Arik Armstead at 6’8″, joins 6’7″ DeForest Buckner, and 6’9″ Stetzon Bair on the D-line
courtesy Amazing Moments Photography
As the 2013 off-season grinds along, it’s high-time to take a look at how the Ducks spring roster stacks up against 24 other programs in the country. After all, the 2012 Fiesta Bowl champion Oregon Ducks were among the very largest in the country a season ago, but has that changed? For reference, this list is assembled using roster data from ESPN.com, Foxsports.com, and identifying a “large” player as an individual 6’5″ or taller and/or 300 pounds or more. The numbers represent the total number of large players on the teams’ respective roster.
Keep in mind that in virtually all respects a 6’4″ 299-pound player is certainly big, but this list attempts to focus only on the very largest.
It might also be interesting to revisit this topic again when more accurate fall rosters are released.
Here are the numbers as they stand today:
| Florida State Seminoles |
26 |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
26 |
| Oregon Ducks |
24 |
| Georgia Bulldogs |
24 |
| Nebraska Cornhuskers |
24 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide |
22 |
| Stanford Cardinal |
22 |
| Michigan Wolverines |
22 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes |
21 |
| Clemson Tigers |
21 |
| Virginia Cavaliers |
20 |
| Texas Longhorns |
20 |
| Oklahoma Sooners |
20 |
| Texas A&M Aggies |
19 |
| Tennessee Volunteers |
18 |
| LSU Tigers |
17 |
| Oregon State Beavers |
17 |
| West Virginia Mountaineers |
16 |
| Northern Illinois Huskies |
16 |
| Florida Gators |
16 |
| Washington Huskies |
14 |
| USC Trojans |
14 |
| Arizona State Sun Devils |
13 |
| Boise State Broncos |
7 |
| UCLA Bruins |
6 |
For the second straight season, Florida State has the highest total number out of the 25 selected schools. Also, the Ducks again hold their own in a three-way tie for second.
The items that stood out in my eyes were:
- Oregon’s first road opponent, Virginia, is right up there with the very biggest teams in the country with 20 players.
Jim Mora, Jr.
– UCLA, with just six, had the fewest players of the 25 schools that were reviewed.
– Last season’s BCS buster/road kill, Northern Illinois, has the same number of these players as Florida and West Virginia, and more than USC and Arizona State.
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Josh White has been a dedicated Duck fan since the Bill Musgrave days. He has attended (and lost his voice at) virtually every home game and many away games since the late 1980’s, including 96 of the current 97 game sellout streak at Autzen Stadium. A Eugene native, Josh works full time in Eugene area real estate, helping people buy and sell residential and commercial properties, and also volunteers with Habitat For Humanity, Kidsports and Food For Lane County. He welcomes your feedback.
Twitter: @WhiteHouseJosh
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