Oregon is looking to take the next step this season, and is turning to a time-honored Hawks mantra to do so.

After snapping a six-year playoff drought with back-to-back 5-5 seasons, the Hawks hope to build on that foundation of success. Senior running back and defensive back Cooper Johnson succinctly summed up how they want to go about that.

“Play fast and hit hard,” he said.

That’s the style Oregon used during a run of 12 playoff berths in a 16-year span during John Bothe’s tenure, and with head coach Broc Kundert now entering his fourth season, the Hawks’ familiarity with the system and style of play should help with that.

“It makes it a lot smoother,” Johnson said. “We don’t have to start from Day 1. It’s already like we’re on Day 30. We just keep on growing and getting better. I think we’re a step ahead of where we were last year.”

“Implementation-wise, we just kind of feel like we’re where we need to be maybe like a week before our first game, and we’ve got plenty of days to continue to get ready,” Kundert said. “I think maybe with it being Year 4, the kids know what to expect, they know the system, it’s stayed the same, and we can just fly to the football because we don’t have to think as much anymore.”

In addition to Johnson, Oregon also brings back seniors in quarterback/defensive back Benny Olalde, running back/defensive back Keaton Salsbury and two-way lineman Tristin Smith-Van Cura, and juniors in running back/linebacker Jakob Moser and Jayden Berry and running back/defensive back Jakobi Donegan.

Senior Ethan Reed (defensive line) and juniors Zandyr Withers (tight end and defensive line), Dawson Alcala (offensive and defensive lines), Zayden Vandesand (offensive and defensive lines) and Ethan Peeling (wide receiver and linebacker) will be key newcomers who are expected to step up for the Hawks.

“We’ve got a bunch of young guys stepping in for the seniors last year,” Johnson said. “I think we’re much faster than last year, we’re definitely going to be a lot faster team, we’re definitely going to get to the ball faster as a team.”

A hard-nosed defense is always key in the tough Big Northern Conference, and some balance on offense is expected this season in Oregon. With a strong stable of running backs and a returning signal-caller in Olalde, the Hawks would like to spread the ball around in various ways on offense.

“We’re going to be balanced,” Olalde said. “Everyone’s been working really hard during the offseason, getting everyone to help each other and make sure we’re all going the same way. I think we’re going to be really balanced and have a little bit more fire on offense.

“I think it’s going to start with our O-line and our H-backs. After they start clicking, everyone else starts clicking with them.”

The goal for the season is clear: Not only get back to the playoffs, but make some noise when they get there.

And recent trends stoke some optimism for that. The Hawks have won three of their final four regular-season games each of the last two years before first-round playoff losses, so a faster start to the season – and continuing to build their mental toughness – could help them carry that momentum deeper into the postseason.

“I think they’ve kind of tasted it, ‘This is what success tastes like – and I like it, and I want to continue it.’ No shot at the previous staff before, but I think we had to kind of learn how to win,” Kundert said. “Year 2 [in 2023], when we did make the playoffs, we were learning at the varsity level. Last year was just a cluster of injuries that just hurt us – but if you would have had that scenario with all those injuries happen two years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to handle that adversity like we did last year.

“I feel like these guys kind of know what it takes, they’ve tasted it, they want to continue it, so not necessarily that the sky’s the limit, but we want to take off running right away and not have any mess-ups or anything like that, just play well every game. I’m excited for our guys.”