* prospects, including the QB and RB duo of the future, Oregon is in good shape long term. However, in the short term they sit at 0-1 with a long trip to Hawaii on the horizon for week 3.

[Sarge]

Awesome write up and I'm super excited you're taking over Oregon. Hopefully we can get each other on the schedule sometime.

[HAFFnHAFF]

Thanks! I bet we can set something up down the road!

[subsequent]

Full Back:

What is a fullback?

 

 

Former Texas State Full Back Ryan Johnson stares down Coach HAFFnHAFF