Checking in with the Oregon Ducks TE room ahead of the 2025 season

USA Today

a day ago

We are less than 50 days away from the start of the 2025 college football season, and fewer than two weeks stand between us and the beginning of the Oregon Ducks' fall camp getting off the ground in Eugene. While coaches and players wrap up their final couple of offseason weeks, we're ready to jump back into things and take a deep dive into what's set to take place at Autzen Stadium this year.
The Ducks are coming off of an incredible season that saw a 12-0 regular season, a Big Ten Championship, and the No. 1 seed in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. The offseason brought significant roster turnover as Oregon sent a program record 10 players into the 2025 NFL draft; however, those players have been replaced by a young yet incredibly talented group of players ready to uphold the standard in Eugene.
Will they be able to complete the job? Expectations are high, but it won't be an easy task.
Over the next few weeks, many questions will be asked, and a significant number of them will be answered. Once we get a look at things during fall camp, we will be able to predict more accurately how things shape up. However, we already have our depth chart projections for offense and defense from spring. As we continue our preview of the 2025 season, leading up to the kick-off vs. Montana State on August 30, let's take a deep dive, position by position.
Previous Position Previews
Now let's take a closer look at the wide receivers as we prepare for fall camp.
Overall Oregon Ducks TE Check-In
The Oregon Ducks saw one of the best tight ends in program history, Terrance Ferguson, leave for the NFL after the 2024 season. Despite that, you'd be hard-pressed to find many fans who aren't arguably more excited to see what's to come at the position in 2025, with all due respect to Ferguson.
It's Kenyon Sadiq season in Eugene, and expectations are high for the junior TE who has been touted as one of the best players on the team and one of the best tight ends in the nation. He's shown flashes of brilliance over the past two years, and now, as the clear-cut TE1 — and with a bigger role due to the Evan Stewart injury — the runway is clear for takeoff.
Departing Oregon Ducks Tight Ends
Career Stats: 53 games, 134 receptions, 1,537 yards, 16 touchdowns
Analysis: Terrance Ferguson will be remembered as one of the best tight ends in program history, and that's quite a list. Oregon has had more than its fair share of elite tight ends, and Ferguson is among the best. His athleticism stands out, and he should be a quality player in the NFL. The Ducks will miss him dearly.
Career Stats: 43 games, 31 receptions, 388 yards, 4 touchdowns
Analysis: If you look up the word perseverance in the dictionary, you might see Patrick Herbert's face. He went through several injuries as a Duck and just kept going. He missed the 2020 and 2021 seasons and was hampered in 2022. Herbert was finally healthy in 2023, and he showed glimpses of what he could do with 15 catches and three touchdowns. While Herbert never reached the level of "star" in Eugene, he was among the fan favorites and could have a valuable role at the next level if he gets a chance to earn his spot on a 53-man roster.
Returning Oregon Ducks Tight Ends
Career Stats: 28 games, 29 receptions, 332 yards, 3 touchdowns
Analysis: Kenyon Sadiq is primed to have a breakout season in 2025 and become Oregon's next great tight end. The Big Ten got an eyeful of Sadiq in the Big Ten Championship Game with his two touchdowns, including one where he leaped over the defender and strolled into the end zone. He might be the most athletic and talented tight end the Ducks have had in quite some time, and the Ducks expect Sadiq to be an all-conference performer this year.
Career Stats: None
Analysis: Saleapaga is one of a few young tight ends on the Oregon roster, and he is just waiting for his time to come. With Sadiq and Jamari Johnson (Louisville) ahead on the depth chart, Saleapaga will compete for playing time. Saleapaga hauled in 46 receptions for 671 yards and five touchdowns as a senior in 2023 before redshirting with the Ducks last year. He suffered a knee injury late in the year, but was making good progress during spring football and could have a role in the offense this season.
Career Stats: None
Analysis: Pugliano, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end, was one of the best players in the state of Oregon out of North Medford High School. He redshirted the 2024 season, but may see some time on the field next year in some capacity.
Incoming Oregon Ducks Tight Ends
Career Stats: 12 games, 13 receptions, 158 yards, 1 TD
Analysis: Johnson, out of Inglewood, Calif., is a physical presence at 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds. He played in five games as a true freshman and just seven games this past season due to injury. Louisville's loss could be a massive gain for the Ducks. He was one of the top players to enter the portal, and Dan Lanning was able to get him. Major recruiting outlets rated Johnson a four-star athlete, and he was voted to the 247Sports' 2023 Freaks List.
Career Stats: None
Analysis: Vander Ploog was the only tight end signed out of high school in this latest recruiting class. He is a four-star prospect by 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals, and the 247Sports Composite and viewed as the top tight end prospect out of California and No. 4 nationally at the position by Rivals, coming in as the No. 161 overall recruit in the 2025 class. Ploog tallied over 2,200 yards and 37 touchdowns in a three-year career at Troy High School in Fullerton, Calif.
Predicting Oregon Ducks Starting Tight End
Prediction: Kenyon Sadiq
After waiting his time behind Terrance Ferguson for the past two years, it feels like 2025 is Kenyon Sadiq's time to shine. He has flashed with the ball in his hands over the last couple of seasons, and fans have been begging for him to have a bigger role in the offense. It feels like that should be coming this season at long last, though Louisville transfer Jamari Johnson will also have a role in the offense.
Overall Oregon Ducks TE Outlook
The Ducks are in good hands at the TE position this season, but beyond that, there are questions. Sadiq could very well enter the 2026 NFL draft if he has the type of year that we expect him to. Oregon also has a commitment from 5-star TE Kendre Harrison, the No. 2 TE in the nation in the 2026 class, but it's not fair to expect him to have a significant impact as a starter in 2026. So, who will step up next year between Sadiq, should he declare, and Harrison in 2027? That's the major question. We will see who can establish themselves as the standout from the group this season.
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