EUGENE —

Cam McCormick hauled in the pass from Braxton Burmeister, dove over two Utah defenders into the Autzen Stadium end zone, and then was unsure of what to do next.

“I didn’t know how to celebrate, I was just so excited that I scored,” McCormick recalled of his first and only career touchdown for the Oregon Ducks.

The tight end from Bend hopes to become more familiar with the end zone in his upcoming redshirt sophomore season after playing in all 13 games last season, starting in two, and finishing with six catches for 89 yards and that one touchdown.

That score gave the Ducks a 7-0 lead in an eventual 41-20 win over the Utes on Oct. 28. McCormick also had two catches for 47 yards in a 48-28 win over Arizona on Nov. 18, including a 35-yard reception that was his longest of the season.

“It was definitely a good first year to kind of get the jitters out,” McCormick said earlier this month during the Ducks’ media day at Autzen Stadium. “It was my first year of really playing at the collegiate level in a game, so, having that first year under my belt now, and going into my second year (of playing), I’m excited to see what I’ll be able to do this year.”

The 6-foot-5-inch McCormick, a Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention tight end last season, said he added 12 pounds during the offseason and now weighs 255 pounds.

A graduate of Summit High School, McCormick is just one of many Oregon players who have bulked up during the offseason under new head coach Mario Cristobal and new strength and conditioning coordinator Aaron Feld.

“I really like the new coaching staff, just the energy and the juice that they bring, and how much they care about each one of us is amazing,” McCormick said. “They’re definitely pushing more physicality, and just knowing what we’re doing in the film room and what we’re doing in the weight room to get stronger and faster. This strength staff is awesome. Working with us on getting stronger, but also faster, it’s been awesome. The changes that you see in everybody throughout this offseason were super big jumps.”

McCormick said that Cristobal, a former offensive line coach at Alabama, has brought a renewed focus on physicality and dominating the line of scrimmage, but at the same time maintaining Oregon’s signature up-tempo style on offense.

Jacob Breeland, Oregon’s leading tight end last season with 18 receptions for 320 yards and five touchdowns, said he expects the Ducks to incorporate more two-tight end formations this season. He added that those two tight ends will likely be himself and McCormick.

“We’re going to be a big threat this year,” said Breeland, a 6-5, 248-pound junior. “Running the ball, pounding the ball, being more physical, we’ll be doing that a lot more. (McCormick) has gotten a lot better. We (make a good combination), for sure. I think after the year of actually playing college football, he’s really took that, learned from it, and gotten a lot better. He’s really improved, to me especially. He’s blocking better, running routes better.”

Oregon is deep at tight end, with Breeland, McCormick, juniors Matt Mariota and Ryan Bay, sophomore Hunter Kampmoyer and freshman Spencer Webb.

“It’ll be strong competition between me, Jake and all the other tight ends for sure,” McCormick said. “That’s what I like about our group. We’re all competing and able to push ourselves to another level. Having that competition has been big this fall camp. It makes everybody better. It’s definitely making me better.”

McCormick and the other tight ends also have the luxury of Justin Herbert — arguably one of the top quarterbacks in college football — commanding the offense.

“It’s definitely good to have Justin back there,” McCormick said. “The knowledge that he brings and the ability that he has is definitely something special for him and for our team. He’s a great competitor. We know we can count on him and we know he’ll get the job done.”

McCormick hopes to corral many passes from Herbert this season and become more familiar with the end zone. And perhaps as he does, he will have a better idea how to celebrate when he gets there.

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com