Three biggest losses for Oregon in the transfer portal

Head coach Dan Lanning has had a phenomenal off-season and we’re only three weeks into the seven-month-long stretch. He has brought in top-rated transfers from all over the country and signed an incredible 2024 recruiting class.

But who did Lanning overlook and lose to the transfer portal following the 2023 regular season?

Kris Hutson – Wide receiver

With Troy Franklin, Oregon’s leader in receiving yards for 2023, declaring for the NFL Draft, the Ducks are short a star wideout on offense.

Due to players like Franklin and WR2 Tez Johnson stealing the show, receiver Kris Hutson was often left out of the starting lineups. However, despite falling on the depth chart, Hutson had previously put up some impressive numbers.

In his four seasons with the Ducks, Hutson played in 47 games. He caught 80 pass attempts for a total of 936 yards. He also had two career touchdowns, both in 2021.

On December 4th, Hutson announced he would be entering the transfer portal and on January 5th, announced his commitment to the Washington State Cougars.

Luckily, Johnson announced that he would be staying for his senior season with the Ducks and Lanning was able to bring in former Texas A&M wide receiver Evan Stewart from the portal.

Johnson and Stewart along with Gary Bryant Jr., will make a powerful receiving core for Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore to work with in 2024. Not to mention the return of tight ends Patrick Herbert and Terrence Ferguson.

Bryan Addison – Safety

Behind Evan Williams, Steve Stephens IV, and Tysheem Johnson; safety Bryan Addison got lost in the shuffle during the 2023 season for the Ducks.

However, with Williams and Stephens declaring for the draft, the safety position is lacking experienced players in the locker room. While Johnson is returning for his senior season, the loss of Addison to the transfer portal leaves a gaping hole in the depth chart.

With Addison heading to UCLA, many of the backups in this position will now be sophomores and true freshmen for the Ducks.

Though he played in just four games due to personal reasons in 2023, Addison played in a total of 47 games for Oregon and accumulated 51 tackles, four interceptions, and six passes defended.

Oregon is set to face the Bruins in Pasadena on September 28th so Duck fans will be able to see if Addison made the right decision or if the Duck receivers can make him regret it.

Lanning recruited three-star safety Kobe Savage from Kansas State’s program to help fill the gap in the position.

Trikweze Bridges – Defensive back

Another loss for Oregon’s secondary is defensive back Trikweze Bridges who committed to play with the Florida Gators next year.

Despite playing behind Khyree Jackson and Dontae Manning for much of the 2023 season, the junior was set to lead the defense alongside Jahlil Florence in 2024.

However, without Manning declaring for the NFL Draft and seemingly set on returning for his senior year, it looked like Bridges could ride the bench yet again. He announced that he entered the transfer portal on December 5th.

Just over a month later, Bridges committed to Florida.

Bridges played in 42 games for Oregon. He amassed 90 tackles and four interceptions while breaking up nine pass attempts and forcing two fumbles.

The Ducks will still have Manning and Florence but the necessary depth at the position isn’t immediately prevalent.

To fill the void, Lanning has staked his claim on quite a few transfers already this offseason. Kam Alexander from UTSA and Brandon Johnson from Duke are great additions to the Ducks’ locker room at the cornerback position.

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