Skip to main content
oregon logo

Ross Douglas Provides a Blueprint to Wide Receiver Success in 2025

On3 imageby:Justin Hopkins•about 15 hours
Evan Stewart
Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart against the Ohio State Buckeyes. (Photo by: Eric Becker/ScoopDuckOn3)

Via Ted Leroux (AKA, Big Ten Ted)

Under former wide receivers coach Junior Adams, the Oregon offense reached record-setting heights.  

On the field, Troy Franklin set single-season receiving records in 2023 and Tez Johnson became one of the most feared slot receivers in college football. Off the field, the acquisition of high school prospects rose to an all-time high as 5-stars Gatlin Bair and Dakorien Moore signed with the Ducks.

So when Adams decided to depart the Pacific Northwest for America’s Team, the NFL Dallas Cowboys, there was a lot of pressure to find a replacement.

Enter Ross Douglas.

Douglas has coached the wide receiver position for a grand total of three years in his 30 years on planet Earth. But it’s what he did in 2024 at Syracuse that should bring optimism to Duck fans and opportunity for those in the position group.

In 2023, the Orange had just one player tally more than 500 receiving yards. With Douglas on the staff in 2024, five players had over 500 receiving yards; three of them had over 900.

Suddenly, Syracuse had the most lethal passing attack in college football.

In his first media availability in Eugene, Douglas came off as confident and extremely self-assured, especially when it came to the gains unheralded pass catchers took under his guidance last season.

“The guys who I inherited in my room, it was a bunch of guys who were counted out, doubted, underappreciated and really didn’t have career statistics,” Douglas said last Tuesday. The prime example of the Syracuse transformation under Douglas was Jackson Meeks.

Before Meeks transferred into Syracuse as a 3-star, he was the 105th ranked wide receiver in the On3 rankings in the class of 2021. He had racked up a grand total of 10 catches for 132 yards in his time at Georgia.

Meeks went on to be the leading receiver for the Orange in 2024, scorching defenses for 1,021 yards and seven TDs. Jackson’s teammates, Trebor Pena and Darrell Gill Jr., also shattered career highs from their previous seasons with the Orange.

If I’m in the Oregon wide receiver room, and my name isn’t Evan Stewart or Dakorien Moore, I would read the above paragraph and smile from ear to ear. Because there is a giant opportunity for everyone in that group.

Douglas laid out a blueprint last season. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done; if you are talented, you will get the football. Gary Bryant Jr., Jeremiah McClellan, Kyler Kasper, Justius Lowe and Malik Benson all have the talent to replicate what Douglas led at Syracuse last season. Another name that becomes very intriguing with this kind of reset is Jurrion Dickey. The former 5-star has battled injuries and lack of playing time in Eugene.

Could a fresh approach and new leadership in the room be exactly what he needs to realize his potential at Oregon?

One thing is for sure. Oregon’s wide receiver expectations should be as high as they have ever been.  

I dove into this topic in depth on the latest edition of my podcast, That Show Out West

YOUTUBE LINK : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW-np2m7rv4

You may also like