Royce Freeman (21) is a big-time player for the Ducks. Photo Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
Mark Helfrich begins his fourth season at Oregon with two new coordinators.
Offensive coordinator Scott Frost left to become head coach at Central Florida and was replaced by wide receivers coach Matt Lubick.
Helfrich demoted defensive coordinator Don Pellum to linebackers coach while hiring former Michigan coach Brady Hoke to run the defense.
Hoke was hired after Oregon ranked last in the Pac-12 by allowing 485.3 yards and 37.5 points per game last year. He is switching Oregon from a 3-4 to 4-3 look.
“Hopefully they are playing with total passion, confidence, speed and commitment to our scheme,” Helfrich said of the defense. “Just for whatever reason, that never totally clicked 100 percent last year. The biggest thing with him coming in is just how quickly that took place. Just of the staff buying 100 percent into it, the team, the players buying into it was good.”
Oregon lost Pac-12 defensive player of the year DeForest Buckner and returns just four starters on the defense. End Henry Mondeaux is the lone returning starter on the front seven while three starters are back in the secondary.
Oregon is expected to go with a graduate transfer at quarterback for the second year in a row after Dakota Prukop transferred for his senior season from Montana State, where he was a first-team All-American last year. He will compete with redshirt freshman Travis Jonsen and true freshman Terry Wilson for the starting spot. None of the three have taken a snap in a FBS game.
“Quarterback position is up for grabs,” Helfrich said. “We had a three-man race early in the spring and that will continue into the fall. We have three guys that were very similar and completely different. Dakota has played a lot of football, but completely inexperienced in our system. Travis was physically unable to practice so he knows the terminology, but he hasn’t actually done it, so there is that learning curve. Terry Wilson hopped off the plane and started practice.”
Whoever wins the job will have lots of weapons around him led by junior running back Royce Freeman, an all-conference selection who ran for 1,836 yards and 17 touchdowns last year. Taj Griffin, Kani Benoit, and Tony Brooks-James each ran for at least 275 yards last season.
Darren Carrington is the top returning receiver after catching 32 passes for 609 yards and six touchdowns despite missing the first six games of the season due to suspension. Dwayne Stanford, Freeman, and Charles Nelson all had at least 270 receiving yards last season.
With a new quarterback and coordinators, Oregon has fallen in the preseason rankings. Oregon is No. 22 in the coaches poll, its lowest preseason ranking since 2007, and was picked third in the Pac-12 North.
“I don’t think we’ve ever mentioned the BCS, I don’t think we’ve ever mentioned the College Football Playoff,” Helfrich said. “I don’t think we’ve ever mentioned any poll. No offense, but it just doesn’t happen.”
NOTES, QUOTES SPOTLIGHT ON SEPTEMBER: Oregon opens the season against UC Davis, an FCS school that was picked to finish 12th in the Big Sky Conference. That should give Oregon’s new quarterback and coordinators a chance to get used to live action before the schedule gets more difficult. Oregon hosts Virginia before visiting Nebraska to close out the nonconference slate. Oregon is back home to host Colorado in its conference opener.
KEYS TO SUCCESS: Oregon has led the Pac-12 in rushing every season since Helfrich joined the staff as offensive coordinator in 2009. Offensive line coach Steve Greatwood has also been on the job each of those seasons. The Ducks look likely to lead the Pac-12 in rushing again this season with Royce Freeman back after rushing for 1,836 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Oregon has three other running backs that averaged at least seven yards per carry while running for at least 288 yards. Speedster Taj Griffin ran for 570 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman while Kani Benoit had 364 rushing yards and Tony Brooks-James finished with 288. Oregon will need to replace three starters on the offensive line.
AREAS OF CONCERN: Oregon’s defense was such a mess last season that coordinator Don Pellum was demoted to linebackers coach while Brady Hoke was brought in for a fresh start. Oregon was last in the conference in total defense and scoring defense culminating in the Alamo Bowl when TCU scored 47 points after halftime for a 47-41 double overtime victory. Hoke inherits an inexperienced unit with only four returning starters, including one in the front seven. The secondary was picked on last year when Oregon allowed 306.5 passing yards per game, but Helfrich hopes a veteran secondary is the strength of that unit this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It is the biggest excuse and longest excuse, the most eventful excuse, to miss fall camp that I have ever seen.” — Coach Mark Helfrich on junior wide receiver Devon Allen, who will miss the start of fall practice while competing in the 110-meter hurdles in the Olympics.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
HEAD COACH: Mark Helfrich, fourth year at Oregon, 33-8 record at Oregon and as a head coach.
MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER: RB Royce Freeman — The 5-foot-11, 230-pounder has run for 3,201 yards and 35 yards in two seasons as Oregon’s starting running back. Named a second-team All-American last year by the Football Writers Association of America, he set the school record with 1,836 rushing yards while averaging 141.2 yards per game. He was fourth in the nation in rushing and was the only player in FBS to have more than 100 yards from scrimmage in each game. He earned first-team, all-conference honors after rushing for at least 100 yards in the final nine games of the season and 11 of 13 total games. He led the Pac-12 with 19 touchdowns and 17 on the ground while finishing 12th in the country in both categories.
BREAKOUT STAR: DE Henry Mondeaux — The junior has been overshadowed the past two seasons playing alongside first-round picks Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner. However, he is the top returnee on the defensive line for the Ducks and should fit in well as new coordinator Brady Hoke switches the Ducks from a 3-4 to 4-3 alignment. The 6-foot-5, 280-pounder had 22 tackles last season, including four sacks, while starting seven games, after having just nine tackles as a freshman.
NEWCOMER TO WATCH: WR Dillon Mitchell — The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder graduated early from high school in Memphis, Tenn. to arrive at Oregon in time for spring football. He was one of the most talked-about players by the coaching staff during the spring and is expected to contribute as a true freshman to a deep receiving corps. Mitchell was a two-time all-state selection and the state player of the year as a senior when he had 62 catches for 1,143 yards and 31 total touchdowns.
ROSTER REPORT: –WR Devon Allen will miss the start of fall camp after qualifying for the Olympics in the 110-meter hurdles. The junior won the U.S. title in the event and is one of the favorites in Rio. He is expected back for the start of the season.
–LB Paris Bostick left the program for unspecified reasons. Bostick originally enrolled at Georgia and played one season in junior college before participating in three games last year as a sophomore for the Ducks. He had seven tackles and two sacks in the spring game in May.
–DT Ratu Mafileo was a late addition to the Ducks roster when he signed earlier this month as a junior-college transfer. The three-star recruit made a late switch after committing to Texas A&M.
–Charles Nelson, who played wide receiver as a freshman and switched to safety as a sophomore, is back on offense as a junior. Nelson has 40 catches for 597 yards and eight touchdowns in two seasons at Oregon.
