Six days ago, Oregon saw their perfect season go down the drain after they fell to new Big Ten rival Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
The Ducks finished the 2024 season with a 13-1 record, going perfect in the regular season, winning the Big Ten, and getting the first overall seed in the playoffs. However, they ran into a Buckeye buzzsaw, destroying everything in its path.
Just because Oregon didn’t get to finish off their outstanding season with a national championship victory doesn’t mean it was any failure, and now the Ducks have some more motivation to get the job done next year.
Oregon Is Losing A Ton Of Stars To The NFL
Oregon’s 2025 roster will look very different from this past season. The team is losing several offensive stars, including quarterback Dillon Gabriel, running back Jordan James, tight end Terrance Ferguson, and wide receivers Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden, who have all declared for the NFL draft.
Johnson and Holden were part of a three-headed monster-wide receiving room this year, with the third being Evan Stewart.
Stewart transferred to Oregon this past season after two years at Texas A&M, where he appeared in 18 games and recorded 91 receptions, 1,1613 yards, and 6 touchdowns.
Stewart quickly became comfortable in Eugene, catching 48 passes for 613 yards and 5 scores in 13 games.
The junior wide receiver performed an epic performance in the regular season matchup against Ohio State, catching 7 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. Still, he never got his rematch during the Rose Bowl.
Before the game started, Stewart got banged up during warmups and didn’t see any action during the 41-21 loss.
Stewart was expected to be a day 2 or early day 3 pick in this year’s draft, so there was speculation that he would head to the NFL. However, on Tuesday, the Ducks’ second-leading receiver during the regular season announced that he would be coming back next season.
BREAKING: Oregon star WR Evan Stewart will return for another season instead of declaring for the NFL Draft, he announced🦆https://t.co/oqxrtSatN6 pic.twitter.com/GrWK06CsmG
— On3 (@On3sports) January 7, 2025
Evan Stewart Will Help Out A Young Quarterback
Stewart’s return is massive since Oregon will lose three of its four leading pass catchers. However, he can now be a veteran security blanket for new quarterback Dante Moore, who transferred after starting for one season at UCLA in 2023.
Moore was able to sit and learn behind Gabriel this year, and wide receiver Tez Johnson is high on the young quarterback and thinks he could be heading to New York in the middle of December.
“He’ll be a Heisman finalist next year, 100%,” Johnson said. “It’s something you haven’t seen yet, that boy can throw a ball like no other. I’ve never seen nothing like it.”
Oregon should be in good shape next season, even with all their offensive departures, and Stewart should play a significant role in helping Moore become one of the best quarterbacks in college football.
