Oregon Freshman Wide Kyler Kasper Impressing Kenny Dillingham, 'Attacking' in Fall Camp

Dillingham applauded Kasper's quick adaptation to college ball as an early enrollee.

Author:
Graham Metzker
Publish date:
Aug 11, 2022 12:40 PM EDT

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Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks football program got on a hot streak on the recruiting trail late in the spring.

Head Coach Dan Lanning and his staff landed a number of impressive recruits and wide receiver Kyler Kasper may turn out to be one of the most impressive. He chose the Ducks over Tennessee and Iowa from a star-studded offer sheet.

Kasper is a six-foot-five, 195-pound wide receiver who attended Williams Field High School in Gilbert, Arizona. He was originally set to complete his high school career at Williams Field this fall, but instead decided to reclassify from 2023 to 2022 and is now participating in his first round of fall camp practices.

Although Kasper is as fresh as they come at the Ducks' practices, he already has one admirer in offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kenny Dillingham. When asked about how the young wideout had adjusted to college football practices, Dillingham was largely positive.

"I think he's done a really nice job adapting," said Dillingham. "You go from a high school kid to all of a sudden being a college kid. You weren't expecting it, you were supposed to go back to high school this year."

Dillingham acknowledged the shock factor Kasper may be going through in transitioning to the quicker, harder-hitting world of college football. Yet, Dillingham saw a difference in Kasper in the second installment of fall practices.

"I think a little bit of him is 'Woah' but he's responded," Dillingham said. "Today was the first day I saw him really attack and be physical, really kinda be comfortable out there."

Although wide receiver coach Junior Adams is credited as Kasper's main recruiter, it's likely that Dillingham was involved in Kasper's recruitment. Dillingham's coaching career started in Arizona: first as an offensive coordinator at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, then as an offensive assistant at Arizona State.

One of Dillingham's most prevalent recruiting tools at Oregon has been his crafty use of social media, particularly Twitter. He's revamped the hashtag #DesertDucks, and had a not-so-cryptic post just minutes after Kasper's commitment.

Antics aside, Dillingham is the real deal. He coached up a freshman Bo Nix at Auburn to an SEC Freshman of the Year award in 2019, and carries the moniker of "quarterback guru" with him.

Oregon's new offensive coordinator has seen good offenses and bad in his eight years of college coaching, so his compliment towards Kasper isn't just fluff. Being physical and tough, which Dillingham noted of Kasper, is crucial in transitioning to the next level.

With Kasper already standing at 6'5", he can compete as a freshman and continue to bulk up into an ideal outside receiver's build -- and perhaps be the next young Ducks' receiver to break out early.

Johnny Johnson III is a perfect example to mimic Kasper in this case. Johnson was also recruited out of Arizona. In the first of his five successful seasons in Eugene, Johnson eclipsed 50 receiving yards three times back in 2017.

If Dillingham says so, the sky is the limit for Kyler Kasper with the Ducks.