Players to Watch

BY: Maverick Pallack @mavpallack

DEFENSE

JEVON HOLLAND

The freshman safety is tied for the team and Pac-12 lead in interceptions with three. He has already tied sophomore Thomas Graham’s total from last season and has the most interceptions by a freshman safety since now-wide receiver Brenden Schooler in 2016. Holland has 12 solo tackles and two pass break-ups. With Oregon’s tendency to use three safeties (the other two are Ugochukwu Amadi and Nick Pickett), Holland has effectively put himself in the position to get more chances for interceptions.

DRAYTON CARLBERG

The redshirt junior was not projected to start this season, but after starting defensive end Austin Faoliu went down with an injury against Stanford, Carlberg was given a chance. He stopped Stanford running back Cameron Scarlett on third and 1 in the third quarter and came up with a momentum-shifting stop of Scarlett again in the fourth quarter, tackling him for a loss on fourth and 1. The next week, Carlberg had another dramatic stop for the Ducks. Carlberg stripped Cal quarterback Brandon McIlwain and Oregon linebacker La’Mar Winston scooped the ball up and returned it for a 61-yard touchdown. With his effective play and flair for the dramatic, Carlberg should see the field a lot more going forward.

OFFENSE

JOHNNY JOHNSON III

Dillon Mitchell has had an explosive last two weeks. He now has 27 receptions for 442 yards, both more than double the second player on that list. Eventually, defenses are going to double-team him, making a second consistent target for quarterback Justin Herbert all the more important. Johnny Johnson is the most logical of the group to fill that role. The sophomore leads the team in touchdowns (four) and has 10 receptions for 177 yards. Although drops plagued the group early in the season, Johnson has made some difficult catches look easy lately.

TONY BROOKS-JAMES

After sustaining an injury against Stanford, Brooks-James was limited to just kick-return duties against Cal. Fellow running backs Travis Dye, CJ Verdell and Cyrus Habibi-Likio played very well in Brooks-James’ absence, which should only increase the constant level of talent in the backfield. But Brooks-James will not lose his role in the offense and should see a lot of carries when he returns. The senior has 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns thus far and has had over 450 rushing yards the last two seasons (771 in 2016).