Five Ducks Earn First-Team All-Conference Honors
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
On a day the Ducks continued the long wait to hear their postseason fate, and lost their offensive coordinator, five Oregon players took home first-team Pac-12 football all-conference honors, it was announced Tuesday.
Running back Royce Freeman, offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone, defensive end DeForest Buckner and placekicker Aidan Schneider were named first-team all-Pac-12 along with Charles Nelson, as an all-purpose/special teams player. Freeman, Buckner and Nelson were second-team picks a season ago.
Earlier Tuesday, UO offensive coordinator Scott Frost was announced as the new head coach at Central Florida. His plans for the coming weeks, and those for the Ducks in the immediate and long-term future, were not immediately known, but several of his current players were among those honored by the conference.
Running behind an offensive line that featured Johnstone at left tackle, Freeman led the Pac-12 in rushing in the regular season with 142.17 yards per game and 14 rushing touchdowns. Buckner finished second in the conference in sacks with 9.5.
Schneider was the most accurate field-goal kicker in the Pac-12 with a 20-of-22 showing in 2015. Nelson was a top kick coverage player, along with a starting safety and dynamic weapon on offense for a few snaps per game.
Along with Freeman and Johnstone on the first team, receivers Bralon Addison and Darren Carrington were second-team selections. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and center Matt Hegarty were honorable mention selections, along with defensive lineman Alex Balducci and defensive back Tyree Robinson.
Adams was relegated to honorable mention despite leading the Pac-12 in quarterback rating (179.57) and yards per attempt (10.2). Luke Falk of Washington State and Jared Goff of California split first-team honors, and Stanford’s Kevin Hogan was named to the second team.
The conference’s player and coach of the year awards were to be announced later Tuesday. All-conference honors are voted on by conference head coaches.
