Dan Lanning’s offseason additions may grab the headlines, but Oregon’s 2026 ceiling could end up being shaped by the players who were already in the building or waiting for their turn.
That’s the thread running through three names that stand out for the Ducks: receiver Evan Stewart, linebacker Devon Jackson and kicker Gage Hurych. One on offense, one on defense, one on special teams. Different roles, same idea - if these guys hit, Oregon’s season can change fast.
Stewart is the easiest place to start because the praise around him has been loud enough to cut through Lanning’s usual reluctance to single anyone out. At Big Ten Media Days, the Oregon coach named Stewart, and even that caught the receiver off guard.
“Evan Stewart’s had a really good offseason,” Lanning said. “He was out for us last year.
He was injured during the year, but I’m really excited about what Evan can bring to our team this year. We have a lot of great players, so it’s unfair for me to pick one, but he’s had a great offseason.
I’m excited to see what he can create this year.”
Stewart missed all of 2025 because of a torn patellar injury, but the year before that he was a real difference-maker in Eugene. In 2024, he caught 48 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns, and he delivered in the biggest spots too, going over 100 receiving yards with a touchdown against both Boise State and Ohio State.
If he gets back to that level - or pushes beyond it - Oregon’s passing game gets another dangerous piece alongside Dakorien Moore, Jeremiah McClellan and Dante Moore.
Jackson brings a different kind of importance. Oregon’s staff has spent fall camp talking up the linebacker’s work ethic and physical tools, and he’s already drawn national attention by landing on Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List.” The list said Jackson reached 24 miles per hour during the offseason, though Jackson said in camp that the number was probably more like “mid-23s.”
Either way, the speed and power are obvious enough that he enters his final year of eligibility with a profile Oregon hasn’t really had at the position. Jackson’s best season so far came in 2024, when he posted 47 tackles, two pass deflections, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. With Bryce Boettcher out of the picture, a bigger role and another jump in production would give the Ducks’ defense a serious boost.
Then there’s Hurych, who might be the most pivotal of the three when the pressure is highest. Oregon has clearly treated him like a future answer at kicker for a while, giving him pressure kick chances in practice even while Atticus Sappington handled the starting job.
“They were calling him ‘Ice Man’ like the first week he was here. He never really gets too high, never really gets too low,” Lorg said. “He's just always the same whether it's a missed kick or a made kick, and that mental piece is the hardest.”
Lorig also said the program has developed Hurych the same way it develops backup quarterbacks. That matters because Oregon’s biggest moments this season could come down to one kick, the kind of 40-plus-yard field goal that decides a game against CFP-level competition.
The West Linn product is expected to get that chance eventually, and when it comes, his poise could decide a lot more than one game. It could decide how far Oregon goes in its push for a National Championship.
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