2026 Oregon Ducks Offseason Preview: New contributors on special teams

For what's seemed like a years on end trend, the Oregon Ducks' special teams units have not been able to be considered excellent. Or, really, even close to that.

But 2025 was a different story.

The trio of kicker Atticus Sappington, punter James Ferguson-Reynolds and long snapper Luke Basso brought a much-needed stability to the Ducks' special teams unit, with a key punt return touchdown by Malik Benson serving as icing on the cake.

There were multiple contests last season that came down to the leg of Sappington, who, more often than not, came through. Ferguson-Reynolds, seeing the least amount of action of his career due to the Ducks' explosive offense, booted 17 of his 35 punts inside the 20-yard line, pinning the opponent back. Meanwhile, we didn't hear Basso's name once this season — the mark of a tremendous season by a long snapper.

Spinning it forward to 2026, all three have exhausted their eligibility. New players will have to step up in their place, with head coach Dan Lanning going to work right away in trying to replace them via the transfer portal, as he landed players at all three positions in early January.

There is one key returner, however, who may be expected to step into a much bigger role next season than one he handled in 2025.

As we've done with every position group for the Ducks, we'll break down the special teams unit complete with returning, departing and arriving kickers, punters, long snappers, punt returners and kick returners ahead of next season.

Returning Players

K Gage Hurych

Career Stats: 64.3 yards per kickoff, 0-1 FG, 17-17 PAT

Oregon's place kicker last season due to his strong leg, there's a large chance that Gage Hurych will be asked to step in as the team's field goal and PAT kicker in 2026. Nevada transfer kicker Keaton Emmett handled place kicking duties only as well for the Wolfpack and didn't attempt a single kick. It's likely that there will be a competition staged in spring practices and fall camp, but Hurych is the early favorite.

PR Dakorien Moore

Career Stats: 4 punt returns, 44 yards

The Ducks' star true freshman returned just four largely meaningless punts a season ago, but showed his playmaking ability in doing so. With both Gary Bryant Jr. and Malik Benson, Oregon's normal punt returners, departing, expect Moore to be in the mix as the regular punt returner.

KR Dierre Hill Jr.

Career Stats: 2 kick returns, 50 yards

One of the most dangerous players in the Big Ten with the ball in his hands, Dierre Hill Jr. was a limited participant on kickoff return as a true freshman. But starting kick returner Noah Whittington has exhausted his eligibility, with Hill potentially emerging as a trusted ball-carrier on kickoff return due to his prior — although limited — experience.

Player Departures

K Atticus Sappington

Career Stats: 51-61 FG, 156-160 PAT

Arguably Oregon's top kicker of the last decade, Sappington was extremely clutch last season. It's not hard to make the case that if he wasn't clutch, the Ducks might've been on the outside of the College Football Playoff due to key performances against Iowa and Washington in the final month of the regular season. Sappington didn't have the biggest leg, as he missed short from 50-plus against Indiana in the Peach Bowl, but he was very accurate in 2025 and will be missed.

P James Ferguson-Reynolds

Career Stats: 196 punts, 44.4 yards per punt

James Ferguson-Reynolds' stint at Oregon was short, as he was in Eugene for just one season, but it sure was fun. The Australian native saw the least amount of punts in a season despite playing in 15 games, but booted nearly half of his 35 punts inside the 20-yard line. He even completed a fake punt pass for a first down against Texas Tech in the CFP Quarterfinal, a needed boost for a dormant Oregon offense and ran for a first down early in the season. Ferguson-Reynolds, like Sappington, will be missed.

LS Luke Basso

Considering Basso's name wasn't called one time in 2025, he did his job tremendously well. If his name was called, it would've been for an errant snap — never good news. No news is good news for Basso, who was a third of the Ducks' specialists last season that had a phenomenal season as a whole.

PR Gary Bryant Jr.

Career Stats: 33 punt returns, 205 yards

Oregon's punt returner until he suffered an injury against Iowa, Bryant was as reliable as it gets. As sixth-year seniors often are, he was sure-handed and didn't make many mistakes. He wasn't overly explosive, but averaging 6.2 yards per return is solid.

PR Malik Benson

Career Stats: 9 punt returns, 161 yards, 1 TD

When Bryant went down with his injury, it was Benson who stepped up — and ran with the job, quite literally. He proved to be explosive as a punt returner, running back a punt for a touchdown to break a second-quarter tie against USC in a must-win game. He may not have had the trusted hands back there that Bryant had, but Benson's playmaking ability will be hard to replace.

KR Noah Whittington

Career Stats: 19 kick returns, 442 yards

Though Noah Whittington returned just six kicks for 126 yards last season, with a majority of the kickoffs resulting in touchbacks, he was another veteran, sure-handed player like Bryant that was trusted with a huge responsibility. Whittington wasn't the most explosive, but he got the job done.

Incoming Players

K Keaton Emmett (Transfer)

Career Stats: 63.3 yards per kickoff, 12-18 FG (Western Oregon)

Keaton Emmett was solid as a kickoff specialist for the Wolfpack last season and returns to Oregon after kicking for Western Oregon in 2024. He wasn't particularly accurate with the Wolves, though he is expected to be in a competition with Hurych to be the starter for field goals and PATs.

P Bailey Ettridge (Transfer)

Career Stats: 47 punts, 44.7 yards per punt

A fellow Australian native like Ferguson-Reynolds, Bailey Ettridge was excellent at Nevada last season. His 44.7 yards per punt was higher than Ferguson-Reynolds' mark, albeit with more field to work with in most cases. He should step in seamlessly as Oregon's starting punter next season.

LS RJ Todd (Transfer)

A reliable long snapper for Western Michigan the past three seasons, RJ Todd will also step in seamlessly in the shoes of Basso. He will have one season of eligibility remaining.

PR/KR Jalen Lott (Recruit)

An incoming four-star freshman, Jalen Lott is an absolute playmaker at the wide receiver position. While that spot is loaded, there's a possibility that he could see time at either punt or kick returner. That does come with the caveat that he'd burn a potential redshirt to do so, which would point towards him also seeing time at receiver to make it worth it. Lott is an interesting name to keep an eye out for at these two yet-to-be-filled positions.

Transfer Portal Needs

Having landed three specialists early in the transfer portal window, there's no current needs at any special teams position.

Overall Position Outlook

There's no reason for concern at the punter, long snapper and either returner positions. But there is a slight concern at who will kick field goals and PATs, as neither Hurych or Emmett has done so with consistency at the Division-I level. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in the coming months, but every other spot should be just fine.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: 2026 Oregon Ducks Offseason Preview: New contributors on special teams