Oregon Ducks Defense: Competition, Depth Thriving In Secondary at Practice

Senior defensive back and nickelback transfer from Duke, Brandon Johnson, gives his thoughts on his first fall camp with the Oregon Ducks Football team and a bit of insight into how the Ducks’ defense will look this season under coach Dan Lanning

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning throws a large ball at returners during kick return drills during practice with the Oregon Ducks Friday, Aug. 9, 2024 at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

As a senior transfer from Duke, defensive back and nickelback Brandon Johnson gets to see the Oregon Ducks Football Fall Camp through fresh eyes. His addition to Oregon coach Dan Lanning's defense has already proven useful, as Johnson got an interception during a full-pads scrimmage. He elaborated on the play during a recent fall camp media availability.

“Believe it was third down, man coverage, just covering my guy, you know, what we do everyday in practice; converting drills over to the game,” Johnson said. “Undercut him out, blocking too.”

Johnson also confirmed he’s been working quite a bit at nickelback for the Ducks. 

“Yeah, I'm just kind of working in a nickel spot at the moment,” Johnson said.

For those that aren’t aware, Johnson isn’t referring to the Canadian rock band. A nickelback typically is a third string secondary player that’s swapped in with one of the front seven defensive players on the field, usually a linebacker, but not always. In this type of play format, there are five backs on the field, hence the calling the format a “nickel” defense and the position a “nickelback”. This adds more speed if the opposing team puts more receivers on the field. 

Last year at nickelback for Duke, Johnson totaled 56 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and four pass break-ups. He ranked second on the Duke team that year for tackles for loss.

Johnson says there’s two other Ducks vying for this unique position.

Oregon defensive back Daylen Austin during practice with the Oregon Ducks Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

“Some slot guys that we have other than myself? Nikko Reed, Daylen Austin, those are some of the guys,” Johnson said.

“I enjoy the competition, and that makes us all better,” Johnson said. “So the competition is great.”

Johnson also confirmed that the Ducks are running several plays for a dime package as well. That’s when six defensive backs are on the field, with the sixth addition being a dimeback. This formation is typically used for medium to longer range passes with typically additional receivers on the field for the opposing team.

“We've gotten a lot of reps given to the dime package. I think we'll be ready whenever the season comes around,” Johnson said.

As a recent transfer, Johnson is able to directly compare his experiences. He said during this media availability that Oregon is different from other programs in two aspects.

“Definitely talented. Deep,” Johnson said. “That's the main impression. We’re talented. We got a lot of it.”

This is a sentiment echoed by athletes across position groups for this years’ Oregon fall camp. Oregon has one of the deepest and most tenured rosters in the nation. Coaches and players alike have all commented on the level of competition for top depth spots.

“I think we have the best competition in the nation. For sure; makes us a better team overall. Going against those guys and then going against us, we measure up pretty well. Iron sharpens. Iron,” Johnson said.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field during the Ducks’ fall camp Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Due to that depth, two spot drills are becoming more common. Almost every athlete in their position gets to face the physicality of their peers. This is something Oregon coach Dan Lanning emphasized throughout this fall camp. He wants his players to be uncomfortable, and get used to the intense physicality they’ll encounter in Oregon’s first year as a Big Ten Conference school.

“Yeah, with the amount of depth that we have, we're able to go two spot, and I think it's great,” Johnson said. “I mean, we're always able to get work in. And it's definitely, you can see it carry over. A lot of guys are getting a lot of reps.”

According to Johnson, one thing is certain; Oregon fall camp is not for the weak.

“High Intensity. I might have had some high intensity camps in the past, but [with] Dan Lanning, we work every single day, off days or work days as well.”

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