Oregon Duck 2022 Awards: Which players impressed us the most?
We did it before the year started to try and predict what type of team we would see in Eugene under Dan Lanning in his first year with the Oregon Ducks, and we revisited things during the middle of the year to check out how things were going.
Now that the 2022 regular season has officially come to an end, with only the bowl game remaining for the Ducks, we wanted to circle back one last time and offer our awards to the best players, best units, and best uniforms on the team.
Here’s what the Ducks Wire staff came up with for the end-of-season awards in 2022:
Offensive MVP
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
Bo Nix
I mean, let’s be real. There was no player more imperative to Oregon’s success than Nix this season. He was a Heisman contender until he got hurt against Washington, and the Ducks never looked the same offensively after that, with their season ending in a frustrating way because of it. Most Valuable Player or Most Outstanding Player, Nix gets my vote either way.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
Bo Nix
Bo Nix is the obvious choice. At first, I wasn’t sure how well he would do at Oregon, and that Georgia game didn’t exactly help. But after that, Nix was GREAT. He quickly became a team leader and seems to really enjoy being a Duck. I just wish he could have finished the season healthy. I hope he comes back. Nix would surely be a Heisman candidate if he did. Honorable mentions go out to Bucky Irving and Troy Franklin. It was fun watching those guys progress.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
Bo Nix
Nix put together an astonishingly efficient season, looking like a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate for most of the year. Even hobbling on one leg he was effective, and his tenure in Oregon will be remembered for a long time regardless of if this is his only season in Eugene.
Award Winner: Bo Nix
John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
This may have been the easiest award to give away out of the whole bunch. Bo Nix was incredible for the Ducks this year, and he was arguably the main reason for their success in Year 1 under Dan Lanning. Here’s to hoping that us giving him this award will convince him to stick around for another season with the Ducks.
Defensive MVP
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
Christian Gonzalez
This is a tougher vote for me. You could easily give it to Noah Sewell, or Bennett Williams, or Brandon Dorlus. However, with as rough as Oregon’s secondary was at times, it’s clear the impact that Gonzalez had. He projects now to be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. I am scared to think of what the Duck’s defense would have looked like without him this season.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
Christian Gonzalez
Christian Gonzalez more than lived up to the hype. He was awesome. It would be cool to see him another year, but he’s going to be drafted quickly. He should move on to the NFL.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
Christian Gonzalez
Gonzalez looked every bit like an NFL cornerback for Oregon, picking off four passes on the year and totaling 50 tackles and a team-high seven passes defended. The Colorado transfer was much needed after Oregon lost so much talent from the secondary last year.
Award Winner: Christian Gonzalez
(AP Photo/Young Kwak)
It’s interesting to note that Gonzalez didn’t win either the preseason MVP or mid-season MVP awards, but his production down the stretch sealed the deal. His time in Eugene may have been short, but he will go down as one of the best corners that Oregon has seen in a long time.
Offensive Most Improved
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
Troy Franklin
I think Franklin has to get an award somewhere here, and since I can’t logically give him the offensive MVP, I think he certainly gets the nod for most improved. Coming into the year, we were unsure of which WR would step up as the No. 1 option for the Ducks. That’s no longer a concern. Franklin will enter 2023 as one of the best players in the Pac-12, and a potential Biletnikoff Award winner as well.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
Kris Hutson
I’m going with Kris Hutson here. He turned out to be a nice possession receiver after having a case of the drops early in the season.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
Troy Franklin
Franklin tripled his receptions from 2021, hauling in 56 catches for a whopping 867 yards and eight touchdowns. He was Oregon’s best playmaker outside of Nix, and his improvement from year one to year two was crucial to the Ducks’ success on the offensive side of the ball.
Award Winner: Troy Franklin
(AP Photo/Andy Nelson)
As the clear No. 1 WR and a player with a case to go down as one of the best WRs in Oregon history, the season that Franklin put together in Eugene was an absolute pleasure to watch, and a site for sore eyes after the blandness of the offense under the previous coaching staff.
Defensive Most Improved
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
Jeffrey Bassa
After moving around the defense and not really finding a home in 2021, Bassa made his presence felt as a versatile linebacker who could thrive in coverage this year. He stepped up as a core member of the defense and likely has a promising career ahead of him.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
Jeffrey Bassa
Jeffrey Bassa might have been Oregon’s best linebacker and NO ONE said that before the season began.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
Trikweze Bridges
It doesn’t show up as obvious on the stat sheet, but Bridges stepped into a bigger role for Oregon’s defense this year and was excellent. He had three interceptions after totaling just one in his first two years, and his 47 combined tackles were more than double his previous career high of 23.
Award Winner: Jeffrey Bassa
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
The Ducks struggled in pass coverage this season, but Bassa was a major help, providing a nice mix of run support and coverage that was sorely needed in the linebacking core. His arrow is certainly pointing up in Eugene.
Best Position Group
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
Offensive Line
I will accept no other nominee for this award in 2022. The Ducks’ offensive line, under the leadership of Adrian Klemm, was outstanding this season, and arguably the best line in the nation. With veterans like Alex Forsyth, Malaesala Aumavaue, Ryan Walk, and T.J. Bass leading the group, it was a pleasure to watch a unit succeed in the way that they did. Next season will be interesting with those 4 core pieces no longer on the team.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
Offensive Line
Despite battling injuries, the O-line continued to be great. They didn’t allow a sack for much of the season and created huge holes for the tailbacks. Those guys will be missed in 2023.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
Offensive Line
The big fellas up front did an incredible job of protecting Bo Nix this season, giving him plenty of time to air it out down the field or tuck and run. Speaking of running, Oregon’s running back tandem of Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington was incredible this year – in large part due to the holes created by the offensive line.
