Oregon's actual two-deep won't be finalized until 48 hours before the Montana State game on August 30, and even then the official version from the coaching staff will be riddled with "Ors."
It's a coach's favorite conjunction, because it allows him to both conceal information from the opponent and the media while motivating players down the depth chart.
What follows here is the most frank, real, true, honest depth chart you can find, based on what we've seen with our own lying eyes. Subjective? Absolutely. Reasonable? Yes. Definite? Not remotely possible.
Quarterback
1. Dante Moore
2. Austin Novosad
3. Luke Moga
4. Akili Smith Jr.
5. Brock Thomas
Position Grade: B-
What fans saw in spring was encouraging and it's reasonable to project this group to an A-/B+ level by gametime in August, but there's work to do.
Moore has to establish himself as a starter, separate from the rest of this talented group and show he can execute under fire with more consistency than he showed as a freshman at UCLA.
If he navigates through the Ducks' first four games, Montana State, Oklahoma State, at Northwestern and Oregon State in Autzen with a minimum of turnover-worthy plays while moving the offense consistently, the grade rises with him. If he can engineer a win at Penn State, the Ducks could have something special.
Running back
1. Makhi Hughes
2. Noah Whittington
3. Jay Harris
4. Dink Riggs
5. Jayden Limar
Position Group Grade: A-
This is one of the strongest groups on the team. Hughes is a bona fide bell cow running back, a tackle-breaking machine who runs tough and produces. At 5-11, 210 he ran for 1,401 yards last season at Tulane, with 15 touchdowns and seven runs of over 30 yards.
Whittington runs like he's trying to break someone's face, and in the spring game he showed renewed authority and burst as he hit the corner. He's reached 110% of what he was before his injury.
Two through five are very close. Harris, 6-2, 215, runs behind his pads and hits the line of scrimmage like a freight train. He scored two touchdowns in the spring game and on one of them he kept his legs driving and dragged three tacklers into the end zone.
Riggs, a redshirt freshman, impressed last season in spot duty. Reports out of practice (Jordan Burch raved about him at the NFL combine) say he's an imposing blend of power and speed.
Limar reeled of a 31-yard touchdown run in the spring game that showed the burst he has, something Duck fans saw before when he took a screen pass to the house against Oregon State.
Jayden Limar! TOUCHDOWN!
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) September 14, 2024
65 yards to the house on the pass from @_dillongabriel_!
Ducks lead 46-14. #GoDucks x @jayden_limar pic.twitter.com/ytceWpUWQN
Position Grade: A-
The only mysteries are how quickly Hughes adjusts to the Big Ten from the All American Conference, and whether they lose one of these five to the portal after fall camp.