For a college football program to lose talent is an every year occurrence. Some years the loss is a little less than others, but then there are years where the loss is great. The Oregon Ducks are going to go through one those type of years. Everybody knows who the Ducks have lost. Marcus Mariota. The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner. To say, he won't be missed would be a gross understatement, but like any other football program he will have to be replaced. That will be tough thing to do in Eugene.
Tough doesn't mean that it can't be done and Oregon will be trying to do that. Head Coach Mark Helfrich will be trying to win the Pac-12 North division and the Pac-12 Championship all over again in 2015. The big difference between the last three seasons and now? The quarterback he has had is in Tennessee playing for the Titans. Who will replace a talent like that? Oh, just a kid who has thrown for over 10,000 yards, rushed for over 1,200 yards, threw 110 touchdowns, and threw 31 interceptions. Now that last stat may cause some concern for Duck fans, but to say that they have been spoiled over the last few seasons would be another gross understatement. Mariota threw a interception about as much as I reach the green in two. Who is this kid coming into Eugene? He goes by the name of Vernon Adams. By now most Duck fans know he is coming in as a fifth year senior, having already graduated from Eastern Washington. He is a dynamic athlete who can throw the ball as well as run the rock as evident the stats already shown. He's a mature football player and will bring leadership to the Ducks who will be looking for it. I have said this over and over, if you are going to be successful in football, then you need to have a quarterback that can handle pressure and can make plays when called upon. Adams appears to be that. The one concern I would have is this... can he do what he did on the FCS level at the FBS level and in a Power 5 Conference with a program that is a national brand right now? That is one thing that remains to be seen, so the proof will be in the pudding as they say. To make things easier for him, he will have a stable of skill players to help him make the transition.
Keeping with what the Ducks have had over the course of the last several years, there is an abundant of talent at the running back and receiving positions. First of all, Royce Freeman who is drawing some Heisman talk will be teaming with Thomas Tyner again in the backfield. In 2014 those two combined for almost 2,000 yards of offense. The receiving corps will have the leadership of Byron Marshall and Dwayne Stanford. Braylon Addison will also be coming back into the fold after suffering a season ending knee injury, but even though he is back, he still has to get used to playing on that knee. Hopefully he gets over that big hurdle quickly. The two question marks with their receivers will be Devon Allen (ACL) and Darren Carrington (suspension). Carrington needs to make sure his head is screwed on correctly after deciding to smoke some weed prior to the National Championship and summarily getting suspended for the title game and for the beginning of the 2015. Allen just wants his rehab on his knee to keep progressing, so he can make a mark for the offense this season.
Defensively the Ducks will be a little weaker than they have been the last few seasons. However, the front seven got a great boost when defensive end Deforest Buckner decided to return for his senior season. Many people argue that he was easily the most disruptive player on the defense for Ducks. Even more so than Arik Armstead who left early for the NFL. Defensive coordinator Don Pellum will be looking to make his linebackers a more well-rounded group of players too.
Inside linebackers Rodney Hardrick and Joe Walker will be looking to gain greater penetration into the opposing teams backfields. They have to create some kind of havoc up the middle because if they DC Pellum is only going to have three down linemen then some type of disruption needs to come up the middle. The Ducks outside backers Tyson Coleman and Christian French will need to increase their sack totals by getting the advantage off the edge. If these linebackers can create some havoc then the Ducks will be successful, but they have to go into each game with bad intentions. They have to impose their will onto the opposing offense. A work in progress? Possibly.
The secondary will be the big question mark on defense. They will be young and inexperienced. Like the offense and having to replace a great talent, the defense will have to replace All-American Ifo-Ekpre Olomu. After Olomu injured his knee right before the title game, the Ducks put Chris Seisay in for Olomu. Seisay is decent, but not a proven commodity by any stretch. Sophomore Arrion Springs, true freshman Ugo Amadi, and converted receiver Charles Nelson will also compete for playing time in the secondary as well, so for the cornerback crew, the inexperience hopefully will not cause to many issues for them. To me, that is wishful thinking if you're a Duck fan. There are always growing pains with youth. Fans will just have to be patient with the cornerbacks.
When it's all said and done, the Ducks should win the North Division again because other than Stanford, the North will be rather soft. The Cardinal will provide the biggest challenge for the Ducks and returning to the Pac-12 Championship game. The Oregon/Stanford game is at Stanford, so that'll be a big game to watch with a lot on the line more than likely. Do they get back into the playoff? That's a tough call. I think they can, but to do that, they absolutely need to win the Pac-12 title. How will Vernon Adams do? Who knows. Will teams be looking for payback now that Mariota isn't around? Absolutely, but to think that the Ducks are not loaded will be an incorrect assumption. There is enough talent there to win and win big. It'll be fun to watch for sure. Win The Day Duck fans...
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