Seven practices into fall camp, it's apparent that this could be a special year for the Oregon Ducks.
They placed four players in the Pro Football Focus College Football Top 50.
The newcomers to the roster are pretty good too. Rivals analyst Adam Gorney recently named his six freshmen most likely to make an immediate impact, and his list included three Ducks, cornerback Mykael Wright, receiver Mycah Pittman and DE/OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Other freshmen like Sean Dollars and safety Jamal Hill have been showing out in early drills.
PAC-12 writers picked the Ducks to win the North Division in a narrow vote over Washington. National polls pick them anywhere from 9th to 14th.
The accolades and preseason attention are nice, but what truly matters is prevailing on game day and surviving a tough schedule. At the conference media day in late July Troy Dye said, "We have the talent, we have the culture, we have the facilities," he said. "We’re just trying to put it all together."
A big part of putting it all together is crafting an answer at wide receiver. Herbert's numbers suffered last season because of grievous inconsistency at wideout. Drives stalled and touchdowns were missed. It's the most glaring question mark on the Oregon roster, by far. At offensive line, quarterback and running back, the offense is loaded.
Early drills suggest the rebuild in the group is ahead of schedule. After Thursday's practice DSA's A.J. Jacobson noted, "Every time I watch the WR group I get excited. So much athleticism, so many guys who have the potential to be very good."
Pittman is proving himself to be an ultra-reliable target with exceptional work habits. He sets the pace in practice and afterward, staying to study film of himself, great NFL receivers and opponents, often three to four hours a day.
It builds the confidence of the entire team when they witness plays like these:
Graduate transfer Juwan Johnson continues to establish himself as a leader in the wide receiver room, the first to take a rep and the most likely to take an extra one. He's going to be a big weapon for Herbert in the red zone with his 6-4, 231 frame and exceptional catch radius.
This could be the year where instead of hurting their quarterback by flubbing routine plays, the receivers help him by making tough plays. That could translate to a huge boost in productivity and scoring. Complaints about playcalling and predictability might dissipate altogether.
New position coach Jovon Bouknight is a technician and a taskmaster, a positive force who consistently and constantly emphasizes the details. He has them getting off the line better, runner sharper routes, recognizing the defense and framing the football.
Herbert can lay the ball out there. He just needs receivers who can reliably go get it. As a unit they have to strive for "a hive mind," the kind of altered-states-of-consciousness connection Navy Seals achieve in preparing for a mission, unspoken communication, synchronized movements, a oneness of purpose and performance. It allows them to operate as one under pressure. Some researchers call this "a flow state." Sports teams achieve it when they are painstakingly diligent about preparation, fiercely committed to the same goals, and ruthlessly indifferent to who gets credit.
Additionally, it's a great benefit for the Oregon secondary to work out daily against bigger receivers like Johnson and redshirt freshman Bryan Addison, 6-5, 190. That's been a bugaboo in past seasons, the one-on-one matchup with hard-to-cover targets like N'Keal Harry and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, two Duck killers who have thankfully gone on to the NFL.
In contrast to recent seasons Keith Heyward's secondary is impressively deep, with 7 scholarship cornerbacks and seven scholarship safeties. There's good length and physicality, plus two very confident and athletic starting cornerbacks in Thomas Graham and Deommodore Lenoir, both now with two years starting experience. They've transformed from picked-on freshmen to lockdown NFL prospects.
Everywhere the Ducks have improved depth, strength and competition. You can readily see the vision taking place. What remains is to sustain it, to stand and deliver when the lights go on. That's what we're waiting to see, whether they can play with poise, passion, and flow, and whether their coaches have improved at self-evaluation and in-game adjustments.
