Oregon Ducks express sympathy in wake of injured WR Evan Stewart

USA Today

6 days ago

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart was a major piece of the team's passing attack a season ago, finishing the year with the second-most receptions (48), tied for second in receiving touchdowns (five) and was third in receiving yards (613) despite missing the final two games.
He was especially impressive in Oregon's regular season upset victory over the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, in which he reeled in seven catches for a career-high 149 yards and a touchdown in the 32-31 win.
Entering his senior season, he was expected to step in as the Ducks' go-to pass-catcher on the outside. A dangerous vertical threat who uses his speed well in excelling after the catch, he was shaping up to have a breakout season after entering college football as the No. 1 receiver in the 2022 class, per 247 Sports.
That expectation came to a screeching halt in early June when Stewart suffered a torn patellar tendon, starting the clock on a months-long recovery that may cause him to miss the entire 2025-26 season.
While the injury was surely tough on Stewart, his teammates and head coach Dan Lanning also felt for the injured receiver.
"It hurts my soul understanding how E-Stew went down and him not being here," expressed quarterback Dante Moore, speaking at Oregon's 2025 Media Day.
"He's going to be down for a while," Lanning told SI during Big Ten Media Days. "I don't want to put a timeline on Evan. I don't know how long that'll be, but he's on the road recovery and he's done a lot for the Ducks. We love having him be a part of our team and hopefully at some point he can make an impact for us. But I don't know exactly what that looks like."
But, as what happens in the world of team sports, the collective group has to step up and fill the void left behind.
Tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who's expected to receive plenty of targets this season, was asked about the feeling of having to step up in Stewart's absence.
"I mean, there are a lot of people who are able to step up, so it's not like one person has to take on the full load of what Evan does, but there's a lot of people who are able to get in there and still make plays," he said.
Moore expressed a similar sentiment, noting the talent at the receiver position.
"We've got a great receiving room still. We've still got a lot of playmakers. We've got a lot of guys with not much experience, but that's how the whole team is, though. Everybody is hungry. Everybody is ready to compete. Everybody is ready to make sure they get better every single day."
"It's the University of Oregon," Moore continued. "We have playmakers here. We might as well get used to getting those guys out there and playing. E-Stew is of course a huge piece of this offense, but I feel we have other playmakers as well to make sure we get there.'
Those other playmakers in the receiver room include true freshman Dakorien Moore, returning contributor Justius Lowe and Florida State transfer Malik Benson. All three have talent, but the one who could raise the ceiling the highest is Moore, who was the top-rated receiver in the 2025 class. He enrolled early to join the Ducks for spring practices and impressed during the spring game.
"We'd be lying if we said there wasn't an opportunity now for other guys to be able to step up and create a role for themselves," Lanning said at Oregon's Media Day. "So, I'm excited to see how that all plays out. I feel I have a lot of confidence in that room."
But, as Sadiq mentioned, picking up the slack in Stewart's absence doesn't just come from the receiver room.
Sadiq is expected to have a breakout season himself after catching 24 passes for 308 yards and two scores in a reserve role as a sophomore in 2024. Moore even went as far as calling him "the best tight end in the country."
With what's expected to be among the top offensive lines in the Big Ten, the running game could also become more of a factor.
Tulane transfer running back Makai Hughes ran for 2,779 yards and 22 touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Green Wave before coming to Oregon. He'll be joining forces with fellow bancks in Noah Whittington (540 yards and six touchdowns last season) and Jayden Limar, who's expected to take a leap as a junior this season.
Moore, the presumed starter at quarterback, could also be a factor on the ground after claiming he was clocked at 21.5 miles per hour this summer.
At the top, offensive coordinator Will Stein has proven to be one of the top offensive masterminds in the nation. In two seasons on the job, he's engineered the fourth-best scoring offense (2023) and the eighth-best scoring offense (2024).
Stewart's injury is extremely unfortunate, with the timing coming in the summer before his senior season. It's not hard to see that he beloved amongst teammates and his head coach, who expressed their sympathies for the receiver.
But in his absence, an opportunity arises — with an entire offense able and ready to come together and fill the void in 2025.
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