No option barred as Oregon football aims to overhaul the kick return unit

EUGENE — For all the team speed Oregon has, one place it hasn’t been is in kickoff returns.

The Ducks ranked 128th nationally last season, averaging just 15.4 yards on an albeit small sample of 20 returns, many of which were designed for short kicks to tight ends. Oregon’s longest return of the season was 24 yards, and Gary Bryant Jr. averaged 18.5 yards over his 14 returns, but even his contributions would have only moved UO to 91st in national level.

For a special teams group whose motto is “changing the game,” kickoff returns are one of the major areas of focus to improve entering the season.

“It probably starts with the decision making there; making good decisions,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “A fair catch is sometimes a kickoff return win because you know you’re going to start with the ball at the 25. Ultimately, big decision makers, and then we’ve got to be able to block guys up front. The hardest job in football is being a guy on the front line on KOR and having to run back 30 yards and then turn around and block someone. So we have to be good at it and we have to train for it.”

Oregon has had no shortage of options in the return game in Lanning’s two seasons, but has turned to the No. 3 receiver each season to handle the responsibility. Most all quarterbacks lead the kickoff rotation practice every day, but with one exception, Bucky Irving’s returns have been limited to bowl games only.

Despite Bryant’s absence from Tuesday’s practice, the Ducks have a deeper group of talent and speed to draw from this year, including running backs Noah Whittington, Jordan James, Jayden Limar and Da’Jaun Riggs and cornerbacks Nikko Reed and Rodrick Pleasant.

Special teams coach Joe Lorig expects to whittle down the group as the season approaches and said no one is allowed to return kickoffs, but players must prove they can make the best decisions and secure the ball, on in addition to being dynamic.

“You want to get to where you’re at least three deep on each side and then build some kind of chemistry between the non-returner and the returner, but I definitely think we have enough,” Lorig said. “We have enough bodies and enough talent there that I think we can be explosive in the return game. I don’t want to just be good on special teams. I want to be good in attack and defense so we can win. We will play the best boys. Sometimes what people don’t realize is like we only have two goals on special teams: possession and no penalties.

“I don’t care if we’re first in the nation in kickoff returns as long as we have the football, because we have a dynamic offense. If you give our offense the ball between the 20 and 30 yard line, we’re going to score a lot of points. We want to eliminate negative plays and we have to have guys out there that are going to make great decisions. … It’s got to be that it really comes first and foremost in our process is who’s going to give us the best chance to make sure we get the minimum ball to the 25 and then if that guy was and one of the most explosive returners, that’s a great thing.”

Oregon hasn’t had a touchdown since Mykael Wright had a 98-yarder against Oregon State on Nov. 30, 2019. That’s a streak the Ducks look to snap this fall and Whittington, among others, do whatever you can to get a chance to be one of the deep people.

“We’ve got players there,” Whittington said. “I feel like no matter who she put in there, we’re going to take her to the crib. Especially if I’m on the off-returner because I’m going to block my ass. … There’s a big emphasis on that in the special teams meeting, and I feel like we’re going to get the job done this year.

“We might get — objectively, I say like five, five or four. I’m for good. We really got down to the nitty-gritty. It was at the front end of what we need to improve on.”