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Probable Depth Chart:
| Left Cornerback | Free Safety | Rover | Right Cornerback | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Terrance Mitchell Jr. | 21 | Avery Patterson Sr. | 12 | Brian Jackson Sr. | 14 | Ifo Ekpre-Olomu Jr. |
| 3 | Dior Mathis Jr. | 4 | Erick Dargan Jr. | 5 | Issac Dixon RSo. | 13 | Troy Hill Jr. |
| 29 | Stephen Amoako RFr. | 8 | Reggie Daniels RFr. | 31 | Oshay Dunmore RFr. | 28 | Eric Amoako RFr. |
| 10 | Chris Seisay Fr. | 2 | Tyree Robinson Fr. | 26 | Ben Butterfield Sr. | 43 | Bronson Yim RSo. |
| 37 | Michael Manns RFr. | 17 | Juwaan Williams Fr. | 32 | Bobby Dunn So. |
Returning Experience:
The defensive backfield is loaded with returning starters. Highlighting them are shut down corners Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Terrance Mitchell. While Ifo has rightfully garnered much of the offseason attention, few remember that he was the question mark going into last season and was competing for time with Troy Hill early on. If offenses want to avoid throwing to Ifo's side, they're going to be very disappointed in the outcome of picking on Mitchell too often. If there is a question mark about the returning players, it has to be the health at the safety positions. Avery Patterson suffered a difficult knee injury in 2012, but word is he's on pace to be ready to go when the season starts. If he's not, capable backup Eric Dargan should be able to fill in nicely.
New Faces:
There won't be a lot of room for guys to break into this secondary if all goes as planned, but that has rarely been the case the last couple of years (Boyett 2012, Harris 2011, TJ Ward 2010). Don't expect to see true freshmen Chris Seisay, Juwaan Williams or Tyree Robinson, as I'm sure the coaches would love to keep their eligibility should one of the starters turn pro early next year, but it will be interesting to see what either of the Amoako twins are able to do and whether all around athlete Oshay Dunmore can give Isaac Dixon and Reggie Daniels a run at some playing time.
Conclusion:
This is one of the most talented and deepest secondaries Oregon has ever had, and that is saying something considering there are a number of former players playing in the NFL right now. Playing in the secondary at Oregon requires you to be on an island a lot of the time, and Aliotti has a number of pieces that not only survive on one, but thrive on one.
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