Leadership is key for Oregon WR Traeshon Holden as he anticipates a breakout in 2024

The University of Oregon has not been synonymous with elite wide receiver play over the past several decades.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been incredibly talented pass-catchers to come through Eugene — Tony Hartley, Sammie Parker, Demetrius Williams, Jeff Maehl, and Dillon Mitchell, to name a few — but nobody was going to start calling the Ducks ‘WR U’ any time soon.

Until Troy Franklin came along.

No. 11 changed things in Eugene and put Oregon on the map for highly-rated WR recruits looking for a place to flourish. Now, going into the 2024 season, many fans and analysts are considering the Ducks as one of, if not the top receiver group in the nation.

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With leading Heisman Trophy candidate Dillon Gabriel under center, and Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart out wide, big things are expected in Eugene.

But what about Traeshon Holden?

“Shoot, don’t worry about me then,” Holden told me on Tuesday when asked about his running mates getting most of the attention. “I’m glad they’re getting that attention, they work hard to get it. I ain’t no hater.”

It’s not hard to understand why Johnson and Stewart act as the two main focal points in the WR room. Their style of play — Tez’s quick and agile burst from the slot, and Evan’s go-up-and-get-it big-play ability — is endearing to fans, and has produced endless highlights over the past couple of years.

But don’t forget about Traeshon. He can dazzle when you’re least expecting.

Like late in the fourth quarter of the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game? Oregon was down by 10 with just over two minutes on the clock. Bo Nix found Holden over the middle on a short crossing pattern, and No. 5 took it 63 yards for a critical touchdown.

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Holden’s 452 yards and 6 TDs in 2023 may not stack up next to Johnson’s 1,182 yards and 10 TDs, but don’t let that lead you to believe he isn’t a massive part of this WR corp.

For Holden, though, the biggest asset he brings to the room may come off the field in the form of leadership. That’s something that’s taken time to develop, with constant provoking from head coach Dan Lanning.

“I feel like the biggest thing I’ve grown is probably my mental,” Holden said. “Lanning would come to me every day and he’d be like, ‘On a scale of 1-10, how are you leading today?’ I feel like that helps me every day for sure with maturity.”

Maturity can’t be rushed, but it can be fostered. That’s something that Lanning has worked hard at over the last year since Holden landed in Eugene as a transfer from the Alabama Crimson Tide.

As is the case with us all, there are good days and bad days. But on those good days, the differences are palpable.

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“His best leadership role for us is when he goes out there and puts it on the field every single day,” Lanning said. “And then how he affects the people around him. And those days that he does that, it makes our team really tough to stop.”

One thing that Lanning has preached to his team in Eugene is the concept of consistency, calling it the rarest human trait. For Holden, it’s the consistency in leadership and effort that he wants to see continue to develop the most.

“The biggest piece that we’re talking with Trae on every single play is, ‘What’s the next play?'” Lanning said. “‘Great last play, what’s the next play? Bad last play, what’s the next play?’ He’s done a really good job of that.”

As long as Holden can keep stacking those days, and building on that leadership, the sky is the limit. He is a clear-cut starter in this offense, and projects to have a major role in the passing game.

If he follows through, it won’t just be Tez and Evan who are getting the attention in Eugene. Trae makes three.

“They’re gonna see,” Holden said. “Everyone’s gonna see. Watch.”

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