Award Winner: Offensive Line
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
The big fellas up front never get the credit that they deserve, and what they do doesn’t always show up on a stat sheet, but you can’t tell the story of Oregon’s 2022 season without talking about the offensive line. They were an absolute elite group.
Best Win
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
20-17 vs. Utah
I think given the circumstances — Bo Nix’s injury; revenge from 2021; bounceback from Washington loss — the win over Utah is going to be best remembered this season. It looks even better now, with Utah beating USC in the Pac-12 title game and going to the Rose Bowl. Oregon beat the Utes with a QB on one leg. That’s not easy to do.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
20-17 vs. Utah
BYU and UCLA were both incredible wins, but considering the adversity the Ducks had to go through with Nix, I’m saying the Utah win was their best.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
45-30 vs. UCLA
Hanging 45 on Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins, while the Ducks were technically the lower-ranked team, was an absolute blast and will be a game fans remember for a long time.
Award Winner: Utah
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Because of the injury to Bo Nix, and the stakes after the loss to Washington, and the revenge factor from 2021, the way that the Ducks buckled down and beat Utah in a physical matchup that wasn’t the way Oregon was used to playing will be remembered in Eugene for a while.
Worst Loss
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
37-34 vs. Oregon State
This feels like a pretty easy answer. The season started with an excruciating loss to Georgia, and it ended with an unbearable loss to Oregon State. The Ducks were a win away from making it to the Pac-12 Championship, and they blew a 21-point lead to one of their biggest rivals. Tough to get worse than that.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
37-34 vs. Oregon State
The loss in Corvallis was worse than the Huskies because Oregon completely gave that game away. At least Washington had to play well to beat the Ducks. OSU didn’t have to play well or even decent. Oregon handed that game to the Beavers, which stinks.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
37-34 vs. Oregon State
Never fun to lose to both the Beavers and Huskies in the same season, but blowing a huge lead to the Beavers and watching their chances at a Pac-12 Championship disappear was about as heartbreaking as it can get.
Award Winner: Oregon State
Do we really need to get into it? The Ducks led 31-10 late in the third quarter and ended up losing, ending their chances to make the Pac-12 Championship. It was bad. Let’s move on.
Most Pleasant Surprise
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
Chase Cota
It’s hard not to say Bucky Irving or Noah Whittington, but I think that I’m going to go with the UCLA transfer. Cota grew up an Oregon fan as the son of legendary Duck, Chad Cota. He was a great piece of the offense when he was healthy and he finished the season with 136 yards and a TD in his first Oregon State rivalry game. Homecomings don’t always work out, but it certainly did for Cota.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
Camden Lewis
Camden Lewis becoming such an accurate and clutch kicker was nice to see. Oregon should have used him A LOT more.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
Noah Whittington
Whittington had 617 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns as a sophomore at Western Kentucky before heading out to Eugene. Few would have expected him to blow past those totals in his first year with the Ducks, but a strong offensive line allowed Whittington to find the end zone five times and become a reliable weapon for this Oregon squad.
Award Winner: Camden Lewis
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
I’m happy to give Camden some shine in our awards here. Though we all voted for different players, Lewis would have been my second vote, so it seems fitting that he is named the most pleasant surprise this season, hitting 14-of-15 field goals and making all 60 of his extra points in 2022.
Most Frustrating Player
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
Justin Flowe
That’s the easiest answer on the board. Flowe was billed as one of the best players on the team in 2022, and if he stayed healthy, his ceiling playing next to Noah Sewell and under Dan Lanning was astronomically high. He stayed healthy, but ended up playing only 21% of defensive snaps and was a non-factor for the defense. Here’s to hoping that he can turn things around in 2023.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
Noah Sewell
It would be easy to say Justin Flowe, but he wasn’t out on the field enough to be frustrating. I’m going with Noah Sewell. For whatever reason, he took a step back. There were games that he should have dominated on defense ad he was almost an afterthought.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
Justin Flowe
After joining the Ducks as the most decorated linebacker recruit in school history, and totaling 14 tackles in the game against Fresno State in 2021, Flowe has battled injuries and ineffectiveness ever since. He finished 2022 with just 35 tackles in 10 games, without any sacks and just 2.5 tackles for loss.
Award Winner: Justin Flowe
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The career of Justin Flowe took an unfortunate turn in 2022, as he was unable to see the field very much under Dan Lanning and his staff. We will see if he chooses to stick around in Eugene, but he would be a massive loss if he decided to leave.
Best Uniform Combination
Votes
Zachary Neel (Follow @ZacharyCNeel)
Green and White vs. Utah
This is a tough call. I don’t think there were any combinations that really blew me away this season, but I’m a sucker for the white helmet, green jersey, and white pants. My runner-up is for sure the green and yellow vs. Stanford.
Don Smalley (Follow @Donald_Smalley)
Dark Green vs. BYU
Either the dark green pants and jerseys with yellow numbers vs BYU or the apple green, white pants with yellow numbers vs Utah.
Andy Patton (Follow @AndyPattonPNW)
Green and Yellow vs. Stanford
Big fan of the yellow pants and bright green uniforms they wore against the Cardinal on October 1. Not everyone’s cup of tea (many Oregon uniforms aren’t) but these shined in my opinion. In second place I would say Utah.
Award Winner: Green and White vs. Utah
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
We had a tie at the top, which led to our second-place votes coming into play for the best uniform. It was the Apple Green and White jerseys that came out on top, which shone brightly under the lights in a hard-fought win against Utah. A classic Oregon look.
