The old phrase goes, “Once a Duck, always a Duck” — but in this age of the transfer portal, does that even hold true anymore? Most teams have become revolving doors of players, and Oregon is no different as the UCLA Bruins have five former Ducks on their roster: Bryan Addison, Jaylin Davies, Jaylan Jeffers, Moliki Matavao and Keanu Williams. If you don’t remember all those names, you can be forgiven, as only three played any meaningful snaps during their time at Oregon.
Being an ardent Duck fan-our own Mr. FishDuck had to take some time away from his fun at NFL lines Vegas, and his study of the NFL to weigh in with me on how the transfer portal has muddied what school loyalty has become–for both the players and the fans.
The one name everyone remembers of the five transfers is Addison, as he seemed to make it his personal mission to punish Oregon at every opportunity. He did score the most points against Oregon with his pick-six at the end of the second quarter, and he had the right to celebrate that big play. Though the play for which Ducks fans resent him the most is an aggressive pass break-up on Terrance Ferguson that sent Ferguson to the sideline and then the locker room.
Addison seemed jubilant for his hit in something that was somewhat reminiscent of Vernon Adams‘ former Eastern Washington teammate laying into him for a targeting penalty and breaking Adams’ finger. However, what happened to Adams was rather uncommon, as he was a graduate transfer and running into your former team in an out-of-conference game was pretty rare.
But now in this transfer portal world, players are running up against their former teams all the time. UCLA may have had five former Ducks on their roster but Oregon had one Bruin in Dante Moore. Moore didn’t take a snap against his former team on Saturday night, and when a backup quarterback walked out for the final snaps of the game it was Austin Novosad. There is plenty of speculation swirling whether Novosad has beat out Moore for the No. 2 spot or not, but what is just as likely is that the coaching staff saw how rough the Bruins were playing and didn’t want to put Moore out there with a blatant target on his head, because it already felt like the Bruins were angry and were going head hunting.
Many Duck fans would be quick to disown Addison for how he went after his former teammates, and Addison himself may also distance himself from his Duck affiliation.
Cam McCormick could make the tough catch even as a redshirt freshman versus Arizona seven years ago (2017) when Willie Taggart was coach! (Photo by Eugene Johnson)
But what about a player like Cam McCormick? He is in his ninth year of eligibility. McCormick was with the Oregon program for so long that he was recruited by Mark Helfrich. Before transferring to Miami he played in Dan Lanning‘s first season with the Ducks in 2022, and is finishing his college career in Miami with his former head coach Mario Cristobal.
Is he still a Duck? He’s an Oregon native who spent a large portion of his life in Eugene, but he opted to leave and become a Hurricane just when he was actually starting to contribute on the field.
This question is certainly easier for players who choose to come to Oregon to finish their careers. As Duck fans we would all quickly own Adams, Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, Kyree Jackson and any of the numerous other transfers as forever Ducks. They came to Oregon and finished their college football careers with us, so of course they’re Ducks.
But in this transfer portal era, maybe we just say good-bye to former Ducks and don’t consider them our own anymore.
David Marsh
Portland, Oregon
Top Photo By Eric Becker
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah.
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David Marsh is a high school social studies teacher in Portland, Oregon. As a teacher he is known for telling puns to his students who sometimes laugh out of sympathy, and being both eccentric about history and the Ducks.
David graduated from the University of Oregon in 2012 with Majors in: Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, and Geography. David began following Ducks Football after being in a car accident in 2012; finding football something new and exciting to learn about during this difficult time in his life. Now, he cannot see life without Oregon football.