Trey McNutt is back on the practice field and talking like a player who’s been through the fire and come out ready to compete.
The Oregon safety, who missed time after breaking his leg during the 2025 fall camp, said Friday after the Ducks’ ninth fall camp session that the recovery tested him but didn’t knock him off track. McNutt returned for Oregon’s spring game in April, and now he’s trying to carve out a role in a crowded safety room for the 2026 season.
“Right after I broke my leg, right after I broke it, I was down. But right away, I snapped back.
I got God on my side. He got me out of it.
You know, I was going through it, it was a long recovery but I was happy every single day,” McNutt said.
He also described how the injury happened during practice in the red zone.
“I was making a play in the back of the endzone,” McNutt said, describing his accident during the 2025 fall camp. “I dove for the ball and ran into another teammate and it broke. Like I said, it was a long recovery and I ended up coming back to practice later in the season when we was in playoffs, but you know, it was a long time.”
Even while he was sidelined, McNutt stayed plugged in. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said in December that the safety was still locked into the work.
“He's staying engaged in the playbook. He's preparing himself.
So he was having a really good fall camp. You always hate to see that happen, but it is part of football, and I think Trey's handled it really well,” Lanning said about McNutt in December.
McNutt said the biggest challenge was keeping his mind sharp while his body healed.
“I would say, after the injury I was just focused on my mental, focused on mentally, you know, getting strong and learn the plays and learn the defense, schemes for offenses and stuff like that. Going into this year, just a lot of mental reps and now being able to put it to the field has been good,” McNutt said.
“Last year got cut short but this year is definitely easier. Like I said, I got mental reps last year and being able to put it to the field and really get those true reps on the field has been good. I've been able to play faster and just really be able to put it to the field and make good tape,” McNutt added.
Defensive coordinator Hampton echoed that confidence during fall camp.
“He's back healthy. He's doing everything.
Trey's working extremely hard. You know he's battling with all the other guys, and we're excited about his growth,” said Oregon defensive coordinator Hampton when asked about McNutt during fall camp.
Now McNutt is part of a loaded group that includes Minnesota transfer Koi Perich, returning junior Aaron Flowers, and incoming junior veteran Peyton Woodyard, who played in all 15 games in 2025. Flowers returns after learning beside Chicago Bear safety Dillon Thieneman, while Perich arrives with plenty of buzz after earning Big Ten second team honors at the end of a sophomore season.
McNutt is expected to be in the mix for a second-string spot behind Perich and Flowers, with freshmen Jett Washington, Devin Jackson, and Xavier Lherrisse also in the competition.
Oregon’s secondary finished third in the Big Ten regular season in pass defense, though the group did have issues on the outside, including penalties and pass coverage at corner.
For McNutt, the next step is simple: keep stacking reps and see where the depth chart lands.
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