Erick Dargan walked off the field with a slight grin on his face following Oregon’s 48-14 win over Wyoming and it was for good reason.
Dargan, who was named the player of the game, finished with two interceptions and four tackles.
Midway through the second quarter, Oregon safety Erick Dargan made one of those plays that got the fans on their feet. Tipping a pass up to himself, Dargan recorded his second interception of the game and it was eventually converted into a 15-yard touchdown run by Marcus Mariota.
“Dargan, he did a great job,” Ifo Ekpre-Olomu said. “You ask him to be at a spot and he’s always there. That’s why he’s one of those guys, when the ball is in the air, somehow it always ends up getting into his hands.”
With Wyoming knocking on the door on multiple occasions early on, Dargan’s two early interceptions set the tone for the remainder of the game.
“Erick (Dargan) is a very savvy player,” Don Pellum said. “He makes plays all the time and we were needing some momentum. That’s part of the what the defense has to do.”
Dargan is now among the national leaders with three picks on the year and has 14 tackles heading into Pac-12 play.
Last season, Dargan was one of the more valuable backups for the Oregon secondary. Earning second-team Pac-12 all-conference honors as a special teams standout, Dargan showed promise.
Now, as a redshirt senior, Dargan has earned starting minuets and is molding into a veteran leader that has a knack for the ball.
After their first three games, the Ducks look to have found a formidable counterpart for All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. The two have shut down their respective areas against opposing offenses and it’s a duo that will cause a lot of problems moving forward.
“He’s been spectacular in terms of how he’s trained,” Mark Helfrich said. “He and Ifo (Ekpre-Olomu) have done a nice job with those guys and had a couple huge, huge plays today.”
For a No. 2 ranked Oregon team (3-0) that is looking to make the inaugural college football playoffs, Dargan’s contributions have so far, provided an exciting outlook for the rest of the year. Dargan, who has apparently been mirroring his play in practice at games, is an integral part of the Oregon secondary and looks prepared to carry this play over into conference play.
“He’s been exactly how he practices and that’s what’s amazing about Dargan,” Mark Helfrich said. “He’s had a ton of picks in practice, very similar to the kind of tip play that he had today. He’s done that 20 times in practice.”
From Oregon’s perspective, Dargan helping lead the defense isn’t surprising. In his final year as a Duck, Dargan wants to leave everything on the field and it’s shown in the first three games.
“This is my last year, so I have nothing to take next year,” Dargan said. “I just wanted to leave it all on the field.”
Dargan may not have had too many words following his big game today, but his play spoke volumes.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @Haydaykim