Drew Mehringer Sees Toughness, Experience and Potential in Oregon Tight End Room

Fans across college football should expect Oregon to have one of the best tight end rooms in the country this year when the season kicks off on August 31 against the Idaho Vandals. Veterans Terrance Ferguson and Patrick Herbert return for one last ride, while a budding star like Kenyon Sadiq looks to make a name for himself in Will Stein’s offense.

Tight ends coach Drew Mehringer spoke with the media following Friday’s practice. Below is a partial transcription from that press conference, along with some analysis.

Question: How’s fall camp going?

Mehringer: “Fall camp’s great. We’ve got a really good culture on the team. We are developing a lot older guys, senior leadership, we’ve been senior heavy the last few years so some of these guys from my unit, Pat (Patrick Herbert) and Ferg (Terrance Ferguson) really growing and developing in their leadership. Pushing some of the young guys. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been very competitive on both sides of the ball. A lot of back and forth which is generally a really good sign.”

Question: What’s it been like for you coaching a younger squad this time around?

Mehringer: “Coach Lanning’s done an unbelievable job bringing in the right guys. When you’re bringing in the right people obviously talent is a prerequisite, but also character and intelligence, things like that. It’s fun to integrate those guys into our culture, into our practice and see what those guys can do. We’ve got a lot of guys that really want to. Some of them are still learning that college football’s a lot harder than it was in high school and some of those other guys are pretty freaking good.”

Question: What have you seen from Kenyon’s overall growth from when he showed up last spring to now a full year in the system?

Mehringer: “I think for a lot of young guys you get by in high school by eating Doritos and showing up to practice just ’cause…give me a Dr. Pepper or a Coke and I’m good to go. You really can’t do that here. Kenyon show’s up, he was never really like that, but learning how to prepare and get his body right—he came in at 218/219, he’s 240. Still looks fantastic, grows. He’s kind of like Pat and Ferg doesn’t say a whole lot, prepares very very well. He’s awesome and to see where he’s grown just knowledge-wise within the room but also the relationships that have grown within that room. Kenyon’s been awesome. Really excited about where he’s at.”

Question: What’s a guy like Patrick Herbert mean to this room?

Mehringer: “Patrick Herbert is the epitome of toughness. This is a guy that doesn’t say a whole lot, that does the right thing, misses very very very rare assignments, is prepared, plays through injury. He’s banged up, doesn’t care. Breaks his finger in the middle of practice, doesn’t care, will not put on a red jersey. He’s an awesome human being. For our room, between him and Ferg there’s nowhere to go, you kind of stand out if you’re not about it and about coming to work every single day.”

Torres’ Take

This may be the most talented Oregon’s tight end room has been in my career covering the team. You cold make a case for the 2021 season with Ferguson, Spencer Webb and Moliki Matavao being the main contributors.

You know what you have with Ferguson, a reliable and versatile offensive weapon that can do everything you want at the position, and now with Herbert you have a better idea of what you have after he battled injury for so much of his career. He’s a rock-solid blocker and he’s become more of a play making threat in the last year.

I can’t recall a time there’s been this much hype around a young tight end like Kenyon Sadiq. He saw a decent amount of playing time last season and he’s adjusted well to the college game. Add in how much he’s changed his body since arriving at Oregon and it feels like he’s in store for a breakout year. And the staff needs it with Ferguson and Herbert both moving on after this season.