Could Kyler Kasper be Oregon's Breakout Wide Receiver in 2023?
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With spring football a little over a month away for the Oregon Ducks, a lot of us are wondering who will be the stars of next year's team.
As is usually the case, there will be a mixture of returners and new faces that will help Dan Lanning and the Ducks contend for a Pac-12 title and beyond.
Looking at the wide receiver position specifically, Oregon returns a number of talented players, with Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson headlining the group. Junior Adams also added Traeshon Holden from Alabama and Keyonteze Johnson from Troy via the transfer portal.
In the 2023 recruiting cycle the team also signed All-American wide receivers Jurrion Dickey and Ashton Cozart, who's already enrolled early.
READ MORE: Texas RB James Peoples talks final schools with Oregon visit in the works
Today we're focusing on Kyler Kasper and how he stacks up in the wide receiver room heading into next season. Kasper enters his redshirt freshman season after appearing in just three games as a true freshman and catching one pass for four yards.
Kyler Kasper goes through drills at Oregon football practice.
Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest
Starting off with his frame, the Gilbert, Arizona native gives the offense something no other wide receiver does. Listed at 6'6" and 193 pounds on the 2022 roster, he's now closer to 200 pounds and is the tallest player at his position.
If you've followed recruiting you know that he has elite athleticism. Throughout his high school career he'd post clips ripping down acrobatic dunks on the basketball court and highlight catches on the football field at Williams Field High School and with Tucson Turf on the 7on7 circuit.
He probably has the largest catch radius of any wide receiver on the roster and he has strong hands to pair with his athleticism, which help him to come down with 50/50 balls and contested catches in traffic.
Kasper also has great body control. He's not just a tall player running around out there. We didn't get to see much of it last season, but his high school tape shows he knows how to get the most out of his skillset.
Oregon loses Chase Cota from a year ago, a 6-foot-4 wide receiver that was Bo Nix's No. 2 target, which could open up an opportunity.
There's going to be plenty of competition in this room, but Kasper looks like he's up for the challenge. After Troy Franklin emerged as the dominant wide receiver on last year's squad, Kasper is someone to keep an eye on in spring.
Kyler Kasper poses with Oregon CB Cole Martin during a visit to Eugene inside Autzen Stadium.
At the time of his commitment it was certainly a bonus that Kasper reclassified to join the team for the 2022 season, but that could also be part of the reason we didn't see him much as a true freshman.
He got to college almost an entire year earlier than expected and that's not an easy jump to make. Now he's had an entire football season and will have an entire offseason under his belt heading into the 2023 season.
Junior Adams has been a home run hire thus far and his coaching should help him take his game to a new level.
Kyler Kasper poses with wide receivers coach Junior Adams during a visit to Oregon.
I'm not sure if he'll start based on the experience and production that's also in that room, but he should be firmly in the mix and could become a go-to option on offense, especially in the red zone alongside Terrance Ferguson, who made a name for himself as one of the most dominant tight ends in the Pac-12 last year.
READ MORE: 2024 EDGE Jaxson Jones locked in with Oregon
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