OREGON WIDE RECEIVER ROOM EMBRACING THE COMPETITION OREGON WIDE RECEIVER ROOM EMBRACING THE COMPETITION

Dissecting the wide receiver position ahead of the 2023 spring game.

BY LILY CRANE

Oregon wide receivers, Troy Franklin (11) and Khris Hutson (1), pose with the Holiday Bowl trophy during the postgame celebration. The Oregon Ducks face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the annual Holiday Bowl at Petco Park in San Diego, CA, on December 28th, 2022.

(Jonathan Suni, Emerald)

The performance of the Oregon offense in 2022 brought a buzz to Autzen Stadium. The additions of Dan Lanning as head coach and former offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, as well as star quarterback Bo Nix via the transfer portal, brought about a new offensive scheme.

With several key players graduating or transferring and Will Stein taking the mantle of offensive coordinator, the offense will feature many new faces, but it won’t be lacking in talent.

The wide receiver position is one of the main areas of interest ahead of the 2023 spring game and fall season.

The Ducks lost a pair of 2022 receivers — Chase Cota to the NFL Draft, and Dont’e Thornton transferred to Tennessee — but with the arrival of freshmen and new players from the transfer portal, the depth at the position remains strong.

Troy Franklin and Kris Hutson return to the squad, while Traeshon Holden and Keyonteze “Tez” Johnson have arrived via the transfer portal. Redshirt freshman Kyler Kasper and 2023 commit Jurrion Dickey are other names who have an opportunity to contend for a big role in 2023.

Franklin is almost certainly a lock for a starting position in 2023. In 2022, he tallied 61 catches for 891 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He earned All-Pac-12 second-team honors.

Franklin is still working to elevate his game to an even higher level. Wide receiver coach Junior Adams said that Franklin was in the film room figuring out what to improve on as soon as the season was over. Franklin said that he’s trying to stay consistent in the things he did well last season while also honing in on the little errors.

Hutson is another returner from the 2022 season that will look to have a prominent role. He recorded 44 catches for 472 yards in 2022 for the Ducks.

While Hutson started in 10 of the 13 games in 2022, his starting spot isn’t guaranteed. His experience will likely still get him the nod, but the talented newcomers are vying for the start.

Both Adams and Nix said that Huston doesn’t shy away from the competition. Like Franklin, Hutson appears to be taking the spring seriously and making steady improvements in his game to solidify his spot as a starter in the 2023 season.

Holden is one of the notable transfers at the position. He is coming from Alabama where he experienced playing in the National Championship in 2021 as well as an SEC championship. He started in five of his 10 appearances in 2022. He caught 25 passes for 331 yards and six touchdowns.

Holden transferred in December 2022, so Adams said that he is still getting acclimated to the Oregon offense. Adams said that he brings a wealth of experience having played in big games at Alabama. Adams also praised his work ethic, saying that Holden puts in the extra work to be great.

Johnson is the other portal addition at wide receiver transferring from Troy. Last season, he finished with 56 catches for 863 yards and four touchdowns.

“The cool thing about Tez is that he’s consistent,” Adams said. “What I mean by consistent is that he’s consistently the same person every day. He comes in at 6:30 a.m. He’s got a big smile on him.”

Johnson also has a close relationship with Nix. He was adopted by Nix’s parents and the two played together in high school. Despite their relationship, Nix shut down the idea of any favoritism with Johnson.

“The first thing that I did was call Troy Franklin and Kris and those guys and make sure, ‘Hey, we’re trying to provide competition in the room. We’re trying to provide explosive playmakers,’” Nix said. “The thing is, when you talk to a guy like Troy and Kris, they love that. They don’t shy away from it.”

In the era of the transfer portal, if there’s too much competition at a certain position a lot of players will transfer to a school where they can be the star. Instead, this Oregon group is embracing the competition.

“Iron sharpens iron,” Nix said. “When they’re getting better, we’re all getting better.”