Oregon Ducks football's Dont'e Thornton, Chase Cota looking to take on more prominent roles
Entering last season, the Oregon Ducks' wide receivers were one of the team's most experienced units.
But throughout the year, there were a lot of changes to that unit.
Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd each suffered season-ending injuries. Also, Mycah Pittman left the program as he later transferred to Florida State.
That forced then-freshman Dont'e Thornton into a more prominent role and he appeared ready for it. Thornton caught four receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown in the Alamo Bowl loss to Oklahoma.
While Thornton says his performance in the bowl game is foreshadows things to come, he has a lot of room for improvement.
"The bowl game let me know that I can really do this," Thornton said. "I can really play football at a high level.
"That was my confidence booster right there. Having a good game really boosted my confidence a lot."
This year, the Ducks will need Thornton to be ready for a more featured role at the start of the season. Not only are Johnson and Redd are gone, but so are Devon Williams and leading receiver Travis Dye.
Williams declared for the NFL Draft after last season was over and Dye transferred to USC. The hope is Thornton along with Kris Hutson and Troy Franklin can become the triple-threat Oregon was hoping for when it recruited the three players out of high school.
In preparing for more of a role this coming season, Thornton has been putting in extra work on and off the field as he has put on six pounds of muscle during the offseason.
"The things that I changed the most from last offseason to this offseason was I got in the playbook a lot more," Thornton said. "Every day, I'm in the facility talking to coaches a day before practices.
"I'm just putting in more effort off the field that's going to help me on the field."
Chase Cota looking to carry on family legacy at Oregon
Because his father, Chad, was an All-American at Oregon, Chase Cota grew up a Ducks fan.
However, the Medford native signed with UCLA coming out of high school. After four seasons with the Bruins, Cota thought it was time to come home after receiving an opportunity to play at Oregon.
Cota said it was a tough decision to leave UCLA and transfer to Oregon, but a few aspects gave him some comfort in making the move.
Previous coverage:Former UCLA wide receiver Chase Cota transferring to Oregon Ducks football next season
"I really like coach (Junior) Adams and coach (Kenny) Dillingham," Cota said. "I thought my communication with them and what they had to say about the offense and the opportunity sounded really good.
"It's not like I came here because there are no receivers. They're a bunch of really good receivers. Just to be in a really good room and I think I can help enhance it is the experience I want to be in."
Cota will help a receiver unit that could use a veteran. During his four seasons at UCLA, Cota caught 68 receptions for 883 yards and six touchdowns. Franklin is the leading returning Ducks receiver as he caught 18 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns last season.
This spring, Cota is competing with Thornton and Franklin for snaps. Cota has only been at Oregon for about three weeks as he joined the spring practice session after it began. Now that he is up to speed with the offense, Cota says he has provided leadership to the younger receivers on the team.
"I think I'm helping the guys out a little bit," Cota said. "Whenever they have a question or something or if they're down or tired, they can lean on me standing strong.
"There's a lot of benefits to being one of the oldest guys."
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Thornton, Cota stepping up in different ways for Oregon Ducks football
