Oregon Ducks Wide Receivers Poised for Breakout 2022 Campaign

With immense talent and an aggressive offense, the sky's the limit in Eugene.

Author:
Dylan Mickanen
Publish date:
Dec 31, 2021 9:07 PM EST

Heading into the 2021 college football season, the Oregon Ducks wide receivers had a phrase that broke many position huddles: "No limit."

It represented how the receivers felt about the talent within the position group. How they were primed to take the Oregon passing attack to the next level under Joe Moorhead and Bryan McClendon.

What transpired was the opposite thanks to sporadic quarterback play, an ultra-conservative offensive philosophy from Mario Cristobal, and constant rotation of the wideouts due to the vast talent within the room.

The lack of a consistent passing attack led to starting wide receiver Mycah Pittman to transfer, and Oregon got blown out by Utah twice in the final three weeks of the season.

With Mario Cristobal now fully in Miami, rather than just his head like in November, Ducks fans got their first look at what its offense could do without Cristobal bottlenecking the offensive approach.

After tallying just three first-half points in the Alamo Bowl, the Ducks offense exploded for 29 second-half points thanks to Anthony Brown testing Oklahoma downfield and trusting his receivers to make plays.

Dont'e Thornton, Kris Hutson, and Troy Franklin all scored touchdowns on 66, 34 and 30-yard touchdowns, respectively. They're all freshmen with three seasons each of eligibility remaining.

Former four-star recruit Isaah Crocker also made the most of the opportunity, catching three balls for 40 yards, not including a deep target where he drew pass interference. Crocker had been buried on the depth chart, but now it seems like he'll be a key piece to the 2022 Ducks offensive attack.

Speaking of which, new head coach Dan Lanning has also discussed his offensive philosophy, and while words are just words, it already sounds like the total opposite of Mario Cristobal's offense which clearly alienated some of his players.

"The number one indicator right now in college football and wins and losses is explosive plays," he said during his introductory press conference. "You have to be able to push the ball down the field. You have to be able to attack in the air and on the ground. That's definitely gonna be a part of our approach here."

With talented freshmen such as Thornton, Franklin, Hutson, Seven McGee and Isaiah Brevard, the Ducks receiving core should just get better and better.

Under Dan Lanning, the offensive approach will match the talent level of its receivers, unlike recent Oregon teams.

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