Thinner Oregon Ducks tight end room should mean more opportunities beginning in spring

We’re looking at every place group as Oregon prepares to open spring observe on March 16. The primary of a 10-part collection seems on the tight ends.

Oregon’s tight finish room coming into spring observe is significantly totally different than final season.

The transfers of Cam McCormick, Moliki Matavao and Terrell Tilmon go away the Geese with Terrance Ferguson and Patrick Herbert returning and freshman Kenyon Sadiq becoming a member of them.

Add to the personnel turnover the change to Will Stein’s offense and the Geese could have a special have a look at the place and alternatives ought to be considerable.

Projected depth chart:

Terrance Ferguson, junior, 32 catches for 391 yards and 5 touchdowns

Patrick Herbert, fifth-year redshirt-junior, six catches for 95 yards and a landing

Kenyon Sadiq, freshman

Departed: Cam McCormick (transferred to Miami), Moliki Matavao (transferred to UCLA), Terrell Tilmon (transferred to Texas Tech)

On account of arrive within the fall: n/a

Outlook: A place that was restricted by accidents in 2019, 2020 and considerably in 2021, was at relative full well being through the 2022 season.

Ferguson’s manufacturing greater than doubled from his freshman to sophomore years and he ought to be in line for a fair larger junior marketing campaign. The place he wants to enhance is as an finish of line blocker, particularly with McCormick and Matavao gone. Ferguson’s perimeter blocking improved so much final season and if he stays on that trajectory, mixed with extra catches and yards, he’ll be one of many prime tight ends within the convention subsequent season.

Herbert had a specialised position because the H-back in UO’s “14 Josh” personnel group final season and he did it nicely. By default the fifth-year junior seems to be set to see extra alternatives within the passing recreation and be Oregon’s finest finish of line blocking tight finish.

Sadiq is certainly one of Oregon’s prime recruits within the class of 2023 and his arrival within the winter is particularly important in gentle of the departures from the room. Sadiq has an opportunity to indicate he could make a direct influence, at the very least within the receiving recreation, as his listed 220 kilos might want to improve considerably earlier than the autumn to be able to line up contained in the field continuously towards larger defensive gamers.

What the trio does within the spring will influence whether or not and the way aggressively Oregon might want to pursue an extra tight finish through the switch portal in Could.