Ducks Digest

Oregon Football Defensive Backs Jamal Hill and DJ James Suspended Indefinitely

Mario Cristobal spoke with the media about the two players following the start to fall camp Friday.

Max Torres

The Ducks are without two presumed starters as fall camp begins ahead of the 2021 season.

Head Coach Mario Cristobal spoke with the media following Friday's practice and addressed the report regarding safety Jamal Hill and DJ James shooting air-soft guns at people from a vehicle.

"You probably have questions about the two guys who had an issue. Those guys are indefinitely suspended until further notice, and when the time's appropriate I will get that information to you," Cristobal told reporters after practice.

Hill and James were not at practice Friday, and their absence, however long it ends up being, could prove significant for Oregon's defense. At cornerback, the Ducks are now without Deommodore Lenoir from last year as he goes through training camp with the San Francisco 49ers.

Mykael Wright, a sophomore cornerback who was named to watch lists for both the Paul Hornung and Jim Thorpe awards, is by far the most seasoned player at the position. After him, James was the a player that looked like a pretty clear-cut choice to slide into the first unit. 

With today's news, Coach Rod Chance will now likely turn to redshirt freshman Trikweze Bridges (class of 2019) and freshman Dontae Manning (class of 2020). The duo ran through drills alongside Friday Wright in what can figure is a temporary first unit. 

After Manning, the Ducks are very young when it comes to scholarship players. Names like Jaylin Davies, Darren Barkins and Avante Dickerson could be next in like. Davies was a winter enrollee. Other players that could be in the mix include freshmen Donj'rael Brooks, Timon Davis, and Devin Morrow.

As for the safeties, there is a little bit more proven depth to pair with veteran Verone McKinley. Bennett Williams is a player that had a decent amount of snaps last season and someone I've been pretty high on for some time and believe should have a solid shot at getting more snaps. 

Jordan Happle also logged a lot of snaps last season and Steve Stephens IV is another player who's been talked up this offseason. Jeffrey Bassa is about as imposing of a freshman I've seen in this 2021 class and you can't forget about hard-hitting freshman Daymon "Scoop" David. 

We will have an update on this story as more news becomes available.

Read more (original report): Two Oregon football players facing charges

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Max Torres
MAX TORRES

Max Torres is the publisher and lead editor of Ducks Digest. He's covered the Oregon football and recruiting beats for four years. He's based out of Long Beach, CA and travels around Southern California and the country covering top high school football prospects.

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