Oregon spring football position preview: Cornerback

Oregon is set to open spring practices on March 10. There is plenty of excitement surrounding Dan Lanning’s program, and there is no shortage of storylines related to the Ducks’ roster. In the coming days, ScoopDuck will have you covered with position-by-position previews that highlight a key returner, key newcomer, and a breakout candidate at each spot.

Next up: Inside linebacker

Previously:

• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Wide receivers
• Tight ends
• Offensive line
• Defensive line
• Inside linebackers
• Edge rushers

Scholarship players

• Darren Barkins (R-Fr)
• Trikweze Bridges (R-Soph.)
• Donj’rael Brooks (R-Fr)
• Avante Dickerson (Soph.)
• Jahlil Florence (Signee)
• Christian Gonzalez (Soph.)
• Dontae Manning (Soph.)
• Khamari Terrell (Signee)
• Jalil Tucker (Signee)

Key returner

Trikweze Bridges

The fact that Bridges is the pick here illustrates just how different Oregon’s cornerback is going to look from last season. He was a rotation player for the Ducks last season who had some bright moments and also experienced some growing pains.

Now, he’s about to take on a much larger role at Oregon.

Mykael Wright and DJ James are both gone, which means the Ducks are in search of two new starting corners. It’s fair to assume that incoming transfer Christian Gonzalez is going to lock down one of those spots. But the Ducks can’t just lean on Gonzalez to fill the void of Wright and James. They need one of their former blue-chip recruits to take the next step in their progression and lock down a starting job.

Most likely, the other spot will come down to a position battle between Trikweze Bridges and Dontae Manning. Avante Dickerson and Darren Barkins could absolutely be in the mix as well, but Bridges (282) and Manning (258) both played significant snaps for Oregon last season.

There’s no reason to beleive Bridges can’t be the guy. At 6-foot-3, he is a uniquely talented player who seems as though he could be poised for a really big season in 2022.

Key newcomers

Christian Gonzalez

With the departures of Wright and James, it was paramount that Dan Lanning and his staff add an experienced, proven cornerback in the offseason.

In former Colorado standout Christian Gonzalez, they found exactly that.

As a second-year freshman in 2021, Gonzalez earned all-conference honorable mention honors and played a team-high 811 snaps. He finished the season with 53 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss in 12 games.

Gonzalez earned a grade of 71.1 from Pro Football Focus last season, which registered as the 14th-best among all Pac-12 corners. He ranked two spots behind Wright and five spots behind James on that list.

A 6-foot-2, 200-pound former 4-star signee from The Colony, Texas, Gonzalez was the No. 3-ranked signee in Colorado’s 2020 class.

He was On3’s No. 287 overall prospect and the No. 41 cornerback.

At Oregon, Gonzalez will be reunited with newly-hired Ducks’ cornerbacks’ coach Demetrice Martin, who spent the past two seasons as the Buffs’ cornerbacks coach.

Breakout candidates

Jahlil Florence and Jalil Tucker

The future looks very, very bright for Oregon at cornerback.

The top two signees in Oregon’s 2022 class are former Lincoln (Calif.) stars Jahlil Florence and Jalil Tucker, a pair of 4-star cornerbacks who are long, incredibly athletic, and potentially capable of contributing immediately at Oregon.

Both Florence and Tucker are explosive players who delivered some eye-popping sprint numbers during their outdoor track careers. After they signed, QB11 wrote in-depth about each player and what makes them unique.

For more information on what to expect from the pair of highly-touted defensive backs, give those evals a read below.

**Eval: Jalil Tucker**

** Eval: Jahlil Florence **