Oregon
Kicker Atticus Sappington on leaving Oregon State for Oregon football: ‘Time to move on’
Former OSU kicker Atticus Sappington on joining Oregon football
Oregon kicker Atticus Sappington answers why he transferred from former rival Oregon State and his transition to the Ducks.
Oregon needed a new kicker, Atticus Sappington wanted a new team.
Seemed like a logical match — except for one thing.
Sappington, one of the best kickers in the Pac-12 last season for Oregon State, wasn’t just transferring from any old team, he was coming from the Ducks’ main rival, or as Oregon special teams coach Joe Lorig put Thursday afternoon, “the school up the road.”
That didn’t keep Sappington from making the jump, nor did it prevent the Ducks from trying to upgrade their talent at the position following the graduation of longtime starter Camden Lewis, who left as the team’s all-time scoring leader.
“Coach Lorig really made me feel welcome here and the team was really open arms,” Sappington said. “Really, I just feel at home.”
Sappington led the Pac-12 and ranked fifth nationally in field-goal percentage at 92.86% last season, converting on 13-of-14 attempts.
He made 5-of-6 field goals from 40-49 yards, was 5-of-5 from 30 to 39 yards, and 3-of-3 from 20 to 29 yards. His career long is 48 yards. Sappington also converted 49-of-50 extra-point attempts.
In his Oregon State career, he was 18-of-21 on field-goal attempts and 64-of-66 on PATs.
“It’s good to have a guy that you know has done it at this level,” Lorig said. “A lot of guys can go out and kick off the sticks when there’s no real pressure going on, but he’s done it in big games, in some of the stadiums that we’ll play in. … He’s really got a mentality that you need to have to be good at his position.”
Sappington entered the transfer portal when the Beavers’ season ended and coach Jonathan Smith left Corvallis for Michigan State.
The junior from Portland who attended Central Catholic was thrilled to stay in state.
”It was time to move on and I couldn’t be more excited to be here and be a part of the team,” Sappington said.
Sappington has impressed Lorig, as well as the team’s strength and conditioning staff with his dedication in the weight room since arriving in Eugene.
“He’s kind of a weight room guy, which is kind of unusual for kickers,” Lorig said. “It can be valuable to that position or not. More importantly, it’s the work ethic. He’s a competitor.”
Listed at 5-10, 188 pounds by Oregon State last season, Sappington said he’s been lifting weights since he was 15 and described it as one of his hobbies.
“I want to be a big guy,” he said. “I don’t want to have that classic stereotype of the ‘skinny kicker.’ I want to look like a football player and I take pride in how I look.”
Sappington hasn’t been handed the job at Oregon. The competition to replace Lewis remains in progress with redshirt freshman Grant Meadors, one of the top kickers in the nation coming out of high school in 2023. Freshman and early enrollee Gage Hurych out of West Linn is getting a shot too, while also getting work in with the punters.
Follow Chris Hansen on X @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
It was a one-sided affair Tuesday night as the Oregon Ducks routed Air Force 98-36 in a nonconference women’s basketball matchup in Eugene.
Phillipina Kyei scored 14 points in 18 minutes, and Nani Falatea and Sarah Rambus added 11 points each for the Ducks (8-3) as 4,551 watched at Matthew Knight Arena.
Oregon got contributions from up and down the roster, with 10 players scoring at least eight points and no one needing to play more than Deja Kelly’s 22 minutes. Kelly finished with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists. Elisa Mevius added eight points and eight assists.
The Ducks, who entered having lost three of their past four games, handed the Falcons (9-2) their second loss of the season and first since Air Force fell 57-51 to Army in overtime on Nov. 15.
Oregon raced to a 22-9 lead by the end of the first quarter and then matched that score in the second quarter for a 44-18 halftime lead. The Ducks continued to pull away in the second half, steadily increasing their lead the rest of the way. A 21-0 run in the fourth quarter extended Oregon’s lead to 65 before the Falcons trimmed it to a 62-point final margin.
