The 2024 Oregon Ducks football team is supposed to have one of the best, if not the best receivers room in the country.
They are oozing with talent and with new quarterback Dillon Gabriel tossing them the rock, the receivers are poised to put on a heck of a show this season.
Two of the receivers the Ducks will be counting on, are Traeshon Holden and Evan Stewart.
One has experience in Eugene and the other has none,…and both are still trying to find their way into their new roles within the Oregon offensive scheme.
Both are bound to play significant roles in offensive coordinator Will Stein’s game plan, but as fall camp nears the halfway point, Holden and Stewart are slowly but surely grasping everything that goes into being a prime target for the Ducks.
Holden is entering his second season at Oregon after transferring over from Alabama. In 2023, Holden played a backup role behind the likes of Troy Franklin and Tez Johnson. He caught 37 passes for 452 yards and six touchdowns, all career highs.
But now with Franklin off to the NFL with the Denver Broncos and Johnson moving to the WR1 spot, a lot more will be put on Holden’s shoulders on and off the field.
According to head coach Dan Lanning, Holden is ready to grab that mantle with both hands firmly around the playbook.
“(The) biggest piece that we’re talking with Trey on every single play is, what’s the next play” explained Lanning this week.
“Great last play, what’s the next play? Bad last play, what’s the next play? He’s done a really good job of that, embracing that the last few days, and having that mentality. His best leadership role for us is when he goes out there and puts it on the field every single day, and then how he affects the people around him. And those days that he does that, it makes our team really tough to stop.”
“I feel like the biggest thing I’ve grown is probably my mental,” Holden said.
“Lanning would come to me every day and he’d be like, ‘On a scale of 1-10, how are you leading today?’ I feel like that helps me every day for sure with maturity.”
Stewart is a different story, however.
He went to Texas A&M as one of the top-ranked receiver recruits in the country, but injuries slowed his progress on the field and he wasn’t able to fully show off his talents. He had a great freshman season with 53 receptions for 649 yards and two touchdowns, but a leg injury limited him to just eight games last season.
Now Stewart’s injuries and the turmoil of a subpar 2023 season by the Aggies are in his rearview mirror and he’s ready to show the nation his five-star status was justified.
“Highs and lows, and he would be the same person to tell you that,” said Lanning when asked about Stewart’s progress.
“But I think there’s a lot of positive there with Evan, the way he attacks the ball. Like I said, I think after the spring, he’s one of the best at attacking the ball in the air. Certainly has speed right and continue to look for him to ramp it up and elevate his game for us.”
It took Johnson a half a season to get acclimated to his new surroundings with the Ducks, but once he did, Johnson was one of the best receivers in the Pac-12.
Oregon is hoping the adjustment goes a little quicker for these two because if and when it happens, the Ducks will be near impossible to stop for Big Ten defenses.
( FALL CAMP ) DAN LANNING TALKS AFTER PRACTICE NO. 11