Finally, nine months after he was hired by Oregon, Willie Taggart will make his debut as the Ducks’ head football coach when they host Southern Utah to open the 2017 season Saturday in Eugene.

Oregon fans are hoping to see a much different team from the one that sputtered and lurched its way to a historically bad 4-8 season in 2016 that resulted in the firing of Mark Helfrich — just two years removed from a national championship appearance.

Perhaps 2016 is long forgotten now that Taggart has brought some refreshing energy and enthusiasm to Eugene from South Florida. But several questions linger for Oregon as the season gets underway, including these five:

Can Jim Leavitt turn around the defense?

Last season the Ducks ranked 126th in the FBS in points allowed (41.4) and yards allowed (518.4) while finishing 2-7 in the Pac-12 and missing the postseason for the first time in 12 years.

One of Taggart’s first moves as head coach was to hire Leavitt away from Colorado after he helped turn around the Buffaloes’ defense in 2016.

The 60-year-old Leavitt, a former head coach at South Florida (1997-2009) and linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers (2011-2014), has switched Oregon back to a 3-4 base defense, which many of the returning players were recruited to play before last year’s defensive coordinator, Brady Hoke, installed a 4-3.

Leading the way for the Oregon defense is sophomore linebacker Troy Dye, who had 91 tackles and 6½ sacks in 2016. Dye is moving from outside to inside linebacker and will lead a corps that includes seniors Jonah Moi, A.J. Hotchkins and Jimmie Swain.

“There’s minor changes from a 4-3 to a 3-4, but just the overall difference is the energy and the enthusiasm that coach Leavitt brings out,” Dye says. “If you see a guy like him, at his age, running around and out there yelling, you have no other choice but to match that energy and go out there and play for that man who’s really excited to be out there.”

An experienced defensive line that includes senior standout Henry Mondeaux and talented junior defensive end Jalen Jelks should also help the Ducks. Clemson graduate transfer Scott Pagano is expected to play a key role once he fully recovers from foot surgery he had in May. Pagano was part of the national champion Tigers team last year.

The Oregon secondary also features numerous veterans, including Arrion Springs, Ugo Amadi, Khalil Oliver, Tyree Robinson and Juwaan Williams.

Is Justin Herbert the next great Oregon quarterback?

Perhaps it is too early to ask this question. But even as the Ducks faltered last season, Herbert had a solid freshman year, passing for nearly 2,000 yards in just eight games after taking over for Dakota Prukop. He completed 63.5 percent of his attempts and passed for 19 touchdowns against four interceptions.

Reports from Eugene suggest that Herbert has been impressive during preseason camp. In the second scrimmage of the camp last week, he was 16-for-29 passing for 300 yards and a touchdown — a 70-yard connection with Dillon Mitchell — according to Oregon’s unofficial statistics.

Taggart has asked the soft-spoken Herbert to become a more vocal leader this season. Players and coaches have noted that Herbert’s confidence seems to have increased after he reportedly put on 15 pounds of muscle during the offseason.

“I think all that comes with maturity, as he gets older and more experienced,” Taggart says of Herbert becoming more vocal. “Justin is one of those young men who has always led by example … I’ve been very, very impressed with him. He’s a little more confident in himself and comfortable in his role.”

Will Royce Freeman return to Heisman-hype form?

By no means did Freeman have a bad season last year, even as the team struggled. He finished the year with 945 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. It’s just that he had rushed for 1,836 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2015, and for 1,365 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2014.

Part of his reduced output last season was due to the emergence of Tony Brooks-James, who had 771 yards and nine touchdowns.

Freeman passed on the NFL draft after last year’s forgettable season and hopes to leave Oregon with a finish to remember.

“Just coming back and finishing on a better note than I did last year, was something that was a personal vendetta I had, in going out there and trying to leave my best product out there with one year of eligibility left,” says Freeman, who completed a degree this summer in general social science.

Freeman reportedly worked hard in the weight room this offseason, and video emerged before preseason camp of him squatting 600 pounds.

“It will help me as far as staying more healthy throughout the season,” he says of the extra work. “I’m just working on the little things so I make sure I can play a complete season.”

How is the competition looking?

As Oregon looks to return to a bowl game this season, it will also look for some revenge for some tough losses last season. The first date to circle is Sept. 9, when Nebraska, led by former Oregon State coach Mike Riley, comes to Eugene.

Last year’s 35-32 loss to the Cornhuskers was the start of Helfrich’s downfall as the Ducks were just 1-for-5 on two-point conversions. Look for Oregon to more routinely kick its point-after-touchdown tries this season.

Key dates in Pac-12 play for Oregon include Oct. 14 at Stanford and Nov. 4 at Washington. Those teams appear to be the class of the Pac-12 North. The Ducks were trounced by the Cardinal 50-27 and by the Huskies 70-21 last season. Washington, which reached the College Football Playoff in 2016, is ranked in the top 10 in both preseason Top 25 polls.

And, of course, Oregon will look to right the ship in the Civil War after losing to Oregon State 34-24 last year.

In a season of uncertainty, the Ducks are perhaps lucky they do not have USC on their schedule, as the Trojans are ranked No. 4 in both preseason polls.

What are reasonable expectations in Taggart’s first year?

Eager fans will want to see a dramatic turnaround. But just making it back to a bowl game is a reasonable goal for Oregon this season. While Taggart has brought a lot of buzz and excitement, let’s not forget that this is basically the same team, albeit more experienced, that went 4-8 last season.

Perhaps Oregon fans should expect more in 2018. Taggart and his assistants have proved to be relentless recruiters, as the Ducks’ 2018 class of 22 commitments is ranked No. 1 by scout.com.

“What excites me is our player commitment to getting better,” Taggart says of the current team. “These guys have been committed since day one since I’ve been here, and that’s been very impressive for me personally.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com

Ducks schedule

Sept. 2, S. Utah, 5:15 p.m.

Sept. 9, Nebraska, 1:30 p.m.

Sept. 16, at Wyoming, 4 p.m.

Sept. 23, at Arizona State, TBA

Sept. 30, California, TBA

Oct. 7, Washington State, TBA

Oct. 14, at Stanford, TBA

Oct. 21, at UCLA, TBA

Oct. 28, Utah, TBA

Nov. 4, at Washington, TBA

Nov. 18, Arizona, TBA

Nov. 25, Oregon State, TBA

(All times Pacific)