The wide receiver position is the one position on offense with question marks for the Oregon Ducks. Now, they will be without one of their more experienced ones, Brenden Schooler, for six-to-eight weeks.

The announcement came from coach Mario Cristobal following practice on Tuesday. This confirmed rumors that were floating around the internet about a possible injury to Schooler.

Brenden Schooler Injury: Impact on Oregon

Schooler has not put up huge numbers. He moved from safety to wide receiver before the 2017 season. In that time he hasn’t put up big numbers (41 catches, 477 yards, four touchdowns).

Those aren’t huge numbers. However, his impact goes beyond the box score. Where Schooler makes his biggest impact is special teams.

Since he’s been on campus, Schooler has consistently been one of the top special teams performers on the team.

For a team that struggled on special teams a season ago, losing one of your best players on special teams is a big blow.

The impact of this injury will carry over the offense as well. Schooler may not put up big numbers, but he is an exceptional blocker. When it comes to obvious running situations, Schooler is always someone on the field.

Who will step up?

The main player stepping in and getting first-team reps in practice was Johnny Johnson III. That’s likely because he’s the one that’s been around the longest.

Expect it to be a competition for that available playing time. We could see around eight or nine guys get at least a decent amount of time on the outside. This includes guys like incoming freshman Mycah Pittman, who will play, but also JR Waters, Lance Wilhoite, and JJ Tucker, and then guys that redshirted last season like Bryan Addison and Isaah Crocker.

It’s assumed that Penn State transfer Juwan Johnson and Jaylon Redd will start, but the other starting spot is up for grabs, as well as playing time off the bench.

Silver lining

The obvious silver lining here is that there are over three weeks from kickoff and this is an injury that is projected to heal in six-to-eight weeks.

Foot injuries tend to be tricky, however. They are injuries that can tend to linger. But with it not being a season-ending injury, the likely time for Schooler to return sounds like September 21st against Stanford, or October 5th against California.

Until then, Oregon will need someone to emerge on the outside and special teams.