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Oregon has an inconsistent offense and its defense gives up major yards. So how are the Ducks 4-1? It starts with a third-year starting safety who knows what’s coming.
(Eric Evans photo/GoDucks.com)
EUGENE — Verone McKinley III goes by “The General” now.
He’s not exactly sure who said it first. Might have started with the coaching staff. Could have been his teammates. “I think he kind of brought the name upon himself,” said roommate Steve Stephens IV.
Regardless, McKinley digs it. Generals lead. Generals anticipate. Good generals win. And if it wasn’t for Oregon’s third-year starting free safety, the Ducks likely wouldn’t be 4-1 heading into this weekend’s matchup against Cal.
See, for much of the season chaos has engulfed a talented Oregon defense. Kayvon Thibodeaux, one of the best players in America, has missed multiple games to injury and will sit out the first half Friday with a targeting suspension. Five-star linebacker Justin Flowe was lost for the season after the first game. Nickelback Bennett Williams’ breakout year ended two weeks ago with a freak injury at practice. And before the season even began, Oregon’s secondary had to adjust on the fly in camp when projected starters Jamal Hill and DJ James were arrested and consequently suspended.
With an offense that’s had its own issues through the season’s first five weeks, the challenges Oregon’s defense has faced would cripple some teams. Yet here the Ducks are, the No. 9 team in the country with a win over No. 6 Ohio State in tow and still right in the College Football Playoff conversation.
The Playoff is reserved for elite teams. Elite teams need to be elite in at least something. For the Ducks, that’s been disruption. And no player is better prepared for that than Oregon’s general, a player whose preparation has him seeing the field from an entirely different perspective.
“Things are happening in slow motion,” said McKinely, whose four interceptions lead the nation. “Over time I’m just seeing it, and it’s like (snaps fingers) there it is, and I’m able to go. That’s why I play so fast, because I know what’s coming and once I see it there’s no hesitation.”
McKinley’s success in 2021 is no surprise to anyone who followed his Oregon career. The former four-star recruit from Dallas picked off five passes in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and his flexibility proved key in Oregon’s 2019 Rose Bowl-winning season. McKinley entered that year as the team’s nickel defensive back, then switched with free safety Jevon Holland before Game 1 against Auburn. The move unlocked something special in Holland, who is now turning heads in his rookie season with the Dolphins in the NFL. And in a new position, McKinley was named to freshman All-American rosters after his four-interception debut year.
That wasn’t all that surprising to Clay Mack.
Mack grew up as a friendly adversary with Verone McKinley Jr., McKinley III’s father. They went to rival high schools and both starred as All-American defensive backs who would go on to play college ball.
“We crossed paths a few times and it was real cordial,” said Mack. “He was a big-time guy at his school. I was a big-time guy at my school. It was just one of those respect factors.”
After a college career that ended prematurely due to injury, Mack would quickly become one of the most sought after defensive back trainers in the Dallas area. When he started working with McKinley III as a fifth-grader, he was blown away by a kid that had his dad’s athleticism attached to a super computer.
“He’s always been from the shoulders up,” Mack said. “He would look at stuff and dissect it. He’d regurgitate plays back to you, or he’d try and poke holes in concepts. He wanted to know things not just top to bottom, but from bottom to top. ‘So if you fix it, how do you unfix it? And if it’s unfixed, how do you fix it?’
“That’s kind of how he’s been operating from a cognitive perspective for a long time.”
And sure, that’s the type of stuff that comes up the most now. McKinley is a known film aficionado, who clearly breaks it down on his Twitter account, podcast and, lately, on national platforms. He’s Oregon’s go-to player on defense for a quote, whether it’s after a win or when they need someone to be accountable after a loss. He’s certainly positioned himself nicely for a job in the media, which he wants.
But there’s far too much football to be played before that.
At 5-foot-11 and 194 pounds, McKinley isn’t physically imposing. He packs a punch when he hits, flies to the football and his preparation has more often than not put him in the right spot at the right time. In Oregon’s win over Ohio State — the biggest regular season win of McKinley’s career — he had six tackles, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and an interception with 2:50 left to help seal the win. A week later when the Ducks were sleepwalking against Stony Brook, McKinley’s two picks turned a much-too-close game into a 48-7 blowout. He added another, along with six tackles against Arizona. His name is starting to populate draft boards, with a common comparison made to former Washington DB and current Arizona Cardinal safety Budda Baker.
Baker is 5-foot-10, 194 pounds and decently athletic. He’s been to three Pro Bowls.
“Analytics is good and everything, but it can’t always be the defining factor in determining if someone is good,” McKinley said. “Sometimes it’s just about watching film and seeing who is making plays. We always talk about analytics and stats, but, like, who is making plays?”
Through five weeks, Oregon has the No. 53 offense in the country based on total yardage. Its defense ranks 89th. Yet if the Ducks can win out the rest of their games — every one of them they’ll be favored in — they’ll be in the CFP for the second time in program history. Right now, the only thing that’s keeping them in that contention is a turnover ratio that ranks second in the country. The Ducks take care of the ball on offense and have won games so far with a secondary that’s been opportunistic, coordinated and in-sync.
And while McKinley has made his share of plays, his teammates say his ability to communicate everything he’s computing is what makes the defense go.
“When he’s out there he’s the general,” said defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus. “You always hear V3 on the field. I’ll be in my stance and it’ll be loud, and I always hear V3 on the back-end communicating with everybody.”
Clay brings it back to a moment this offseason. When McKinley comes back home these days, they often focus on technique — the things you just sometimes don’t have time to hone over the course of the season — yet McKinley always has a habit of relating the drills back in real-life scenarios.
“We were doing this drill and he starts talking about games throughout the upcoming season that it applied to,” Clay said. “So I ask him, ‘Have you already scouted these guys?’ And he says, ‘Coach, if I look at a roster and they have the majority of the guys coming back, I’ll scout those guys.’”
He’ll watch tape on them from last season. He’ll watch tape on them from the season before. He’ll even go back and find high school film.
It’s a lot, but it’s what McKinley said he loves. And he has a new nickname to live up to.
“I take a lot of responsibility for things that go on the defense,” McKinley said. “I put it all on myself because that’s just the standard that I hold myself to.”
— Tyson Alger
@tysonalger
