Oregon Ducks' top position battles to monitor in fall camp for 2025

USA Today

30-07-2025

It's been a long offseason in Eugene as the Oregon Ducks look to get back on the field and defend their title as the Big Ten Champions after a remarkable 13-0 regular season and No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
A lot has changed since last year, with 10 Ducks heading to the NFL and a significant amount of roster turnover. With many players graduating, a new guard is coming to Eugene and looking to uphold the standard that has been set in Eugene. With that new-look roster comes a lot of competition as players try to earn starting spots on the depth chart.
We saw in the spring how competitive many of these position battles will be, and now, with fall camp starting on Wednesday, we will continue to see the battles play out as we head into Week 1.
So, where should our attention be focused as we look to see players jockey for position? Let's take a look at our most intriguing position battles to monitor throughout fall camp.
The Entire Oregon Ducks WR Room
The Oregon Ducks' wide receiver room was going to have some major turnover going into the 2025 season even before injury news came. Then, once it was announced that Evan Stewart would miss a significant amount of time with a knee injury, things go thrown more into question.
Early on, it appears that true freshman Dakorien Moore will lead the way. He has turned a lot of heads early on in his tenure as a Duck, especially in the spring game. The real question is about who will step up around Moore.
Kyler Kasper or Jurrion Dickey? Jeremiah McClellan or Justius Lowe? Malik Benson or Gary Bryant Jr? We could write an entire article on the intricate position battles within the WR room as a whole, so I chose just to mention the entire room here and try to go into detail.
At the X position, we originally projected that Evan Stewart would get the nod, but with his injury, that role is now open for another burner, potentially Kasper or McClellan. At the Z position, it will be fascinating to see if incoming Florida State transfer Benson can take over, beating out Lowe for the top spot. You could also have a high-upside player like McClellan in this conversation.
And then we have one of the most intriguing battles in the slot. Will it be the veteran, Bryant Jr., in his final year of eligibility, or true freshman phenom, Moore, the No. 1 WR in the 2025 class? There is so much talent in this room that watching players jockey for position and try to grab starting roles will be fascinating this spring.
Makhi Hughes vs. Noah Whittington
With Jordan James off to the NFL, there is a lead back spot to fill in Oregon's offense, and a pair of incredibly deserving players looking to take over. Noah Whittington has been in Eugene for three seasons, splitting time with James and Bucky Irving, so it would be no surprise to see him step up and fill the RB1 role.
Of course, the Ducks also went into the transfer portal and landed former Tulane Green Wave star Makhi Hughes, one of the top RBs available this year. Hughes has a pair of 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, and over 2,700 total yards and 22 TDs in his two-year career. Seeing him come to Eugene and quickly become a star wouldn't be a surprise.
I also wouldn't be surprised to see the Ducks adopt a running back-by-committee approach, much like they did with Irving and Whittington a couple of years ago.
Dante Moore vs. Austin Novosad
Oregon has had elite quarterback play over the past few years, sending Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel to New York City as Heisman Trophy finalists. It's safe to say that expectations are high for the next guy, with hopes that he will uphold the standard of success in Eugene.
So who will that next guy be? Dante Moore and Austin Novosad are set to go head-to-head this fall and try to jockey for the top spot. The prevailing thought is that Moore will ultimately win the job, as there has been a lot of buzz from former players about his high ceiling, but don't discredit Novosad and what he brings to the table.
Lanning won't name a starter until Week 1, but we can try to read the tea leaves and see who is making a strong impression in fall camp over the next few weeks.
The Entire Oregon Ducks CB Room
Much like the competition in the wide receiver room, there are a million ways you could go in the cornerback room when looking at the many position battles. With Jabbar Muhammad, Nikko Reed, and Dontae Manning graduating, Oregon will have a pair of new starters in 2025.
Will it be Jahlil Florence or Northwestern transfer Theran Johnson? What about Ify Obidegwu, Dakoda Fields, or Sione Laulea? All of them are former highly-rated recruits who have been working their way up the depth chart. And then you have the new, young guard: 5-star Na'eem Offord, 4-star Brandon Finney Jr., and 4-star Dorian Brew would surprise nobody by making waves in spring practice.
Like the WR room, this position group has unlimited talent, but we need to see who steps up and starts leading the way over the next month.
Matthew Bedford vs. Dave Iuli
The offensive line will look quite a bit different for Oregon this year. The Ducks are losing starters Josh Conerly Jr., Ajani Cornelius, Marcus Harper, and Nishad Strother to the NFL. While center Iapani Laloulu returns, the pieces around him will be different. At left tackle, the expectation is that Nevada transfer Isaiah World will step in as the starter. At left guard, USC transfer Immanuel Pregnon should take over. Over at the right tackle, it's not hard to pencil in Texas State transfer Alex Harkey as the starter, but at right guard, there may be a competition.
Last year, the Ducks brought Matthew Bedford from Indiana to fill a starting guard spot, but a preseason injury held him out. Now healthy, he should be ready to step into that starting role. The Ducks also have Dave Iuli, who got some good run last year at the guard spot as a rotational player.
Two highly capable players, and one spots to fill. We'll see who comes out on top after fall camp.
Peyton Woodyard vs. Kingston Lopa vs. Aaron Flowers
Purdue transfer Dillon Thieneman will undoubtedly lock down one starting safety position, but who plays alongside him will be interesting to see. The Ducks have several young guys capable of a more prominent role, but at the top of the list are Peyton Woodyard, Aaron Flowers, and Kingston Lopa. All three are bigger-bodied players who have high upside. Lopa got some good experience playing in the Big Ten Championship game last year, and the Ducks also used Woodyard a lot in special teams as a true freshman. Meanwhile, Aaron Flowers was one of the stars of the show in the spring game last season.
This battle could go either way at the moment, but I can't wait to see how it plays out.
Da'Jaun Riggs vs. Jayden Limar
We already talked about the running back battle between Makhi Hughes and Noah Whittington for the RB1 spot, but I am also very interested to see how Jayden Limar and Da'Jaun Riggs battle for the RB3 spot. A year ago, we saw Limar serve as the third back behind Whittington and Jordan James, but there seems to be a chance that he gets leapfrogged by the redshirt freshman.
In limited action last year, Riggs looked explosive out of the backfield, rushing 11 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. I don't think that Riggs will take over in a predominant role in the backfield this season, but it wouldn't surprise me if he ate into Limar's limited role and became a more significant weapon in the offense.
Jadon Canady vs. Daylen Austin
Going into the offseason, it looked like Daylen Austin was a sure-fire starter at the nickel cornerback position after Brandon Johnson's graduation. However, the Ducks got Jadon Canady in the transfer portal. He will contend for that starting spot. It will be interesting to see how both players play throughout fall camp, and what the hierarchy is at the position going into the summer.
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