Reloading the Defense: the Secondary

On the depth chart, the losses in the secondary are Talmadge Jackson III, and reserves Marvin Johnson, Chad Peppars and Javes Lewis.  John Boyett, Cliff Harris and Eddie Pleasant all return.

This is a unit where the Ducks have been stockpiling talent for a couple of seasons, and talent wins out.  It is so deep Pleasant might return to linebacker.  The Ducks have a bunch of gifted young defensive backs that will keep coming at you like zombies who can run a 4.5 40.  Sophomore transfer Marcus Davis started as a freshman at Texas. Tigard grad Scott Grady has already won some playing time on special teams; he had 3 pass breakups and a fumble recovery last year, appearing in twelve games.

Redshirt freshman Brian Jackson, a sophomore-to-be, has been solid in spot duty.  Against Portland State he had eight tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.  He can play all four spots and has good size for a defensive back at 5-10 192.

Terrance Mitchell looks like a star in the making.  The departing seniors rave about his potential.  In last year's spring game he had the only pick six Darron Thomas has thrown in his college career.  He has top flight speed and instincts.  The redshirt freshman was a two-way player at Sacramento's Luther Burbank High School.  He ran for over 2.360 yards as a prep senior, all-league, all-city and all-state at defensive back.  Mitchell is a tall corner at 6-0 183.

Detroit native Dior Mathis oozes confidence and ability, a state sprint champion in high school who won a spring 60 meter feature race with five othe football teammates.  He has great ball skills and lockdown potential.  Mathis, also a redshirt freshmen in 2010, was rated the number 9 corner in the country by espn.com.

Troy Hill and James Scales could challenge for playing time.  Safety Erick Dargan was a three-time Scout Player of the Week last fall, a big, athletic defensive back at 5-11, 206. 

Senior-to-be Anthony Gildon has three years' experience and good coverage skills, a hard worker who has a 38-inch vertical leap, and pound-for-pound, finished third on the entire team in weight room testing with a combined mark of 946 pounds (squat, clean and bench).  6-1, 185, Gildon appeared in 12 games last season, and had 18 tackles.  If one of the youngsters wants to start, they'll have to outplay Gildon in practice.  Avery Patterson from Pittsburgh. California, the same defensive backfield that produced Dargan, had 19 tackles and a pick in his first season.  Patterson will also be a factor.  He wears #31.

In his seven years at Oregon secondary coach John Neal has sent about eight guys to the NFL, including four in the last two years, and several of those have become stars at the next level, notably TJ Ward and Jairus Byrd.  Incoming recruit Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (5'10, 180) could be the next of these, a four-star prospect from Chino Hills California with Cliff Harris-like cover skills.

Like everyone else on this impressive list, he'll have to earn his time.