Now fully healthy, Terrance Ferguson is ready to lead Oregon’s revamped tight end room

Throughout the month of April, one injury highlighted just how worryingly thin Oregon’s depth at tight end was.

The Ducks’ star junior, Terrance Ferguson, was sidelined for the majority of spring ball with an undisclosed injury. At the time, UO was left with just two healthy, scholarship players at the position — fifth-year junior Patrick Herbert and true freshman Kenyon Sadiq.

Oregon scrambled to bolster its depth at the position in the short term, while Ferguson was forced to deal with the first long-term injury absence of his career.

“I’ve had some bumps and bruises, obviously, as it comes with football,” Ferguson said at Oregon’s media day on Monday. “But I’ve not really ever (been injured). … I prayed every day about it, and I had the lord bless me with a speedy, fast recovery. No problems.”

Now, with Ferguson fully healthy as the Ducks kick off fall camp this week, Oregon will look to rebuild its tight end room on the fly after losing Cam McCormick and Moliki Matavao to the transfer portal during the offseason. Ferguson, who earned honorable mention all-conference honors last season, has taken it upon himself to step up as a leader this summer.

“I think that’s something that I’ve really tried to attack and get better at,” Ferguson said. “We had a lot of new guys come in; me and Pat are really the two returners. So I’ve sat and talked with Pat about how we can make the room better and carry on the legacy of the tight ends. We’re always a tight-knit group. We do a lot of things off the football field. I sat down and told Pat that we need to hold this room to a higher standard.

“So, I’ve really been trying to work on leadership with a lot of the new guys coming in.”

In late April, Oregon landed former Ole Miss reserve Casey Kelly from the transfer portal to add depth at the position. They also added Kaden Ludwick, a former Colorado EDGE who has joined the Ducks as a walk-on tight end.

Kelly, who caught 28 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns in 19 career games for the Rebels, has also worked to lead by example since arriving in Eugene.

“I think I’m kind of al all-around (tight end) — I can block, I can catch, I can run,” Kelly said Monday when asked to describe his skillset. “I bring a different leadership; my leadership on game days, especially off the field, I think I’m very stern on what I want as a player for our team. I think that’s one of the qualities that I bring. I’m always going to go balls to the wall every single play.”

The X-factor for Oregon’s tight end room this season could be Sadiq, a 4-star signee who was the No. 118 prospect in the nation and the No. 6 tight end, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Sadiq has been heralded as a “freak” athlete during his brief time with the Ducks and gained plenty of valuable reps during spring ball.

“He’s just an athlete across the board — he’s super strong, fast quick,” Ferguson said. “Pound for pound, probably one of the best athletes on the team. … There were a couple of times when we would do some running during the offseason and I see him hawking people who are supposed to be fast.”

Last season Ferguson (444 snaps), McCormick (365), Matavao (335), and Herbert (219) all saw significant playing time in Kenny Dillingham’s offense. It’s unclear at this point if first-year OC Will Stein will opt to lean on his tight ends as frequently.

“T-Ferg’s a great player. That whole room I think we added some really quality depth,” Stein said. “You know, Terrance has done a great job of getting back to the point where he can go out there and practice and get himself ready to play against Portland State and he’s excited to see what he can do for us as well.”

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