Pair of Oregon starters expected to be healthy for Ducks' week-two matchup

Matt Sullivan

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Pair of Oregon starters expected to be healthy for Ducks' week-two matchup image

The Oregon Ducks began the 2025 NCAA Football season strong with a dominant win over Montana State by a score of 59-13. It was a great way to kick off the season, in what should be another exciting year for the Ducks.

But during the game, the Ducks lost a few players to injury, which would pose problems if it weren't for the fact that at the time of their injuries, the game was already out of hand for Montana State.

However, ahead of their week two matchup, Oregon coach Dan Lanning revealed an encouraging injury update on two of the injured Ducks players from their week one win over the Bobcats, indicating that they would be back for week two.

Oregon Defense Getting Back to Full Strength

According to Chris Hansen of The Register-Guard, the Ducks are expecting both starting left guard Emmanuel Pregnon and defensive back Theran Johnson to suit up for Oregon in Saturday's game against Oklahoma State.

"I feel confident he's going to be good to go," Lanning said of Pregnon. "He was able to move around a little bit (on Monday)."

Getting the starting offensive line back for week two would be a good sign. If he were forced to sit, the Ducks would have to go to their third-string lineman, as backup guard Kawika Rogers left the game with an injury as well.

Based on Lanning's comments, the score being largely in favor of the Ducks played a factor in Pregnon sticking on the sidelines. "Part of it was where the game was at, and us also being able to evaluate and make sure he's in a great position," Lanning said.

If it were a closer game, then he might've gone back onto the field. But it's week one and a blowout, there's little reason to risk further injury this early in the year.

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For defensive back Theran Johnson, just like with Pregnon, Lanning was also optimistic about his return to the lineup.

"Theran should be back this week," said Lanning. "He was probably in position (last week) to where he could've gone and pushed through, but we wanted to get him more practice reps."

The Ducks will still be without a few players early in the year, like Rogers, who, as Lanning said, "We're still figuring out where he's at, he's moving around, it's an ankle issue. I think he could be back on Saturday, maybe not."

But, while Rogers is likely to miss the second week of the season, Oregon is expecting both Pregnon and Johnson to be ready to go for Saturday's game against Oklahoma State.

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Matt Sullivan

Matt Sullivan is a freelance writer for The Sporting News, predominantly covering MLB. Matt is a native of Pennsylvania and has worked with Athlon Sports, Last Word on Sports, and other outlets.