Oregon Ducks Add Special Teams Transfer: Boise State Punter James Ferguson-Reynolds

The Oregon Ducks made a key addition to their roster on Thursday when they brought in Boise State punter transfer James Ferguson-Reynolds. A three-year starter with the Broncos, Ferguson-Reynolds shined during the past season for Boise State, who made an appearance in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

After losing their both of their backup punters to the transfer portal, the Ducks were lacking in depth at the position and Oregon coach Dan Lanning placed further emphasis on upgrading the punters room after the Ducks' spring game this past weekend. Oregon lands a punter who has over 160 punts in his career.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning watches the clock expire as the No. 9 Oregon Ducks fell to the No. 21 Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. Ncaa Football Uo Vs Osu Rivalry Game University Of Oregon At Oregon State | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Despite returning starting punter Ross James, who had averaged 45.5 yards per punt on 37 punts in 2024 and was All-Big Ten honorable mention, Lanning decided to go out and add competition to the position group after a poor showing during the spring game this past Saturday.

The Ducks' head coach was brutally honest in his assessment about the position group after the game.

"Overall, special teams, there were some positives. There were some real negatives there, too. You asked about a linebacker or maybe a punter. If there's a punter out there available, right? We've been more consistent. They didn't show up today. That was some of the poorest kicks that I've seen here," Lanning said.

The Ducks' backup punter, Luke Dunne, transferred away to Washington after only punting nine times during the 2024 season. Third-string punter Tyler Kinsman entered the portal after the season ended and has yet to find a home.

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Oregon coach Dan Lanning oversees warmups before the game against Boise State at Autzen in Eugene Sept. 7, 2024 | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ferguson-Reynolds had a down year statistically speaking, but that can be credited to the fact Boise State's offense was elite and rarely needed to punt. Out of the 43 punts Ferguson-Reynolds had last season, 16 of them were downed inside the 20 yardline. In his first two seasons combined, Ferguson-Reynolds had three punts downed inside the 20.

Both the Ducks and Ferguson-Reynolds have familiarity with each other dating back to their matchup earlier this past season. Ferguson-Reynolds had a season-high in punts and punt yards in the 37-34 win for the Ducks. He had eight punts for 68 yards.

The punters will join a long line of position group battles within program, vying for a starting position for a Ducks team that lost a program-record 10 players to the NFL Draft.

The 11th transfer portal addition to the team, Ferguson-Reynolds joins a top five portal class according to 247Sports.

Oregon has had immense success through the transfer portal during this offseason. The Ducks have landed the No. 2 player in the portal according to 247Sports, Nevada offensive tackle transfer Isaiah World. In addition to World, Oregon has reeled in the No. 1 safety and No. 12 player in the portal, Purdue transfer Dillon Thieneman.

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