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Oregon Freshman Given Huge Role on Veteran Team, Championship Contender
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- Oregon Freshman Given Huge Role on Veteran Team, Championship Contender
(Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard)
Oregon Freshman Given Huge Role on Veteran Team, Championship Contender
The Oregon Ducks are a favorite to win the national championship in the upcoming season thanks to a veteran roster, but a freshman could play a role in how far the program makes it in the College Football Playoff.
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The Ducks lost one of their best players in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft when the New York Jets selected Kenyon Sadiq with the No. 16 pick in April.
Tight end Jamari Johnson is expected to fill Sadiq's shoe s rather nicely. Johnson recorded 32 receptions for 510 yards and three touchdowns last season.
But the Ducks need a second tight end to step up this fall.
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports named Oregon tight end Kendre Harrison as a freshman from the Big 10 to watch for the upcoming season. Crawford thinks Harrison's versatility will be a strength in a new-look offense for the Ducks.
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"There are at least a half-dozen first-year freshmen expected to play for the Ducks this season, but few hold a loftier recruiting grade than Harrison, last year's Gatorade State Player of the Year in North Carolina," Crawford wrote. "Oregon lacks experience at the position behind expected starter Jamari Johnson following Kenyon Sadiq's NFL entry, and Harrison, a former two-sport star, brings impressive ability.
"As part of Oregon's offensive transition following Will Stein's departure to Kentucky as head coach, Harrison, along with others, learned what changes were being made schematically. With Dante Moore in charge, this passing game will still look like Oregon with subtle differences. Harrison is a plug-and-play athlete as long as he brings physicality as a multi-dimensional threat."
Oregon isn't the easiest place for a college tight end to play, despite the fact that the program appears set to send a tight end into the NFL Draft two years in a row.
Ducks head coach Dan Lanning expects his tight ends to be physical blockers in the running game in addition to being excellent targets for their star quarterbacks.
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As a freshman, Harrison will have to develop as a blocker right out of high school.
With that being said, expect Harrison to make an impact in the passing game as he catches passes from a future first-round pick.
