Spring Preview: Oregon Receivers

Oregon receiver Josh Huff

I'm not gonna do a position by position breakdown of the Oregon Ducks roster -  don't have the time for that - gonna leave that up to the pro's.  But I will do one for my favorite position battles; starting with receivers.

As a former receiver myself (albeit not at the D1 level) this position in particular means a lot to me.  I'm always intrigued by what Oregon's bringing to the table receiver wise.  I wanna see play-makers at that position getting some love!

Last year was a tough year for the Oregon receiver's.  True freshman De'Anthony Thomas led the team in receiving yards and had 9 receiving touchdowns.  But he was originally recruited as a RB, and with LaMichael James going pro, he will be featured primarily at that position next year.

Oregon also loses veteran receiver Lavasier Tuinei, who stepped up big in the Rose Bowl, earning offensive MVP, and they lose TE David Paulson, who was a big part of the offense and named co-most outstanding player.

But not to fear:  Oregon has a lot of talent coming up through the wings, guys that I've been excited about seeing for a while.

First are the returners:  starter Josh Huff and one guy to keep an eye on, Rahsaan Vaughn.  We all know what Huff can do.  Vaughn has shown glimpses of being special too, just needs to be more consistent.

Oregonian reporter Aaron Fentress said this about Vaughn: "Vaughn showed flashes but he never established himself as a top-flight receiver.  He will have another chance this year."

But he's not the only returner who will have a chance to compete for more playing time next year, so will Daryle Hawkins and Eric Dungy (son of Tony Dungy).

Challenging them for playing time is the talented bunch I talked about being excited to see.

Leading the way is a pair of 4 star receivers from the 2011 class in Devon Blackmon and Tacoi Sumler.  They join BJ Kelly who, like Blackmon and Sumler, redshirted last season.  All three of them have speed to burn.  Kelly is a track star and Sumler was plucked out of the state of Florida - and we all know how good those FL athletes are!

Oh and who replaces David Paulson at TE?  How 'bout 5 star recruit from 2011 Colt Lyerla!

The future is promising for Oregon's receivers.  On paper, it could develop into one of the most talented corps under Chip Kelly.