Oregon's Drew Mehringer Doesn't Hold Back on Evan Stewart's Confidence

Oregon Ducks fans will love what offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer had to say about Ducks receiver Evan Stewart.

Oregon tight ends coach Drew Mehringer works with players during practice with the Ducks Wednesday, Aug. 14 2024 at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Throughout his coaching tenure, new Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer has had the pleasure of working with many of college football's best coaches. He's also worked with a number of talented wide receivers, but perhaps none more confident than Oregon's Evan Stewart.

As Stewart looks to return from an injury that sidelined him for all of 2024, Stewart's offensive coordinator offered insight into his personality in fall camp:

Everything Drew Mehringer Said

Evan Stewart’s Confidence

Dec 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart (7) poses during Rose Bowl media day at Sheraton Grand LA. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

“Evan's grown so much in the sense that his cockiness doesn't turn into arrogance at all. He has confidence in his ability to go do it, but he wants to be coached, and he wants to get better, and he wants to develop. He doesn't want to walk off the practice field, and nobody said anything to him about how he can improve his performance. So he's a lot of fun to be around. He rarely has bad days. He's got a big smile on his face. He dances, and you know he sang all the lyrics to Party in the USA or something like that last night, right? Like, just like you know, and just he's a stud. I love being around Evan.”

“Evan does not lack confidence at all. Certainly, you know, I don't know what his TikTok following is or whatever it is, but I'm sure it's quite a bit from what I've been told on a TikToker by any stretch. But I do think that, you know, we listened to a Jocko Willink video today, and he was talking about whenever he goes in to perform, right? He's like 'I do get a little bit cocky because I want to believe in myself that I can go do that,' and I feel like Evan walks around with that all the time.” 

Oregon offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer during a press conference on March 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Working With Coach Dan Lanning

“I've been fortunate enough to work with a lot of great, great coaches in my life, some that have made some very lasting impacts. I think as the head coach, it's very hard. You walk a very fine line of demanding, right, not only from the players and your staff, but also being approachable, and that's very hard.”

“I think a very hard line for people to walk, and I think Dan does it almost effortlessly. And the same guy that will hold a staff meeting and hold all the staff, you know, the coaches accountable, like this wasn't good enough at practice. We've got to be better. Is the same guy that will crack a joke with you an hour later, right? And it's like, no, like we just understand this is what we've got to do to go win, right?"

Jul 29, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Oregon Football head coach Dan Lanning speaks during Big Ten Media Days at Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"It's not personal. And so for that, I'm unbelievably appreciative. You don't feel like you're walking on eggshells, but you do feel like there's a very high standard for the way that he sees the organization and the expectations around here to win. So it's unique, in my opinion, very unique, and I'm very thankful for it.”

How Lanning Compares to the Coaches He’s Worked With

“I think everybody's obviously a little bit different. You know, Coach Meyer ran his program differently than Coach Lanning did, and obviously they've got different influences. Coach Herman ran his program differently, so they're all kind of unique in the in themselves. And I think that talking to Pete Carroll when we were when I was at Rutgers.” 

“He came, and I think you have to be uniquely yourself if you try to be somebody else as a head coach. I don't think it's going to work. I think you have to be yourself, and I think that Dan does that very, very well. So I think it's a mark of, obviously, confidence in your abilities, right? And it also makes the day-to-day for everybody else in the building a lot easier and a lot easier to grow.”

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks during a press conference on Aug. 18, 2026, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Offensive Performance in Practice

“I think our theme was after that was reset, refocus, and those guys did that. I thought we had a much better day today. The execution and detail, and all the things that you're looking for, were a lot higher.”

Depth Behind Jamari Johnson

Jan 1, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Oregon Ducks tight end Jamari Johnson (9) reacts after a touchdown by a teammate against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the second half of the 2025 Orange Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“We've seen a lot of good things from all those guys. You know, coach (Jack) Smith has done a really good job in that room, helping me out there, and I think that the tight end position kind of grows a little bit slower than others, just because aside from throwing the football, they do pretty much everything else."

"So there's a lot of skill and a lot of knowledge you've got to acquire, and so all three of those kids have done a really, really good job. Probably not even three, but let's see, a bunch of them now, five or six. You know what I mean. But they've done a really good job. I think it's a really good room that will continue to develop and get better.”

Leaps Offense Has Taken

“I think that there's more than anything else. Like you start to see guys start to get comfortable in their what they're being asked to do, right? And kind of going back to the first question, you start to see the fundamentals and details of it's not just that they're going in the right way, right?” 

“They've got great hand placement. They've got great footwork, right? There's great communication on you know, when the defense changes or blitzes or whatever it is, right? What communication has to go on? So it's more than just lining up out there and saying, "Hey, I got a corner route, you know. That's kind of what always happens at the beginning of a fall camp or spring ball. So we have. I think we've progressed past that, and like, okay, we see this look. Like, what do we want to do?”

Assessing Evan Stewart and Gatlin Bair

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart (7) celebrates a catch during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

“I think it's been great. I do think that any time that I've had three knee surgeries in my lifetime, I was talking about Evan. I certainly haven't taken a two-year mission like Gatlin, but I think that anytime you go through, you know, periods of time without playing, even if it's just for our guys coming off of summer break for a week, you know there's always going to be a little bit of rust, right? And both of those guys have had a great attitude and great intention on improving their game as fast as possible, so I've been really like really proud of both those kids.”

Messiah Hampton Standing Out

Fighting Ducks wide receiver Messiah Hampton, right, makes a catch under cover from Fighting Ducks defensive back Arlo Henderson during the Oregon Ducks annual spring game on April 25, 2026 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“I think for anybody at any position, Messiah included, the separation factor is just simply what you do on the field, right? It's not like it's not. Hey, we got to see you go do this or see you go do that, right? It's for a lot of people. It's for the other 10 guys on the field to trust you. You're going to be in there.” 

“You're going to make plays. And Messiah's come along. He's had a really great last week, and you know, I think he's doing some really, really good things for us. So everybody, I tell everybody the answer to every single question that you'll ever have in football is play well, coach. How do I get, you know, drafted? It's play well. How do I get playing time? Play well. You know, it's it's all the same. And so, we've been using the term obsession, right? Are you obsessed with playing well and whatever that takes?”

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