Our Oregon Ducks football program has seemingly become a recruiting powerhouse overnight. The team was already great, but now they’re a top choice to win the whole thing. Kirk Herbstreit was so bullish on the Ducks this past week, he said, “I may have Oregon winning it all.” At this point, there’s a ton of validity to how highly he thinks of the Ducks, and you can’t blame him after their off-season performance under Dan Lanning.
This roster’s elite, top to bottom. Players have flocked in from all over through recruiting, transfers, and development on the roster. While there’s a clear starter at basically every position (barring a few battles between elite talent), the Ducks do have one group that will certainly need work over the next twelve to sixteen months: tight end.
Ferguson has been a cornerstone of this offense for a few years now – Photo By Craig Strobeck
Terrance Ferguson has led the tight end group for the past couple of years, but this position will need a revamp soon. Justin Herbert’s brother, Patrick Herbert, is also entering his senior season as a reliable second option, and 2024 should be a season in which their skills aren’t necessarily the focal point of the offense anyway. However, their red zone dominance cannot go unnoticed and has to be replaced in the seasons to come. Bo Nix turned Ferguson into one of his most reliable threats in the endzone, reeling in 13 touchdowns in his time at Oregon.
It doesn’t help that four-star recruit Da’Saahn Brame has flipped to Tennessee, leaving the Ducks without another tight end threat that was going to bolster their depth chart in the future. Still, Lanning has plenty of time to work his magic and start to find an alternative option in the next 12 months. Players like Kyle Pitts and Brock Bowers are going to be the standard for what Lanning needs to recruit in the future for this team to continue to excel, and with what he’s done this offseason, there’s no reason to start doubting him over one de-commit here and there. Lanning has been the reason that Oregon has flourished on the field and off it – expect to see this group of tight ends excel in 2024, and expand in 2025.
Anyway, enough from me, Oregon fans. Is tight end really the weakest position group on the team? How do you feel about this tight end room now, and how do you see Lanning making things happen next season to bolster the offense? Let us know in the FishDuck Forum with decorum.
Go Ducks!
Alex Heining
Los Angeles, California
Top Photo By: Craig Strobeck
Alex Heining is an Oregon alumni from the graduate class of 2021. After studying sports business and media studies, he has moved into the field of digital marketing as a copywriter and content manager in the Los Angeles area. Still, he loves his Ducks and goes to local high school games all over the Los Angeles and Orange County area to check out new recruits of the future (and a SoFi game or two with the pros). On any given Saturday, expect to find him doing martial arts, playing the guitar, or screaming at the tv over a missed holding penalty.