The Ducks shot 58.9% from the field and held Air Force to 23.2% shooting. Oregon scored 68 points in the paint, 56 points on layups and 32 points off of turnovers. The Ducks also had a 23-0 advantage in fast-break points and racked up 31 assists compared with seven for the Falcons.
— Joel Odom
Safe winter driving tips in Oregon
Here are some tips to keep you safe on the roads.
A long-range forecast says heavy rain, high-elevation snow and strong winds could impact Oregon and the Pacific Northwest during the busy Christmas travel period.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a “hazards risk” for the Dec. 24 to 28 period that includes potential impacts for anyone traveling.
“Travel conditions may be negatively impacted by unsettled weather,” NOAA said in a statement.
The concern is fueled by forecasts for a low pressure system that could develop into an atmospheric river or “bomb cyclone.”
Prepare for rainy, windy Christmas travel in Oregon
National Weather Service meteorologist Noah Alviz said the key message is to be prepared and watch the forecast before hitting the road around Christmas.
“Right now there is moderate confidence,” or about 40-60% chance of a major impact, Alviz said. “The key point to take home is that if you’re on the Oregon Coast or Coast Range, to prepare for possible flooding, and if you’re traveling over the Cascades, to prepare for winter weather.”
Bomb cyclone or atmospheric river could create flooding in Pacific Northwest
Days to watch for heavy precipitation in the Northwest — and possible mountain snow — include Dec. 24 and Dec. 25-28, NOAA said.
In Oregon, long-range forecasts are trending toward the weather being warmer than normal, which could indicate a greater threat for flooding than snow, Alviz said.
“We’re into a wet pattern, with rivers gradually rising, so if we end up with another low-pressure system, bomb cyclone or atmospheric river, that could lead to some flooding,” he said. “But people will just have to stay turned on that and make sure to keep an eye out.”
NOAA echoed that sentiment.
“Please stay tuned to shorter-term forecasts, as specific impacts remain unclear for any given location at this extended forecast range,” the alert said.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
The Oregon Ducks have lost another player to the transfer portal as the team prepares for the College Football Playoff.
Per reports from On3’s Pete Nakos on Monday, Oregon defensive back Khamari Terrell has entered the portal after three seasons with the Ducks. It’s unclear if Terrell will remain with the team during the CFP as some players that have entered the portal for playoff teams are sticking around for the postseason.
Originally a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class from Shoemaker High School in Killeen, Texas, Terrell was a playmaker on both sides of the ball as well as a dynamic returner on special teams. He received offers from programs like Clemson, USC, Baylor, Mississippi State, LSU, Florida, Missouri and more. The Ducks offered him in Jan. 2022. He committed to Oregon during his official visit later that month before officially signing with the team in Feb. 2022. He also took official visits with Baylor and Mississippi State.
According to 247Sports’ rankings, Terrell was the No. 29 cornerback in the class and the No. 36 overall player in the state of Texas.
During his freshman year in 2022, Terrell appeared in 10 of 13 games, mostly as a contributor on special teams. He posted a career-high seven total tackles that season.
In 2023, he continued to primarily have a role on special teams before finishing the campaign with six total tackles.
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Oregon has now seen the portal departures of Terrell, safety Tyler Turner, offensive tackle JacQawn McRoy and edge rushers Emar’rion Winston, Jaedon Moore and Jaxson Jones. On the flip side, the Ducks have added two defensive backs in Purdue transfer Dillon Thieneman and Northwestern transfer Theran Johnson. The new roster additions will of course continue to start rolling in once the Ducks officially begin their offseason.
But first, Oregon will face off against the winner of Ohio State and Tennessee at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. If the Ducks can win that game, they would advance to the Semifinals in Arlington, Texas, to play the winner of Arizona State vs. Texas/Clemson at AT&T Stadium.
The Ducks will be taking their 13-0 record and Big Ten Championship hardware into the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. This marks Oregon’s second appearance in the CFP since debuting in the first season of the four-team playoff in 2014. The Ducks made it to the National Championship that season but fell short to the Ohio State Buckeyes, led by Cardale Jones and Ezekiel Elliott.
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