Jay, here.

A couple of weeks ago, a thread (”DuckD’s In-Depth Pre-Spring Depth Chart”) from one of the eDuck message boards came across my desk here at Duck Sports News and caught my attention.

So, I decided to shoot an email to DuckD to see I could share his analysis with other Duck fans through Duck Sports News. Upon completing his preview, he was more than happy to email his entire entry (Thank you, DuckD).

Instead of publishing the entire entry here, I’ve decided to break it up into more bite-size parts over the course of several days. Here’s a look at the schedule:

Offense
Friday, March 21st: Quarterback
Saturday, March 22nd: Running Back
Sunday, March 23rd: Wide Receiver
Monday, March 24th: Tight End, Half Back
Tuesday, March 25th: Offensive Line

Defense
Wednesday, March 26th: Defensive End
Thursday, March 27th: Defensive Tackle
Friday, March 28th: Linebacker
Saturday, March 29th: Cornerback
Sunday, March 30th: Safety

Here’s DuckD’s preview of Cornerbacks:

DuckD’s Spring Preview: CORNERBACK

Photography courtesy of Oregon Duckcast Network & Cameron Resnick

Probable Starter: Walter Thurmond III jr., Jairus Byrd jr.
Depth: Willie Glasper jr., Talmadge Jackson III so., Anthony Gildon so., Chad Peppars so., William Wallace fr.
Incoming: Kenjon Barner fr., Scott Grady fr.

Analysis: Walter Thurmond III has been a great player for Oregon since day 1. He has led us in passes defensed for 2 years running. WT3 is an outstanding tackler for a corner, and is very solid in coverage. Has great ability to break on the ball and break up the pass, and also has terrific hands as evidenced by his 5 INTs last year. Walter if very athletic, and is a good hurdler as well as football player, but the one thing I think will help make him better (and improve his eventual NFL stock) is for him to put on a little more muscle mass. He’s listed as 6′ (which I’m not sold on) and looks much slighter than his listed weight of 185. I think an extra 10lbs of muscle (without losing any speed/quickness) would do wonders for him dealing with bigger receivers. WT3 should push for All-Conference honors with a chance at All-American honors.

Jairus Byrd is flat out a playmaker. Some of his interceptions over the past couple of years have just been amazing! He has led the team in INTs in both of his years of playing with 5 as a freshman and 7 last year as a sophomore, putting him tied for 8th in career INTs. Honorable mention All Pac-10 last year after leading the league in INTs with 7, placing 3rd in the conference in passes defended with 15 (behind WT3), and tying for 7th with 3 fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a 33 yard TD in the Civil War. Jairus is the more physical of our 2 starters, and reminds me a lot of Justin Phinisee in his build and style of play, he even returned punts at the end of the year just as Phin did. Byrd started the year off with a bang, intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble in each of the first 2 games, and also closed the year big gathering 7 tackles, 2 INTs, and 4 pass breakups in the Sun Bowl. Byrd, like Thurmond, will push for All-Conference honors, with the potential for All-American honors.

Willie Glasper has so far not lived up to the hype that came with him from high school, but that is partly due to the talents of Byrd and Thurmond which have kept him from seeing as much playing time as I’m sure he’d like. Willie has shown improvement over the past few years, but he needs more playing time to really get the experience that will help him the most. He has all the tools to be a good starter, and if he shows enough this spring there is the chance that Byrd might be slid over to free safety allowing Willie to start in order to get the best 4 on the field.

Talmadge Jackson III has so far made his biggest impact on punt and kickoff coverage teams, but he has all the talent necessary to be a future star corner for the Ducks. He was terrific on punt coverage and will push Willie Glasper for playing time as the first DB off the bench. Played in all 13 games as a true freshman, recording tackles in 7 of them. I also would be a little surprised to NOT see him tried at punt or kick returner this year.

Anthony Gildon had a pass breakup in his first game action at Michigan and recorded his first tackle, which was for a loss, in the Sun Bowl as a true freshman. Like Talmadge, he has a lot of skill and potential but needs more playing time to really gain experience and improve. Gildon has great height at 6′1″ but could use some more bulk from his current weight of 175 in order to handle the more physical receivers he’ll face. I think Talmadge and Anthony will be very good before their Oregon careers are done.

Chad Peppars was expected to be one of the top backups at corner last fall, but the talents of Jackson and Gildon pushed him down the depth chart. He has ability, but will have his work cut out for him to climb his way back up.

William Wallace (Braveheart) redshirted last year as a freshman. Wallace was a high school teammate of Walter Thurmond, and was lightly recruited due to a knee injury his junior year which kept him from attending camps. He has great speed, as evidenced by his best time of 10.9 in the 100 meters and also has good strength, recording a 365lbs squat. Wallace will provide good depth this year and it will be interesting to watch his growth, as the coaching staff felt he was a “diamond-in-the-rough” type of player.

Kenjon Barner was a dynamic offensive player in high school, but the coaches see his future at corner. He will have a chance to see the field this fall as a return man, putting his rushing and receiving skills to good use. Barner has great quicks and good speed, but will need to get bigger and stronger in order to get the most out of his abilities.

Scott Grady was Mr. Everything for his high school (Tigard) last fall. He was a dynamic offensive player with the ball in his hands and terrific on defense, many times ending up with the ball in his hands. Like Barner, his immediate future for Oregon might be as a return man, but they should both make their mark at corner when their time comes. Grady is also an accomplished skateboarder, not your typical football player past-time, but it says a lot about the athleticism and fearlessness that he possesses.

Tomorrow: SAFETY

Tags: Ducks, Football, oregon, Spring Game, Spring Practice