Everybody hunts the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 at this time of year. Problem is, every year it’s the Ducks who do most of the reloading.

There’s been a changing of the guard at some of the skill positions. Josh Huff, the team’s leading receiver in 2013, is catching passes for the Eagles. Bralon Addison, the second leading receiver last year, is probably out for the season with a torn ACL. Lightning quick De’Anthony Thomas turned pro early and plays for the Chiefs.

So what was a head coach to do, in this case second-year man Mark Helfrich after losing so many weapons from the team that was second in the nation in total offense?

Sure, all-world quarterback Marcus Mariota was back, and so was San Jose native Byron Marshall, the Ducks’ leading rusher last year. But what about the rest of the playmakers?

No problem, as it turned out. When Stanford visits the No. 5 Ducks on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Autzen Stadium, the Cardinal will be dealing with some fresh faces. Fresh faces and extraordinary talents.

Of Oregon’s 50 touchdowns this season, 22 have been scored by freshmen, the most of any team in FBS. To break it down, Royce Freeman is sixth in the nation in rushing TDs with 13. He also has thrown a scoring pass to Mariota – not bad for a true freshman.

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Devon Allen, a player the Cardinal wanted badly, has six touchdowns. Freshman Charles Nelson has two TDs on punt returns, and redshirt freshman running back Kai Benoit has one TD.

Marshall now plays more slot receiver than running back. He leads the Ducks in receiving with 38 catches for 521 yards. Oh, and he’s averaging 11.2 yards per carry out of the backfield.

Marshall said in a phone interview he had never played wide receiver before but he didn’t mind the switch. “It’s not about me,’’ he said. “For me it’s best for the team.’’

He played at Valley Christian High School like his older brother, Cameron, a former Arizona State rushing star now with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.

According to Marshall, the Ducks aren’t mainly motivated against Stanford by the chance to atone for their 2012 and ’13 losses. “To get where we want to go at the end of the season, we need to beat them,’’ he said. “I don’t think confetti’s going to drop from the ceiling if we win.’’

The main reason he was moved to wideout will be readily apparent in this game. Freeman is 6-feet, 229 pounds of power and balance. He averaged 11.8 yards a carry for four years at Imperial (Ca.) High.

Stanford head coach David Shaw said “Rolls Royce’’ reminds him of Jonathan Stewart, a former Oregon tailback now with the Panthers. But Shaw points out Stewart “looked like that as a senior, not as a true freshman. That’s a little disheartening.’’

He thinks Stewart was the best tailback to play for Oregon, but “this guy is pushing him. When he’s done, he’s going to have some ridiculous numbers.’’

Allen probably will have ridiculous numbers, too, and in more than one sport. He’s already the NCAA 110-meter hurdles champion, running a 13.16 that’s the second fastest college time ever.

He picked Oregon over Stanford and a host of other schools, he said, because he could compete for national powerhouses in both football and track and field.

Being named MVP of Oregon’s spring game gave his confidence a big lift, he said. In his second college game, against Michigan State, he exploded for scores of 70 and 24 yards.

Playing with Mariota is “in one word, easy,’’ Allen said. “He puts it where only we can catch it. We just run our routes and expect the ball to be there.’’