Ranking the 25 best Oregon Ducks since 2000: The Honorable Mentions

USA Today

a day ago

Every offseason in college football, as we prepare for the on-field action to commence after the summer months, we typically like to take on a project here at Ducks Wire.
This year, at the quarter-century mark, we thought it would be timely to look back at the past two-plus decades and try to identify the 25 best players in Oregon Ducks football this century. As the Ducks rose to national prominence over the last 25 years and became one of the most recognized programs in the country, dozens of players became household names along the way.
I don't think we realized at the time just how difficult it would be to identify those 25 players.
When reviewing the annals of history and selecting which individuals should be included in our rankings and which ones would miss the cut, I experienced a significant amount of stress. Players like Marcus Mariota, LaMichael James, and Justin Herbert surely had a seat at the table, but what do you do with someone like Christian Gonzalez or LeGarrette Blount? Both players were among the best on the team during their time in Eugene, but they weren't in Eugene for long.
Ultimately, there were far too many players for me to include in a top-25 ranking, which led me to develop the Honorable Mentions list. It's here that the notable Ducks can get their deserved recognition, if nothing else.
Before we get to the Honorable Mentions, a quick reminder of how the top 25 ended up shaking out:
And now, we get to the honorable mentions — a list that is certain to miss a few deserving names as well — in no particular order. These individuals had significant roles to play in the history of the Oregon Ducks, and while they didn't make our list of the 25 best in the 21st century, they undoubtedly deserve their honors.
If you followed along throughout our ranking of the top 25 Oregon Ducks since 2000, I just wanted to offer a sincere thank you. During these offseason months, we put in work to essentially kill time and have fun looking back through the history of this team that we all follow. It was an enjoyable exercise, but one that I'm glad is behind us.
Now, let's get to football season.
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