Second-year surge: Oregon cornerback Jahlil Florence

There is no shortage of excitement surrounding Oregon’s 2023 signing class ahead of Dan Lanning’s second season at the helm of the program.

But as the Ducks look to improve upon last year’s 10-3 finish, they are going to need several of their ’22 signees to make significant progress.

Oregon’s 2022 signing class — the first of the Lanning era — featured 17 commits and was the 11th-best in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. The group played sparingly, though; just six freshmen burned their redshirt last season, and only two exceeded the 100-snap mark.

With fall camp just around the corner, the ScoopDuck staff is taking a look at where each of Oregon’s second-year scholarship players might fit into the Ducks’ 2023 plans. First up is cornerback Jahlil Florence.

CB Jahlil Florence

Size: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds

On3 Industry Ranking: No. 120 overall, No. 15 cornerback, No. 8 in California

2022 stats: In eight games, Florence recorded eight total tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, and one forced fumble

Freshman year recap

Despite battling for playing time amongst a deep, young group of cornerbacks, Florence emerged as a consistent contributor for the Ducks as a true freshman and overtook Jalil Tucker, Avante Dickerson, and Darren Barkins on the depth chart.

Florence was Oregon’s most impactful true freshman last season by a wide margin. His 211 defensive snaps were 163 more than any defensive player from the ’22 signing class.

His best performance of the season came against BYU in Week 3 when he played 34 snaps against a talented group of receivers. A week later Florence played 15 snaps against Stanford and delivered another encouraging performance that garnered a PFF grade of 87.7.

He was hindered by an injury late in the year but bounced back with a strong showing against North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl.

The Buzz…

Florence spent the spring splitting reps at cornerback and nickel. While it’s unlikely that he spends meaningful game reps at nickel this season due to the sheer amount of options the Ducks possess there, the experience has been beneficial, according to Florence.

“Being a physical corner, you always want to be in the run action,” he said during an April interview. “It’s about versatility. You want a cover guy who can tackle as well. When the coaches said, ‘We need you at nickel’ I was available.”

Nearly all of Oregon’s defensive backs spent the spring cross-training at multiple positions in order to help Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi “consistently get their best 11 players on the field.”

“Certainly it’s helpful to the players and it’s helpful to the team when you can do multiple things,” Oregon special teams and nickels coach Joe Lorig said this spring. “You’ll see lots of guys back there. How it will shake out at the end of the day, I honestly don’t know right at this point. If you need him more at corner, you’ll have a different STAR, and if you have him more at STAR, you’ll have a different corner.

“You have to look at the balance of all those positions together and make sure you’re getting the best 11 on the field.”

In 2023…

Despite a bright showing from Florence during his true freshman campaign, playing time is far from guaranteed in 2023.

Trikweze Bridges played the third-most snaps among Oregon defenders last season and is expected to lock down one of the outside cornerback spots. Alabama transfer Khyree Jackson impressed during the spring and is aiming “to be the Ducks’ next lockdown corner.”

Former 5-star signee Dontae Manning is entering a make-or-break year with Oregon and will be looking to take hold of a starting job after playing just 242 snaps last season.

But Florence’s size, athleticism, and aforementioned versatility all make him an incredibly intriguing option in the Ducks’ secondary. He will undoubtedly be in the mix for significant playing time this fall.

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