Three Key Oregon cornerback storylines ahead of fall camp 2023
Fall camp is just around the corner for the Oregon Ducks ahead of Dan Lanning’s second season at the helm of the program.
After a 10-3 finish in 2022, Lanning and his staff went to work this offseason overhauling the Ducks’ roster to fit their vision. Oregon will welcome a 30-player signing class that ranked eighth nationally, and it has also added 14 players by way of the transfer portal.
It goes without saying that the 2023 version of Lanning’s Ducks will look vastly different than the 2022 iteration.
As we inch closer to August, the ScoopDuck staff has identified three prominent storylines regarding each of Oregon’s position groups.
Next up, the cornerbacks.
Who starts?
This is arguably the most intriguing position on Oregon’s roster as we head into fall camp.
Star cornerback Christian Gonzalez produced an incredible debut season for the Ducks in 2022 but has moved on to the NFL. Trikweze Bridges is back after starting opposite Gonzalez last season but is going to have a ton of competition for game snaps.
Bridges, Dontae Manning, Khyree Jackson, Jahlil Florence, and Nikko Reed will all begin August with reason to believe they can win a starting job.
“We think iron sharpens iron,” Dan Lanning said during an April 23 media availability regarding the Ducks’ practice intensity. “You want to create that competitive environment in practice each day, you want to make it tough.”
That will absolutely be the case for the Ducks’ cornerback room this fall. Position coach Demetrice Martin is not going to lack for options this season. It’s going to be really intriguing to see how the two-deep shakes out.
The incoming transfers
Once Gonzalez departed for the NFL Draft last winter, Oregon immediately shored up the cornerback position by adding Jackson via the transfer portal. While he played just 64 snaps at Alabama last season, the 6-foot-3 senior is a very good athlete who brings physicality to the position.
Jackson’s transition to the Oregon program was a smooth one. He had a very good spring and stood out during the Ducks’ spring game.
“(Alabama) has a very similar style of defense,” Martin said of Jackson in April “Our defense isn’t probably free-agent friendly. So guys who have been in the system, know some of the terminology and fits, and adjustments, they usually thrive.”
After spring ball ended, the Ducks also added former Colorado starter Nikko Reed via the portal. The 5-foot-10 true junior racked up 42 tackles, one sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and seven pass breakups for the Buffs last season.
He was among the 14 Oregon players who received preseason all-conference honors.
We’ll get a better sense during fall camp about how Reed and Jackson each fit into Oregon’s plans. But both appear to be impactful additions to what was widely considered to be the Ducks’ greatest position of need during the offseason.
Impact freshmen
Oregon 4-star cornerback signees Rodrick Pleasant and Daylen Austin are two of the more exciting players from the Ducks’ 2023 signing class.
Pleasant was the No. 98 overall prospect in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, and Austin was the No. 109 prospect. Both are phenomenal athletes, but neither was with the Ducks during spring ball. So, it’s difficult to know at this point how ready they might be to contribute as true freshmen.
In Pleasant, the Ducks have one of the fastest athletes in the nation. Austin possesses electric speed, too, and clocked a 10.82 100-meter dash in high school.
Playing time certainly won’t be easy to come by for either of them in 2023 due to the quality of Oregon’s returning players and incoming transfers. But both Pleasant and Austin will absolutely be worth keeping tabs on during fall camp.
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