Dan Lanning provides injury updates on Oregon's Gary Bryant Jr., Jahlil Florence
As Oregon prepares for Friday’s season-defining showdown with Washington in the Pac-12 title game, the Ducks are dealing with a few notable injury concerns.
Starting cornerback Jahlil Florence and freshman corner Rodrick Pleasant both missed out on last week’s 31-7 win over Oregon State due to injury. Additionally, starting receiver Gary Bryant Jr. left the game with an apparent injury midway through the second half.
During his Monday press conference, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was asked about the status of Bryant.
“He’s out there and getting better,” Lanning said of the starting wideout. “I think we’ll be in good shape to have him this weekend.”
A fourth-year junior who transferred in from USC last offseason, Bryant is third among all Oregon pass-catchers this season with 380 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. His 511 snaps are the second-most among the Ducks’ receivers, and he leads the team with 260 kickoff return yards on the season.
Bryant was tackled near the sideline by Oregon State’s Kitan Oladapo on Friday after catching a short pass from Bo Nix and stayed down after the play. After being attended to by trainers, he was helped back to the Oregon sideline and appeared to be favoring his right foot.
When asked about the respective health statuses of Florence and Pleasant on Monday, Lanning sounded less certain.
“I’m expecting us to have some of those guys back,” Lanning said. “We’ll have to wait and see as the week progresses. That’s kind of the way it goes at this point of the season.”
Florence has been a key figure for Lanning and Tosh Lupoi’s defense in 2023. The true sophomore took hold of a starting job opposite Khyree Jackson early in the year and has played 392 snaps — the eighth-most among all Oregon defenders.
In 11 games, Florence has recorded 27.0 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, one interception, and one sack. Accoridng to Pro Football Focus, he has been targeted in coverage 38 times and surrendered 24 receptions.
Florence did not participate in the open portions of practice last week and was in street clothes during the Oregon State game.
Pleasant, a former 4-star recruit who was one of Oregon’s top 2023 signees, played meaningful snaps during the Ducks’ wins over Utah and USC and appeared to be carving out a role late in the season. But he has been sidelined with an injury for the past two weeks.
Last Friday, Dontae Manning got the start at cornerback in place of Florence and played a season-high 49 snaps. Trikweze Bridges and Nikko Reed saw playing time, too.
Oregon will hope to be at full power against Washington, which features one of the top receiver rooms in the nation.
