Mario Cristobal provides injury updates on DJ Johnson, Johnny Johnson III
Oregon’s receiver depth took a notable hit Wednesday when it was confirmed that sophomore receiver Mycah Pittman is no longer with the program.
But the No. 3 Ducks have other concerns at receiver, too, as they prepare for their Saturday showdown with No. 23 Utah in Salt Lake City.
Johnny Johnson III, Oregon’s starting “Z” receiver, left the Ducks’ last game with an apparent ankle injury and was carted back to the locker room. The Ducks were also missing tight end DJ Johnson last week due to an undisclosed injury.
Mario Cristobal was asked about the health status of both players during his Wednesday press conference and did not have much in the way of new information.
“Healthier, looking good,” Cristobal said when asked about DJ Johnson and Johnny Johnson III. “We’ll see.”
Freshman linebacker Jackson LaDuke was in uniform last weekend for the first time all season, and Cristobal said earlier this week he would have been available to play in an emergency scenario.
It sounds as though he could potentially get on the field in Salt Lake City and provide some depth at weak-side linebacker.
“It’s been a long time since he’s played, but he practiced full speed today,” Cristobal said. “Not just against the scouts, but also when the ones go against the ones, the twos go against the twos.
“He looks great. So we expect him to be a contributor.”
One other noteworthy bit of injury news that came from Cristobal’s Wednesday presser was an update on senior linebacker Dru Mathis. A Week 1 starter at weak-side linebacker for the Ducks, Mathis played just a handful of snaps before suffering a knee injury in the season-opener that has kept him sidelined ever since.
Cristobal is optimistic that Mathis could return to game action for the Ducks later this season.
“I think there’s a good chance,” Cristobal said. “It will be something in the postseason — it won’t be something in the next couple of weeks or so.
“But he’s working really hard. We’d love to see that for him, a guy who’s a senior. So we’ll see.”
