Top Five Storylines to Follow During Oregon Ducks Spring Football 2022
As the first spring football of the Dan Lanning era of Oregon football begins, there's no shortage of storylines to keep Ducks fan engaged.
Here are the top five developments to follow this spring that will affect the next football season the most, as well as the years to come with a new coach on the sidelines.
Who Starts at QB?
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Unlike when Willie Taggart and Mario Cristobal took over the program in 2017 and 2018, Lanning doesn't have a dependable and experienced starter in Justin Herbert ready to hit the ground running in the spring.
Instead, the Ducks have an interesting mix of highly-touted recruits in Ty Thompson and Jay Butterfield and an incoming transfer, who was a five-star prospect in his own right with Bo Nix.
Butterfield originally committed to Oregon when Marcus Arroyo was the offensive coordinator and didn't seem to be as natural of a fit in Moorhead's offense which relies on the signal caller to run the football, leading the freshman to be named the third-string quarterback in 2021. Now under Kenny Dillingham, Butterfield appears to be in a similar position. As offensive coordinator at Florida State, Dillingham had Jordan Travis run the ball 134 times in 10 games in 2021 and 97 times in 2020.
While it's possible Butterfield could win the job as arguably the room's most skillful passer, it's widely expected to be a competition between Nix and Thompson.
Dillingham was Nix's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2018, when Nix started as a true freshman and won the SEC Freshman of the Year Award and put up 48 points against Alabama in the Iron Bowl. After Dillingham left for Florida State, Nix regressed the next two seasons before enrolling at Oregon.
Meanwhile, Thompson signed with Oregon as the highest rated quarterback in program history and won the backup job to sixth-year senior Anthony Brown as a true freshman. His talent is off the charts, but he looked like he had room to improve when reading opposing defenses in limited snaps last season-- however that could be due to the previous staff's inability to maximize the quarterback position. Remember Justin Herbert made plenty of poor reads as a Duck before a record-breaking NFL rookie campaign.
It seems unlikely a starter will be named during the spring, if for no other reason than to hopefully keep the trio out of the transfer portal, but it's easily the most fascinating storyline these next few months.
Which Ducks Will Surprise and Stand out?
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Every spring, media and fans alike get an idea of which players previously buried on the depth chart or playing high school football last season will see their roles increase based on the comments of coaches and players.
Yes, coaches and players are not going to say a player is bad on the record (this coaching staff does not have a Mike Zimmer) but when someone goes out of their way to mention a player, or someone keeps being brought up by multiple people, there's typically something there.
Last year, Cristobal and others kept saying Bradyn Swinson was impressing and he ended up having a breakout campaign, which included one of the season's largest plays, sacking CJ Stroud at Ohio State.
When Jevon Holland stepped onto campus, word of mouth about his performances in practice were off-the-charts. He immediately started and ended up being a second-round NFL Draft pick.
Who will stand out this spring? Stay tuned in to Ducks Digest and we'll be sure to let you know.
Will the Offense Actually Air it Out?
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It's become a meme how every offseason the Ducks have said they wanted an aggressive, downfield passing attack, only to have season after season of three-yard checkdowns and tackles-for-loss on fourth-and-one on a halfback dive in the pistol formation. But Mario Cristobal is gone and hopefully that outdated offensive philosophy has gone with him.
Lanning and Dillingham have said all the right things in regards to offensive philosophy but the Spring Game will be the first test. I doubt the Ducks will show anything flashy they plan to use in-game this fall. Oregon will need all the trick plays it can get to best Georgia in Atlanta, but seeing both teams attack the field vertically will be a welcome sight.
What Does the Defense Look Like?
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For the first time since Rich Brooks was on the sideline, the Ducks have a defensive-minded head coach. Plus, Dan Lanning comes to Eugene with plenty of credentials, none more important than that ring from being the defensive coordinator for the National Champion Georgia Bulldogs.
While plenty of vague coach-speak is expected when discussing his scheme, Ducks fans will get glimpses into it during the spring game and comments from defensive players who will surely be asked to compare it to DeRuyter's system from 2021.
Do Players Stay in their New Positions?
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With a new coaching staff in Eugene, at least two offensive players have switched to playing within the team's front seven: DJ Johnson appears poised for a full-time role as an edge rusher after swapping back and forth last year, while Jackson Powers-Johnson will start spring playing defensive line.
As a true freshman, Powers-Johnson saw ample playing time along the offensive line whether it be at center or guard, but played defensive tackle in the Alamo Bowl due to injuries. Now under Lanning, Powers-Johnson will be a full-time defensive tackle despite being rated as one of the nation's best centers in high school.
Another player to watch is Jeffrey Bassa, a the top true freshman defender a season ago that moved down from safety to play linebacker in the face of injury. Will he stay on the front seven, or will he return to the secondary to compete for the open starting spot next to Bennett Williams?
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