In 2024 Syracuse led the nation in passing offense at 370 yards per game, with three different receivers reaching career highs in receptions and yards:
Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns | |
|---|---|---|---|
Jackson Meeks, WR | 78 | 1021 | 7 |
Trebor Pena, WR | 84 | 941 | 9 |
Oronde Gasden, TE | 73 | 934 | 7 |
Ross Douglas did that. He's the new Oregon receivers coach and passing game coordinator, hired February 20 after stints with the Orangemen and the New England Patriots.
Douglas is a meticulous teacher. After practice last spring he told the Syracuse beat writers,
"When we talk about this wide receiver play overall, I always tell them there's three things that people need to do their job at an elite level. One is knowing what to do. That's one of them."
"That's knowing where to line up, what route do I have, how do I run this route and then using technique from there. Two is knowing how to do it. So we need to improve on knowing what to do and how to do it, and once we have that, we have to have the desire to do it longer and harder than our opposition." ------Ross Douglas
Douglas is just 30. He started his coaching career as a grad assistant at Rutgers immediately after finishing his playing days with the Scarlet Knights, a hard-working Nickel Back who made 38 tackles and four pass breakups as a senior.
He quickly advanced to cornerbacks coach, hired away by Bill Belichick in 2021 as part of an NFL diversity initiative as a defensive quality control coach.
Second year in, Belichick tells him he wants him to coach the receivers.
His defensive background helped him, he said, all those years of breaking down splits, breaks and techniques. In high school he was a three-star prep running back from Avon, Ohio.
“It’s just a big change when you talk about offense to defense, but me, in my role last year, I was just studying offense so much. I don’t think it will be a big transition. Coaching football is coaching football, so you just have to dive in head-first and get to it.”
Tuesday after the Ducks sixth practice of spring, senior wide receiver Gary Bryant and head coach Dan Lanning both complimented Douglas' attention to detail and work ethic.
Bryant said, "He's (Ross Douglas) been coming in, very energized guy. He's a younger coach as well, so he kind of relates to us on and off the field. But it's been a great experience... They do things the 'Patriot way' there. It's kind of similar here with Dan (Lanning) at Oregon. Coming there and just being a blue collar guy and having your head down, working every day."
.@RossDoug21 bringing the juice to the receiver room 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/ajs4U8JpNw
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) April 11, 2024