Drew Mehringer 2024 Oregon Fall Camp
College football fans can rest assured that Oregon has one of the best tight end teams in the country this year when the season begins on August 31 against the Idaho Vandals. Veterans Terrance Ferguson and Patrick Herbert return for one final round, while a rising star like Kenyon Sadiq looks to make a name for himself in Will Stein’s offense.
Tight ends coach Drew Mehringer spoke to the media after practice on Friday. Below is a partial transcript of that press conference along with some analysis.
Question: How is the fall camp going?
Mehringer: “Fall camp is great. We have a really good culture on the team. We’re developing a lot of older guys, the leadership is very professional. We’ve had a lot of older guys over the last few years, so some of these guys from my unit, Pat (Patrick Herbert) and Ferg (Terrance Ferguson), are really growing and developing in their leadership skills. We’re pushing some of the young guys. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been very competitive on both sides of the ball. There’s been a lot of back and forth, which is generally a really good sign.”
Question: How was it for you to coach a younger team this time?
Mehringer: “Coach Lanning has done an incredible job of bringing in the right guys. When you bring in the right guys, talent is obviously a requirement, but so is character and intelligence and things like that. It’s fun to integrate these guys into our culture and our training and see what they can do. We have a lot of guys who really want to do this. Some of them are still learning that college football is a lot harder than it was in high school, and some of these other guys are pretty damn good.”
Question: What have you observed in Kenyon’s overall development since his arrival last spring to his current full year in the system?
Mehringer: “I think a lot of young guys in high school get away with eating Doritos and coming to practice just because… give me a Dr. Pepper or a Coke and I’m good to go. That really doesn’t work here. Kenyon is showing up, he’s never really been like that, but he’s learning to prepare and get his body in shape – he was 218/219, now he’s 240. Still looks amazing, growing. He’s a little like Pat and Ferg, doesn’t say much, prepares very, very well. He’s great and it’s been seeing how he’s evolved, not just in terms of his knowledge in the room, but the relationships that have developed in the room. Kenyon is great. I’m really excited about where he is.”
Question: What does a guy like Patrick Herbert mean to this room?
Mehringer: “Patrick Herbert is the epitome of toughness. He’s a guy who doesn’t say much, who does the right thing, who very, very, very rarely misses games, who is prepared and plays despite being injured. He’s injured, but he doesn’t care. He breaks his finger in the middle of training, but he doesn’t care, he doesn’t put on a red jersey. He’s a great person. For us, he’s not an option with Ferg, you somehow stand out if you’re not on the ball and don’t come to work every day.”
Torres’ opinion
This is perhaps the most talented tight end room Oregon has had in my career as a reporter of the team. One could argue for the 2021 season with Ferguson, Spencer Webb And Moliki Matavao are primarily responsible.
You know what you have with Ferguson: a reliable and versatile offensive weapon that can do anything you want at the position, and now with Herbert you have a better idea of what you have after he struggled with injuries for much of his career. He’s a rock-solid blocker and has developed into a bigger playmaking threat over the last year.
I can’t remember there ever being as much hype around a young tight end as Kenyon Sadiq. He got a fair amount of playing time last season and has adapted well to the college game. Considering how much he’s changed physically since arriving at Oregon, it feels like he’s in for a breakout year. And the staff needs it, with Ferguson and Herbert both moving on after this season.
