Is Dillon Gabriel The Next Bo Nix?
And other preseason ponderings.
It’s a new season, new conference, and there are some new-ish faces that have to step into the considerable holes left behind by Oregon’s worst 12-win team in program history.
One of the joys of college football has always been the opportunity to reveal new heroes, fan favorites, and one-year wonders.
Who’s going to recreate Kenny Wheaton’s freshman season? Or Akili Smith’s senior season?
In most cases, these answers are pretty obvious.
Dillon Gabriel is the next Bo Nix.
Gabriel is the preseason Heisman favorite, he’s a proven P5 starter, and he’s absolutely going to run the offense at a high level.
Even if he doesn’t end up in New York at the end of the year, and even if he’s ultimately not as electric or as near-perfect as Bo Nix was in 2023, his success this season is a no-brainer.
But we aren’t going to break any new ground talking about the QB here.
Historically, these preseason predictions can get wild—like in 2019 when some folks really wanted to believe that Sean Dollars was going to be RB1 in Mario Cristobal’s hard-nosed (read: hard-headed) offense.
But I think I have a few predictions and conversation-starters that will land somewhere between “Duh” and “Dollars-pilled”:
Tez Johnson is the next Troy Franklin.
I know Dan went out and got Evan Stewart from Texas A&M, and I know that Traeshon Holden and Terrance Ferguson are both literally bigger targets than the 5’10” Tez, but Tez Johnson literally set the single-season receptions record at Oregon in 2023 (plus, he was third in single-season receiving yards).
And from all accounts coming out of Spring and Fall camps, Tez has only grown as a receiver from last year.
He has the speed and versatility to keep shining in Will Stein’s dynamic offense that wants to attack the air with short, intermediate, and deep passes.
Plus, if my previous logic holds, and Dillon Gabriel inherits the “Checkdown Charlie” moniker from Bo Nix, then it stands to reason that—as Bo’s brother—Tez will rack up even more records as the new WR1 in the slot.
UTSA transfer Kam Alexander is our next CB1.
This one might be my hottest take, but I’m going to say it anyway.
And don’t get me wrong, I am wildly excited that we added Husky turncoat, Jabbar Muhammad.
But PFF doesn’t think my take is even that hot:
Usually, you should be alarmed if you agree with PFF, but since it serves my current argument, I’m going to act like a woman dating John Mayer in the 2010s and simply ignore all the red flags.
For that reason—and many others—I’m still all-in on Kam Alexander as our lockdown, put-him-on-their-best receiver coverage guy.
He’s the slightest bit longer and beefier than Jabbar, he was named to the 2023 first team All-AAC, and his PFF coverage grade is even better than his overall corner grade, at 82.1.
Once again, Jabbar and Kam are probably going to be pretty equal from now until December—and Jabbar might even get more Big Ten honors/be the Thorpe Award finalist based on his considerable head start with name recognition alone—but I ultimately think Duck fans are going to be praying that Kam is the one lined up against Ohio’s Emeka Egbuka on October 12th.
Jordan Burch is the next Jordan Burch.
At least, I want this to be true.
Burch came in with SEC-sized expectations, and he showed flashes of brilliance last year, but he also virtually disappeared in the two biggest games of the season (at Washington & Vs. Washington).
Everybody knows that he still has so much more to achieve in an Oregon uniform.
If you’ve watched any of Oregon’s fall camp YouTube series, That Team Out West, you’ve heard that same kind of hope in both Tosh and Dan’s voices when they talk about Jordan and his potential.
Without Dorlus, Taki, or Casey Rogers right next to him, Burch has the chance to be the number one guy on the defensive line, and with some speed and consistency, there’s a path for him to become the Jordan Burch we’ve always hoped Jordan Burch would be.
In that same vein, Noah Whittington is the next Noah Whittington.
Sheesh, Noah started the year off hot in 2023.
Jordan James might be listed as RB1 when you fire up your Xbox tonight, but if Noah can bounce back from his knee injury with ease, I think we’ll be dealing with one of our most dynamic touchdown scorers since the last two notable guys to wear #6.
And finally, Teitum Tuioti is the next Nick Reed.
Teitum Tuioti is going to be a first-team All-American before he leaves Eugene.
In 2007, Nick Reed was third-team All-American, and then in he made first-team in 2008. That’s the blueprint for Eugene’s next big Sheldon alum.
People forget, but Nick Reed basically invented the standup edge rusher position.
And I think TT might have a chance to perfect it.
Tuioti racked up multi-tackle games in 8 of 13 games last season as a freshman, and with Lanning’s track record of developing linebackers (see: Jeff Bassa) I’m beyond excited to watch him cook with such a bundle of raw talent like Teitum.
And there you have it. My bold predictions for 2024 and beyond.
I’m sure some of these things will come true, and others will fall hilariously flat, but either way, I’ll naturally only remind of the stuff I was right about.
We’re just 15 days away, folks.
Go Ducks.