Oregon Football TE Preview: Cam McCormick's Comeback
The current status of College Football be damned, I’m writing previews at every single position for the 2020-21 Oregon Ducks. We’ve talked quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers so far. Now is the time to talk about tight ends.
The biggest tight end story coming into Spring camp was the status of Senior Cam McCormick. Cam was the presumptive starter last year before being ruled out for the year to injury. Jacob Breeland and a stable of young tight ends stepped up quite admirably in his place, but McCormick has recently been granted two whole extra years of eligibility due to medical hardship. As long as he’s still in shape in the Fall, I see no reason why he wouldn’t be among the top two on the depth chart.
Senior Hunter Kampmoyer is absolutely the best blocking tight end on this roster, this year or last. Perhaps in the whole conference. When you spotted him pre-snap ahead of Cyrus or CJ, you could almost guarantee he was going to be leading the way, and leading to yards, yards, and points.
I overuse this expression in my writing and in my daily life, but if you haven’t sat in awe of a Hunter Kampmoyer lead block, then you haven’t Shakespeare the way it was meant to played.
Kampy’s hands were a bit shaky at the end of last season (particularly in a bad drop at the end the Rose Bowl) but luckily he happens to be teammates with Johnny Johnson, so he knows who to go to when he wants to improve his pass-catching ability by a billion percent in just one offseason.
Redshirt Sophomore Spencer Webb grew up a lot over the course of 2019, both in personal attitude and skill.
Per Webb’s own admission, he came into the Oregon program a little cocky. He told a story on Twitter about how he took off his shirt in the middle of a hot offseason workout, but Justin “The Hero” Herbert essentially told him to put it back on, and, “that’s not the way we do it at Oregon.” Webb said he was initially annoyed, but somewhere along 2019 he understood Justin’s example of leadership. It’s a very little thing, but it’s an anecdote that Webb shared openly to the world, and I think that shows how ready he is to continue to be selfless and mindful of his teammates, which he will need as he improves as a blocker.
In terms of pass-catching, Webb became mister reliable for Herbie in 2019, highlighted by putting an Auburn cornerback on a poster to start the season. Expect more game breaking plays from Webb as he connects with Mr. Shough and the rest of the offense.
The Boy King AKA Redshirt Freshman Patrick Herbert didn’t get to connect with big bro last year, but we know there’s still some magic left in that lineage, so I hope we get to see him step right into the NFL-sized shoes his brother left behind.
Junior DJ Johnson is truly a riddle-wrapped-in-a-mystery-inside-an-enigma. A linebacker transfer from Miami who sat out for most of 2018, he then gained twenty pounds and played at defensive end in 2019. Now DJ has since lost those twenty pounds and moved again, this time to tight end. He has been around football for a long time, at two high profile programs, but I can’t honestly predict how he’ll fare at tight end. But I can’t say I’m not excited to see him and all his 258 pounds lead blocking, doling out punishment to any and all defensive positions.
At 6’7”, Redshirt Freshman Tyler Nanney is the tallest tight end on the roster, and I wish I had more to tell you about Tyler Nanney, but that’s all I can really say about Tyler Nanney.
#TylerNanneyIsTall
Go Ducks