Oregon's defense made massive strides last fall under new defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt. Under his guidance, the Ducks allowed opponents to score 12.4 fewer points per game, gain 149 fewer yards per game — including 122 fewer on the ground.

Less improvements were observed through the air, however. For the season, opponents gained about 30 fewer yards per game through the air in 2017 than in 2016. And, as was the case in 2016, once again, the Ducks were victimized by the deep ball.

The loss of starting corner Arrion Springs seemed to cast doubt upon whether making further improvements this fall were likely. After all, it's been true sophomore Deommodore Lenoir stepping into Springs' role. But, the Ducks have seemed to make strides through two games this fall. Bowling Green and Portland State have averaged 205.5 yards per game this year — 26 fewer than in 2017. Nearly a quarter of those yards were gained on a pair of 60 plus scoring strikes. Neither play was made against a cornerback.

“One of the things I prided myself on this offseason has been not getting beat deep," said corner Thomas Graham.

On tape Graham and the rest of the corners identified several plays against Bowling Green and Portland State where looks deep were shut down by the team's coverage.

"I feel like based on our technique and when we went through film, that they had tried to throw it deep, but since we had good coverage, they took the check down instead of that," he said.

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That has been a major priority for the Oregon secondary. It was one of the first things new cornerbacks coach Donte Williams addressed when he arrived in Eugene to take the job, and it has been brought up routinely by co-defenisve coordinator Keith Heyward along with Leavitt and Williams.

“At corner, you’re out there on an island," Heyward said on Wednesday. "You’re isolated versus some very good receivers in weeks to come, so it comes down to keeping everything in front and then coming down to make a tackle. That’s what we’re going to keep doing with those guys."

The Ducks will have to grow, and do so quickly at corner. While they've yet to be beaten deep like they were a year ago, San Jose State provides speed on the edge, and Pac-12 foes are expected to be equally speedy.

“The tests are going to continue to come," Heyward explained. "We’ve been harping on [Graham and Lenoir] all year long about how we have to defend the deep ball. That showed up on third and long situations last year. But, they’ve been growing."

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Behind Graham and Lenoir are true freshmen Kahlef Hailassie and Verone McKinley, along with junior college transfer Haki Woods. Hailassie has gotten run at corner along with Woods, while McKinley has spent most of his time at nickel.

"Kahlef has gotten some playing time in the games," Heyward said. "He’s been doing some good things competing. He’s still learning the scheme and how to play at this level.

"[Verone] got more snaps last week versus Portland State than he did against Bowling Green. He’s continuing to grow also."

The plan is to maximize all three players reps during preseason play, as the matchup of titans looms the following week against a Stanford team which scored four touchdowns through the air a year ago.

“As much as we can play them, and we have the luxury with the new rule with the four games, will be the best, so we can figure out what exactly they can do and how they can help us this season," Heyward said.