Coming into the 2002 season, one of the big questions surrounding Oregon football was how the offense was going to perform. The Ducks have a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator to go along with unproven talent at the tailback position.
But the one position group most had question marks about was the receivers. Oregon has had pure talent at that position for quite some time, but whether it be an average quarterback or overly cautious playcalling, it seems as if that receiver talent was largely untapped.
Until now.
With Bo Nix throwing the ball and Kenny Dillingham calling the plays, the Ducks are showing the hype surrounding the receivers is real and Pac-12 opponents are suffering because of it.
One of those receivers flourishing in the new system is 6-foot-3, 180-pound Troy Franklin. He leads Oregon in receiving with 24 catches and he’s scored three times, including a 50-yard touchdown to give the Ducks a late lead over Washington State.
“Our whole offense is connected and we just know what we’re going to do,” Franklin said. “We also prepare a lot and getting in the reps gives us confidence.”
A part of those reps are sideline drills and those came in handy against Stanford with Franklin literally tiptoeing the sideline in order to come down with a touchdown. It was so close that officials had to go to the replay monitor to see if the Oregon receiver had indeed kept his foot in bounds.
“It was a routine catch, I would say,” Franklin added. “Either that week or the week before, we were working on sideline drills. Everything comes from practice.”
Photo courtesy of Tom Corno – Duck Sports Authority
As the Arizona game approaches as with the rest of the season, Oregon fans should expect even more passes downfield as the offense gels.
Head coach Dan Lanning says quarterback Bo Nix needs to work on his timing with the receivers and everything is coming along nicely.
“The ball has to be thrown earlier and we don’t want to put the ball in jeopardy. If they’re in a position to get their hands on it at the end, that’s not something we want,” he said.
That being said, Lanning is pleased with the progress.
“Knowing Bo and going against Bo for a long time myself and then coach (Kenny) Dillingham’s familiarity with Bo we knew how athletic Bo is. He’s really talented,” Lanning said. “He’s probably as fast a quarterback as there is.”