Oregon Ducks’ 5-Star True Freshman Suffers Broken Leg originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Oregon Ducks are gearing up for a big 2025 college football season with hopes of defending their Big Ten Conference Championship from a year ago, but they are going to have to rely on a lot of young players in order to do so. The Ducks return just four total starters from the 2024 season, and will have underclassmen getting a lot of early playing time this year.
Advertisement
One of those underclassmen, 5-star true freshman safety Trey McNutt, suffered a broken leg earlier this month during fall camp, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. McNutt is rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 31 overall player in the 2025 class, and the No. 2 safety in the nation.
What the Loss of Trey McNutt Means for Oregon
For most championship-contending teams, losing a true freshman before his first college snap isn’t always a massive deal, seeing as there is typically depth ahead of them, and many true freshmen tend to redshirt at places like Oregon. However, McNutt was one of the few freshmen on the Ducks’ roster who had a great chance to see the field in 2025 as one of the top young players on the team.
Advertisement
At the moment, there is no timetable for McNutt’s return, and whether or not he will be able to return for any action this season.
While losing McNutt for any amount of time is unfortunate, the Ducks should still be in a great spot at the safety position. Before the spring season, they brought in former Purdue Boilermakers star Dillon Thieneman, one of the best safeties in the nation. There are also high expectations for players like Kingston Lopa, Peyton Woodyard, and Aaron Flowers, all of whom enter the year as underclassmen.
Advertisement
Oregon Ducks Outlook in 2025
On Monday afternoon, the Ducks were ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 for the 2025 season, marking their fifth time in the top 10 of the rankings during the College Football Playoff era.
Following a successful 13-1 2024 season, in which Oregon lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFP quarterfinals, the Ducks enter the new year with high expectations. While they have a young roster, expected to be led by redshirt sophomore Dante Moore at QB, there is a ton of blue-chip talent that is ready to make the most of its opportunity.
Advertisement
The schedule is workable, with a handful of easy games at home in Eugene, and a trio of difficult road matchups against the Penn State Nittany Lions, Iowa Hawkeyes, and Washington Huskies.
According to sportsbooks around the nation, the Ducks have a win total of 10.5 going into the season, and if they can get out of the regular season with two or fewer losses, a trip back to the CFP should be in the cards.
Related: Michigan Lands Bryce Underwood Successor with Commitment from Elite 2027 QB
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
