The Oregon Ducks are just moments away from kicking off the 2026 college football season in what should be an incredibly exciting year for the program. The season opener being against Boise State should provide the Ducks with some resistance, but if Oregon is truly a National Championship favorite, this game shouldn't be very close.
Opening the season against a weaker opponent always provides the team with a chance to continue getting players who are dealing with injuries healthy. While the Big Ten requires injury reports for league games, Oregon didn't announce one for this game, leaving the door open for some surprises. A bad surprise came for the Ducks when the team took the field for warmups.
Iverson Hooks appears out for the Boise State game
On Saturday morning, when the team took the field for warmups, among the players in street clothes was wide receiver Iverson Hooks.
Oregon Ducks WR Iverson Hooks just walked onto the field in street clothes, not warming up with the rest of the WR group.
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) September 5, 2026
Iverson Hooks being out for the game is a bit of a surprise, as he wasn't among the group dealing with serious injuries. The good news is that Oregon opens the season with easy Non-Conference opponents, meaning that the Ducks have a long runway to get Hooks healthy before the first Big Ten game of the year.
The Oregon Ducks added Iverson Hooks from UAB this offseason where he caught 72 passes for 927 yards and 7 touchdowns last season. Hooks was named to the Preseason Biletnikoff Award watchlist alongside Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson.
Freshman wide receiver Jalen Lott was among the group not dressed for warmups meaning that the Ducks will be short handed in the room.
The good news for the Ducks is that with Jalen Lott and Iverson Hooks injured, a ton of the depth pieces should get valuable experience in this game. Freshmen Gatlin Bair and Messiah Hampton have drawn rave reviews throughout the Summer, and they'll have a chance to prove they belong in the rotation. If either receiver can impress in this game and build chemistry with Dante Moore, they could end up finding a big role in the rotation.
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