Oregon Ducks safety Trey McNutt was expected to contribute as a true freshman in 2025 before a broken leg derailed his college debut. Shortly after suffering his injury, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the rest of the Ducks staff were careful not to put any timeline on McNutt and his return to the field.
After Thursday’s practice, Oregon defensive coordinator Chris Hampton shared an update on McNutt’s return from injury as well as his performance in the early parts of fall camp.
“He’s back healthy. He’s doing everything. Trey’s working extremely hard. You know he’s battling with all the other guys, and we’re excited about his growth,” said Hampton.
McNutt’s role in the 2026 season remains to be seen, but a full recovery from his broken leg injury is a promising sign for the Ducks. He played in Oregon’s spring game, a promising next step in his return to the regular season.
Remaining available at the start of fall camp is the next step taken by McNutt as he prepares to make his regular season debut in Autzen Stadium.
Oregon Ducks Receiving Injury Reinforcements
McNutt, alongside Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart, dealt with injuries that caused them to miss the entire season.
Both McNutt and Stewart were upgraded to “Game Time Decisions” as the Ducks made their run in the College Football Playoff, but neither saw the field. Stewart turned heads with his return to practice, but his next appearance was Oregon’s spring game in April of 2026. Even then, Stewart wore a special non-contact jersey like the Ducks quarterbacks to help prevent any injuries.
While Stewart is more of a proven commodity than McNutt, the Ducks defensive back has a chance to make some noise in a rather crowded secondary. Oregon safety Aaron Flowers returns as the team’s starter from a season ago, and Minnesota transfer Koi Perich is expected to take a starting spot after joining the program in the offseason.
Oregon Ducks Safety Rotation
Flowers and Perich enter camp as the likely favorites to win the starting safety jobs, but how close is the competition? The Ducks have a number of talented defensive backs to rotate in and develop, especially in the early parts of the season.
Still, Flowers brings valuable experience to the table, recording 70 total tackles, 3 pass breakups, and 1 interception in 2025. The Oregon safety was sometimes exposed in coverage against the better offenses that the Ducks faced, making this spot one of the bigger question marks for Hampton and the defense.
Perich, on the other hand, likely wasn’t brought in from Minnesota to sit on the sidelines. The former Golden Gopher flashed early in his career, earning true freshman All-American honors with 5 interceptions as a true freshman. Perich’s ball-hawking and tackling abilities put him in conversation for the 2027 NFL Draft, but what about behind him on the roster?
As mentioned by Hampton, there appears to be some battling taking place in the back end of Oregon’s defense. Other Ducks safeties like Peyton Woodyard and Jett Washington are also vying for playing time, giving Hampton and the defensive coaching staff a number of options to choose from.
Who wins the starting jobs will turn heads, but how Oregon’s coaches handle the rotation might be more intriguing. Will younger safeties like McNutt or Washington come off the bench early, or will the experience of Woodyard or Baylor transfer Carl Williams IV prevail?
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