The Oregon 50: The best of Ducks Twitter
We waded through the mess to bring you 50 palatable follows from the Oregon Twitterspehere
The I-5 Corridor’s list of the 50 Oregon Twitter accounts worth following deserves a better introduction than this. There should be a little anecdote about Oregon being at the forefront of most trends, and how its fans’ early adoption of the platform has created an eclectic, irrational, creative and sometimes rabid online fanbase.
I should tease a few people on the list and really get into the deeper meaning of their placements. Get the masses talking.
But to be honest, the amount of time put into this has been exhausting. Not actually creating the list — I type fast — but from the eight seasons of living in Oregon Twitter, morning, noon and night.
The Internet is mostly bad and Oregon Twitter is not immune. But some things on the Internet are good. We’re all here, aren’t we?
So, if we’re all going to be spending so much time online, I figured I could help by curating a list of 50 people whose tweets don’t immediately make me want to throw my phone through the wall.
These aren’t the 50 best accounts. You’ll notice there are no numbers to rank them. It’s just the recommendations from a guy who has spent way too much time scrolling.
A few rules:
1. I didn’t include any current local writers. Oregon media sessions are in person again and I want to ensure my safe travel to and from Eugene.
2. I tried to avoid current players — with two exceptions. They come and go, but we’re all stuck here forever.
With that, folks, prepare to dive in and update your résumés. Because if you’re here, you’ve most likely been tagged in a tweet. And truly, the honor is ours.
Let’s begin.
Credit where it’s due: You can’t begin a list about Oregon Twitter without including one of the pioneers of Oregon Twitter. Back in the days when reporters could actually watch things, Moseley’s prolific tweeting earned him one of the largest followings in the Oregon Twittersphere.
I wonder how much his Twitter handle, @DuckFootball, is worth.
This empty Twitter account — no tweets, no photos, no profile updates — seems like an odd inclusion. But this is the Twitter account of Jane Mullens, the wife of Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens. And this account provided one of the zaniest moments in Oregon Twitter history when Rob used it to speak in Twitter Spaces during the whole Lettergate fiasco.
Oregon has produced a lot of famous alumni, but nobody has the pull of the running back once known as Bobby Moore. No one else from Oregon — or anywhere, really — can so casually tweet a photo like this.
I don’t know who JaRomney is. For the eight or so years I’ve followed him, he’s occasionally tweeted out a picture of himself. But for the most part, he’s remained anonymous serving the role as Oregon’s PFT Commenter before it was cool. He’s witty. He’s a presence — 251K tweets — and he’s a shit-stirrer never afraid to change his profile name and wade into Husky Twitter to create chaos.
Everyone at some point has been roasted by JaRomney — including himself.
I feel like I know him. I never want to meet him.
If you’re going to be an Oregon fan, you at least need to be somewhat aware of what’s going on north of the border. Luckily, Christian Caple is the best college beat writer at The Athletic and makes the Husky news go down smoothly.
Most of us take ourselves too seriously — then there’s KVAL sports director Hayden Herrera. He will always have my respect for off-the-wall questions and his penchant for dressing up as Oregon coaches on Halloween.
A few years ago for The Athletic I put together a hypothetical competition pitting the best Oregon teams in history against each other. I included the 2007 Oregon Ducks and noted players like Dennis Dixon, Jonathan Stewart, Max Unger and Patrick Chung. A player I forgot to mention was Geoff Schwartz, and all he did was earn all-conference honors that year before going on to a nine-year NFL career.
I will not forget him here. With 140,000 Twitter followers, Schwartz has one of the largest post-playing career platforms of any Oregon Duck. And not many people use a platform like that to highlight offensive line play. I dig it.
Wilner’s the most connected media member in the Pac-12 and someone I admire for branching off with his own “Pac-12 Hotline” brand. At the very least, it’s entertaining to watch him spar with Oregon fans, who are often convinced of Wilner’s hatred of green and yellow.
True story: Chantel’s twitter account was once bombarded with crazed Justin Bieber fans because her name is somewhat similar to Chantel Jeffries, the former girlfriend of the pop star. Unfortunately for the Beliebers, Chantel Jennings is just a tremendous women’s basketball reporter, a former Oregonian and one of the best people to follow during March Madness.
I love Ken Goe. And you’ll find few on Twitter — or in writing, or in person — who are better at concisely telling you what’s on their mind. Goe doesn’t pull any punches, nor does Goe punch unfairly. I’m looking forward to his new career as Oregon’s media ombudsman.
Sean’s developed into one of the state’s best sports photographers. His accounts, both on Instagram and Twitter, are a great follow after any major game. If it’s big in this state, Sean is usually there.
The nation’s top college football news breaker is a must-follow for anyone needing to keep up with the comings and goings of the college game. He was a force at Oregon during the Cristobal era. Let’s see if we can hold him off here with Lanning.
NSFW
Cole Wagoner’s an Oregon fan I came across a few years ago when I got a Sous Vide. He worked for Anova at the time and filled his Instagram and Twitter account with daily pictures of incredible food spreads. If you need any game day cooking ideas, or just want to drool a bit, go his way.
