Big Ten play has arrived as the Oregon Ducks are set to go on the road on Saturday Night to take on the USC Trojans in a Top 25 clash. After a 2-1 finish to non-conference play, one of the biggest concerns for the Oregon Ducks, aside from the loss to Oklahoma State, has been the injuries the team has sustained. While the Ducks have a ton of star power, any time you start losing pieces to injuries, the team inevitably starts getting weaker.
Jamari Johnson has missed time with injuries, taking away one of Dante Moore's biggest targets. The Ducks have also seen a starting offensive lineman, Trent Ferguson, lost for the season, and several other injuries pop up since the Oklahoma State game, leaving a ton of questions about the team's status for the USC game.
Dan Lanning reveals status of Jamari Johnson, Jeremiah McClellan, and more
On Monday Night, Dan Lanning addressed the media where he was able to disclose more information regarding some of the injuries the Ducks have picked up. The biggest news to come from Dan Lanning was that wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan will be out for awhile with a broken foot.
The way the Ducks lost Jeremiah McClellan is shocking, as he warmed up with the team before the Portland State game, but broke his foot in warmups. McClellan caught 7 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown over the two games he played, and the Ducks are going to need some of the younger wide receivers to step up to replace him.
While Dan Lanning bummed everyone out with the status update on Jeremiah McClellan, he also provided some positive updates. The biggest concern was whether or not Jamari Johnson would return after missing the Oklahoma State and Portland State games. If Johnson couldn't go, the status of Kendre Harrison was important after he left Friday Night's game with an injury of his own.
The good news is that Dan Lanning revealed that both tight ends are trending toward playing, which is massive news for the offense.
Lanning also says that he feels good about Jamari Johnson and Kendre Harrison being able to play in this game against USC. https://t.co/ETN2Y27z1w
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) September 22, 2026
In the Oklahoma State game, we saw Dante Moore struggle without his safety blanket, and Johnson being back in the offense will be a massive lift for the unit. Kendre Harrison flashed his talent level against Portland State, and with Jeremiah McClellan out, the Ducks could start to throw more multiple tight end sets at teams, as Johnson and Harrison are matchup nightmares.
STAR/Nickel defender Carl Williams IV was banged up against Oklahoma State and missed the Portland State game. The good news for the Ducks is that they'll have another option back in the secondary with Williams returning.
In positive injury news for Oregon: Carl Williams IV will be back on Saturday, per Dan Lanning.
— Ryan Clarke (@RyanTClarke) September 22, 2026
Against Portland State, Oregon moved Brandon Finney Jr. inside to play the STAR role, and it may be interesting to see if the Ducks choose to deploy him there against USC, allowing two solid cornerbacks in Na'eem Offord and Ify Obidegwu onto the field to help slow the Trojans' offense.
The most exciting of the injury updates may be that 5-star recruit Jalen Lott started practicing again this week, and he'll start to push toward playing time.
Lanning says that Jalen Lott started practicing again this week, but he doesn't know if we will see him in this game.
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) September 22, 2026
While the Ducks have plenty of options at wide receiver, you can never have too many pieces, and Jalen Lott could prove to be a special talent. Lott was drawing rave reviews during the Summer before his injury, and he could end up factoring into the wide receiver rotation later in the season.
This week with Big Ten play kicking off we'll start to get injury reports from the team which should start to provide more insight into what the players are dealing with.
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