EUGENE — Oregon replaces all of its primary specialists, but has to find a new punt returner this season. Tez Johnson was electric in the role the past two seasons, but is off to the NFL and the Ducks will need to find a new skill player to be a potential game-breaker and more importantly, good decision-maker. “We’re pretty conservative because we’ve been so good on offense,“ special teams coordinator Joe Lorig said. ”The worst thing I could do is give another team’s offense another possession because we fumble a ball or we don’t make a great decision." RELATED: Who takes over as Oregon football’s punt returner in 2025? Lorig said there are six or seven players practicing at punt return this spring, including freshmen Dakorien Moore and Cooper Perry and fellow receivers Gary Bryant Jr. and Malik Benson. Wide outs Evan Stewart, Dillon Gresham and Justius Lowe each took reps at punt return last season as well, though only Stewart got an opportunity during a game, and misjudged the one return he had. Without live reps in practice, the competition will continue into fall camp for the role, which can seem minor but Oregon’s difficulty in filling it when Johnson was hurt last season underscores its significance. “We have two goals here, it’s to own the ball and not get penalties,” Lorig said. “If we’re the best punt return team in the country, that’s awesome. But more importantly, I don’t want to give up any possessions. I want our offense to get as many possessions as possible. We really put a premium on decision making back there more than explosive play making. Not that that’s not important, but we’re a little bit different than other people in that way.” Johnson averaged 11.92 yards per return with a touchdown on 13 returns last season and Bryant had five returns averaging 8.4 yards, all in the last five games. Removing muffed punts by Stewart and Ryan Pellum move UO’s season average from 9.75 (45th) to 10.94 (34th), while Bryant’s average alone would have ranked 62nd. RELATED: Gary Bryant Jr. healthy, taking on leadership role in reloading Oregon football receiver corps this spring Situational awareness is part of the decision-making Lorig references in deciding on punt and kickoff returners. Field position, time, score and other circumstances all have to be factored in by a player who is alone, more often than not, in a loud environment. Lorig’s not concerned about finding the right guy come the fall. Saturday’s spring game could include some punts, just don’t expect any returns, even with a rare instance offseason instance of fans being in the stands. “We try to put them in those situations as much as we can beforehand,” Lorig said. “Communicate, then being an explosive playmaker after that would be the third piece.” Oregon Ducks football 2024 season schedule, scoresSign up for The Ducks Beat newslette -- James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.