The Oregon secondary was hit quite hard in the offseason. Mykael Wright and Verone McKinley III moved on to the NFL, both eventually being picked up as undrafted free agents. Another important member from a year ago, D.J. James, is now over at Auburn after leaving in the transfer portal.

And back in Eugene, meanwhile, it’s an interesting mix of players who look to take over for what has been a fundamentally sound group in recent years.

How will this relatively new unit function in the new scheme?

On the corners, it will most likely be the transfer Christian Gonzalez leading the way while the veteran Bennett Williams comes back from a 2021 season filled with injuries. The rest of the supporting cast could fluctuate among many players, but with fall camp on the way, Lanning thinks there is an improvement to be made.

“We’re not there yet,” coach Dan Lanning said at Oregon football media day Wednesday when asked about the secondary. “I think we have guys that can play winning football, we have to figure out how much of our scheme they can pick up.”

Helping the group fit the scheme is new defensive backs coach Demetrice “Meat” Martin. He has already shown his recruiting expertise, helping land a handful of recruits in the 2023 class. How will his coaching background and familiarity with the Pac-12 mix with Lanning’s vision and help continue the talent level that Oregon has seen in its secondary?

As camp gets going Friday, I have some thoughts on how the group will fare.

Despite having to scramble together the 2022 recruiting class with little time to prepare, Lanning and his staff were able to excel in getting a future corps in the secondary. Two four-star corners from California (Jalil Tucker and Jahlil Florence) highlighted the class while two three-star safeties (Khamari Terrell and Trejon Williams) round out a potential future starting DB unit.

All four are on the roster and will provide depth to the veterans on the team. Following the impressive 2022 group is the 2023 class. The steady recruiting efforts have paid dividends for the new staff as the ‘23 class is set to add five more defensive backs to the roster, three of which are rated as four-star recruits (CBs Cole Martin and Caleb Presley and safety Tyler Turner).

Many players on the roster have the talent to become valuable rotational pieces, but whoever best fits the scheme will get the edge.

The Alamo Bowl was a passing of the torch moment for the young wide receiver group on the Ducks. The young freshmen, Dont’e Thornton and Troy Franklin, got their first glimpse of big-time minutes and did well in the spotlight. The final game of the 2021 season also gave an expanded opportunity to Dontae Manning, the former four-star cornerback from the 2020 recruiting class.

He appeared in just a single game in his first season but played in all but one last year. The Alamo Bowl played significance for Manning because it was his first start at the collegiate level. Mykael Wright's vacated corner position could easily fall to Manning in 2022. Both stand at 5-foot-11, with Manning having a little added muscle to help him play bigger.

If given the opportunity, Manning could become the next great Oregon defensive back. He is coming into his third year with the program and appears to be healthy after an injury scare earlier in spring camp. His 21 tackles and 1 pass breakup last season could be just a small tease of what is to come.