{"id":13442,"date":"2023-08-12T18:22:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T23:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=13442"},"modified":"2023-08-12T18:22:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T23:22:00","slug":"one-oregon-duck-listed-among-espns-top-50-newcomers-and-three-more-who-could-have-made-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/one-oregon-duck-listed-among-espns-top-50-newcomers-and-three-more-who-could-have-made-it\/","title":{"rendered":"One Oregon Duck listed among ESPN\u2019s top 50 newcomers \u2014 and three more who could have made it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week, ESPN released its list of the top 50 newcomers in college football<\/a><\/strong> ahead of the 2023 season. The list featured players from the 2023 signing class, as well as those who joined new programs via the transfer portal. <\/p>\n

Although Oregon spent the offseason overhauling its roster<\/a><\/strong> through the portal, the Ducks landed just one player on the list: EDGE Jordan Burch, a former 5-star signee who spent the past three seasons at South Carolina. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the rundown on Burch from ESPN\u2019s Tom VanHaaren:<\/p>\n

\u201cBurch was the No. 4 prospect in the 2020 class and signed with South Carolina after a strange recruiting process. He got off to a slow start at South Carolina<\/em> but had his best season in 2022 with 60 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. He\u2019s now playing for a defensive-minded coach in Dan Lanning and has an opportunity to help Oregon bring a pass rush element and a versatile defender upfront. If he can continue to improve, Burch should be a factor for the Ducks.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Burch was one of 11 players who have joined Pac-12 programs to appear on the list. Colorado receiver\/cornerback Travis Hunter landed at No. 1, Buffs\u2019 quarterback Shedeur Sanders was No. 3. There were several \u201923 signees listed who were heavily linked to Oregon during their recruitment, including South Carolina receiver Nyckoles Harbor (No. 30), UCLA quarterback Dante Moore (No. 36), and Oklahoma safety Peyton Bowen (No. 37). <\/p>\n

Sticking with the theme of impact newcomers, here are three more Oregon first-year players who deserved consideration for ESPN\u2019s list. <\/p>\n

S Evan Williams<\/h2>\n

Former Fresno State standout Evan Williams might not have been Oregon\u2019s gaudiest transfer portal addition. But he could prove to be one of the more impactful additions to Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi\u2019s defense. <\/p>\n

In 2022, Williams put his versatility on display and tallied 69 tackles and four pass deflections while spending significant time at nickel and both safety spots. <\/p>\n

A preseason second-team all-conference selection,<\/a><\/strong> Williams is projected to start at boundary safety and could provide some much-needed physicality for the Ducks\u2019 defense. Coaches and teammates have praised Williams for his football IQ and willingness to play \u201cdownhill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust how locked in he is to the game, always getting in extra work,\u201d Oregon linebacker Jeffrey Bassa said of Williams. \u201cHe\u2019s around the ball a lot and he\u2019s very physical as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

OL Ajani Cornelius<\/h2>\n

Oregon boasted one of the best offensive lines in the nation in 2022 but saw multi-year starters T.J. Bass, Ryan Walk, Alex Forsyth, and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu graduate at the end of last season. <\/p>\n

But the coaching staff quickly re-loaded its offensive line room by adding a flurry of impact transfers that included Ajani Cornelius (Rhode Island), Junior Angilau (Texas), and Nishad Strother (East Carolina). <\/p>\n

Cornelius has the highest ceiling of the bunch and could begin to skyrocket up NFL Draft boards if he produced a strong debut season with the Ducks. <\/p>\n

On3 tabbed Cornelius as the No. 1 offensive lineman<\/a><\/strong> and No. 8 overall player available during the previous transfer cycle. He\u2019s expected to start at right tackle for the Ducks, while sophomore Josh Conerly is slated to become the starting left tackle. <\/p>\n

DE Matayo Uiagalelei<\/h2>\n

Oregon features an abundance of top-tier talent along the front seven, with Burch, Brandon Dorlus, Popo Aumavae, and Casey Rogers all expected to produce all-conference-caliber seasons. <\/p>\n

But at this point, the Ducks are a bit thin on proven depth at edge defender. <\/p>\n

In that sense, blue-chip freshman Matayo Uiagalelei is going to be an integral figure for Lanning and Lupoi\u2019s defense this season. <\/p>\n

The No. 40 overall prospect in the 2023 class, Uiagalelei has had a tremendous fall camp thus far. Teammates have spoken glowingly of his athleticism and his maturity as a pass-rusher. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor a guy coming in as a freshman to be able to pick up the scheme like he has, once you know this scheme. \u2026 You\u2019re gonna be able to play a lot faster,\u201d Lanning said. \u201cHe has a lot of natural ability. But him picking that up, I think, that\u2019s allowed him to kind of excel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post One Oregon Duck listed among ESPN\u2019s top 50 newcomers \u2014 and three more who could have made it<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week, ESPN released its list of the top 50 newcomers in college football…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}