Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson evaluates “drip” from coaches and teammates
Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson evaluates the drip of his colleagues in the receiver room and position coach Junior Adams.
During his three-year tenure in Eugene, Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning has emphasized four “DNA traits” of the program that he believes are critical to a successful program:
Connection, growth, toughness and sacrifice.
Connectivity, in particular, was a major focus for the Ducks in preseason interviews. Although Lanning expects the entire team to be connected, Oregon wide receivers and position coach Junior Adams have developed their own method for staying connected as a group.
Inspired by the African Ubuntu philosophy, which means “I am because we are,” the Ducks strive to have the best and most connected receiver room in the country.
“This is a family thing we say,” receiver Tez Johnson said. “We carry this with us every day. It’s not just a word. It’s something we live by in this room. We hold every guy in this room to that Ubuntu standard. We’re a family.”
“The room is full, but together we are dangerous. We are unstoppable, no one can stop us.”
Although the Ducks drafted the NFL’s all-time best receiver, Troy Franklin, last season, they return key players from last season in Johnson, Traeshon Holden and Gary Bryant Jr. They also bring in former Texas A&M five-star recruit Evan Stewart and will have a healthy Jurrion Dickey – Oregon’s trophy of the 2023 recruiting class and another five-star receiver – who will compete for catches.
Adams has one of his deeper rooms since his time as coach in Eugene and wants the receivers in his room to make his job difficult.
“They understand the deal, too,” Adams said. “Not only will they play wide receiver, they’ll play special teams. Special teams is a big deal here. If that’s what we want, they’ll do it. That’s their gift to the team and they’ve bought into it.”
The Ducks were also able to add several talented new receivers to the team, including Jeremiah McClellan, Ryan Pellum, Dillon Gresham and Jack Ressler, to pair with up-and-coming talents like Kyler Kasper and Justius Lowe.
Johnson and others have said that none of the receivers see themselves as the true No. 1 in their room and they would do anything to help Oregon win.
“We have a group of guys that are unselfish,” Bryant said. “Everyone is on the same page. We have one goal and that is the national championship. Whether a player gets 100 yards one game or zero the next game, the next guy might get two. I think the guys do a pretty good job of cheering the next guy on.”
Ultimately, this starts at the very top with Lanning and his four program features, which the receiver space in Ubuntu emphasizes in its own way – or puts the “we” above the “I”.
“We want to be the most connected team in the country,” Johnson said. “Because we’re the most connected team in the country, I think we’re unstoppable. I don’t think a lot of teams out there want to be connected, they just want to get to their goal. They want to get to the playoffs or the national championship. But you have to be connected.”
Keep an eye on
Bryant, a transfer receiver from last year, started 12 games for the Ducks last season but had limited productivity compared to Franklin and Johnson, catching 30 passes for 442 yards and four touchdowns.
Although the Ducks signed a ton of talent during the offseason, Bryant has already completed a year in Oregon’s system after transferring from USC and could have a more successful season if he can prevail against younger competition on the roster.
Newcomer in the spotlight
Stewart was the top-ranked receiver on the market when he entered the transfer portal. He is a former five-star recruit with untapped potential and joins an offense that had two 1,000-yard receivers a year ago.
Stewart totaled 91 catches, 1,163 yards and six touchdowns in 18 games over two seasons at Texas A&M before transferring to Oregon in the offseason.
Important number
2,105 – Of Oregon’s 3,496 receiving yards by wideouts last season, 2,105 yards are coming back this season. That’s about 60% of the Ducks’ total receiving yards, along with the added talents of Stewart and a strong freshman class.
Alec Dietz covers football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball at the University of Oregon for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at [email protected] and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
