DEFENSIVE BACKS

ROB'S TAKE



Projected depth chart

Assessing where things stand for the Oregon football team entering the start of preseason camp Aug. 8.: The good news for Oregon's secondary entering 2016 is, the Ducks have everybody back from 2015. Then again, it's a unit that really struggled for much of last fall, with multiple freshmen pressed into action and several position changes implemented before the secondary found any consistency at midseason. There are several veterans who have played a lot of football at this point, inand. But position coachis encouraged by several of his underclassmen, too, setting up a competitive month of August on the back end.At safety,was coming into his own early in 2015 before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year.was one of the freshmen pressed into action during the quest for consistency last fall, and he will be a factor at corner; the cliche is that players make their biggest improvements between their freshman and sophomore years, and Amadi showed signs in the spring of embodying that stereotype.: A year ago at this time,was an incoming freshman receiver expected to redshirt. By September he was on the travel squad, but by midseason he was moved to defense — cementing his redshirt status, but also clearing a quicker path to playing time away from Oregon's deep group of proven receivers. This past spring, that was borne out when Lovette took some reps with the first-team defense at cornerback. He's an intelligent, mature freshman, and he was a consistent playmaker in Oregon's Friday scout-team scrimmages last fall. Another 2015 signee,, isn't technically a new face for 2016, because he played on special teams last season. But this spring he looked like a potential new contributor in the secondary, a physical force who can add to the aggressive nature new coordinatorwants to see in his defense. Neal added one true freshman to the group, in-state prospect Good shape . "The Ducks' secondary was the least consistent unit on a very inconsistent defense in 2015. But defensive backs coachis feeling confident heading into 2016 given the returning talent he has.", So.;, RFr.;, RFr.;, Sr., Jr.;, Jr.;, Jr.;, RFr., Jr.;, So.;, Sr.;, RFr., Jr.;, So.;, So.;, Fr.;, RFr.: The thinking here is that Springs and Robinson are in good position to hold on to their starting spots, and that Williams will get a long look at the other safety spot. So the most competitive position battle could be at the other corner position, between the likes of Amadi, Lovette and Seisay. At safety, Leiato could be the wild card; if he can hold his own well enough in coverage to earn playing time, his physical nature will be a real asset. It will be up to a veteran like Daniels to rebound from last season's struggles and get himself back into the mix; nobody is so established in the secondary that he can't be pushed for playing time by a teammate who has an outstanding preseason camp.