You’ve likely seen Dan Boyer’s work, whether it be from his animated shorts on Oregon’s social accounts before games or through his illustrations of the latest Oregon Duck book. I was particularly fond of the time he posted this Autzen Stadium replication from Animal Crossing. I milked a whole story out of it.
This account has been around for ages and has a sole purpose: It let’s people know how many days it’s been since Washington last beat Oregon. And while the account has trailed off a bit over the years, it still chimes in when it matters.
Of Oregon’s two GOATS, only one of them has much of a social media presence. Come for the wholesome:
And stay for the look into the lives of Oregon’s official power couple.1
The Supwitchugurl team
(Brian McAndrew, Jamie Slade, Michael Bishop)
While a follow-up to “I love my Ducks” and “Return of the Quack,” is unlikely, the three members of the greatest trio in Oregon history are still busy out there creating.
Andy’s worn a lot of hats during his time in Oregon, working in Portland, Eugene and Corvallis over the years. Now, he’s a recovering Oregon SID, grateful he doesn’t have to spend 24 hours a day online in this new era. Andy’s a great follow for random tidbits from the YFTFT era.
I don’t think I followed Kevin Wade until he was off the Oregon beat. One of those situations where I forgot to follow early, then got in too deep where it would have been awkward to follow later. Anyway, I finally got over that, and have enjoyed Kevin’s to-the-point Ducks commentary and dry humor.
The former Oregon quarterback is with the Montreal Alouettes now, and his social media accounts often feature behind-the-scenes workouts from his home here in the Pacific Northwest. And, I mean, how can you not include him with the “#dontbelikeus” hashtag from the Alamo Bowl?
Troy Dye doesn’t actually tweet much, and I get it. He’s entering his third year in the NFL, he has a toddler — things are busy. But I’m not going to not include a man who inspired so many Gifs during his four-year UO career. He’s gets a complimentary nod here on the list.
Right before I quit The Athletic, I had a round of golf setup for a story with Oregon offensive lineman Dawson Jaramillo, a John Daly disciple trying to make his way in today’s college football world. Why?
I mean, come on:
The best kicker in Oregon history runs a little podcast with some yahoo from Substack. He can also still kick the ball very far.
Ok, we’re going to break the “no current players” rule one more time to make way for Sedona Prince. The Oregon forward is the one, after all, who changed college basketball a year ago with her videos highlighting the differences between of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. It’s March Madness across the board this year, in large part to her.
I respect the new Oregon coach’s Twitter game. Last week, top quarterback prospect Jaden Rashada tweeted out, “I love fishing.”
And do you know who has made it well known here early in his tenure that he, too, loves fishing?
Bah gawd, that’s Daniel Lanning’s music.
While former Oregon coaches Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich remain off Twitter, Oregon’s longtime coach Rich Brooks is around to let you know whether or not he’s shooting his age on some of the country’s most beautiful courses.
Come on, how many of you are still friends with your ex on Facebook?
If Miami wins a bunch of games this year and Oregon struggles, scratch that last one and instead follow Willie Taggart. Let’s face it, Boca looks pretty good on Willie, who is still tweeting out gems such as:
There is nobody more respected at Oregon. That’s not an exaggeration. Ask any former player their opinion of Oregon’s equipment guru and you’re sure to get a glowing review about the man who makes the Ducks look good year after year. Farr’s account provides occasional behind-the-scenes views into Oregon’s equipment room. But I also value his opinion as one of the longest-serving Ducks in the building.
There is no Oregon coach more engaging on Twitter than Kelly Graves. From sharing news stories to replying to fans, he’s a welcoming force online.
He’s also a big-time basketball dad.
Justin Herbert is the starting quarterback of the Los Angeles Chargers. Patrick Herbert is a tight end on the Oregon Ducks. Mitch Herbert? The eldest of the Herbert clan is enrolled at Columbia Med School and coming for my job on the side.
Follow the LA Times’ Clippers writer so you can familiarize yourself with the person Oregon Twitter is referring to when they say, “There’s no good Oregon media members now since Greif left.”
Kelly’s been filming Oregon sports for more than a decade. And while his tweets from behind the lens are great, he’s also a big F1 fan. It’s an eclectic pairing.
Every year, the former Oregonian UO beat writer has the tweet I look forward to the most every spring. And while it came a little bit later here in 2022 than usual, I loved it just the same.
The former Oregon WR is still grinding in the CFL, but I follow Addison for his movie takes. Greif had a great feature about that back in the day.
Of course he did.
The Rip City Mornings host made his case earlier this week to be included.
“If you want radio silence for 10 days, then maybe a bourbon-induced emotional Twitter outburst on a Saturday night, I’m your guy.”
Works for us, but let the record show that the tweet below came on a Sunday.
I-5 Corridor subscribers know Kang’s work. He’s one of the best sports photographers in America and got his start shooting on the Autzen sidelines.
The Late Late Show’s head writer probably fits more in Blazers Twitter. But he fires off an Oregon-related banger every now and then.
By day, Ally Osborne is a reporter for Central Oregon Daily in Bend. By game day, Osborne’s graphic design work makes for some of the most unique Oregon content online.
Not only does the Oregon grad have one of the coolest jobs out there — he’s the VP of technology for Pokemon — but he also has the best Twitter handle out there, too: @thevowel. He doesn’t actually tweet about the Ducks much. It’s a lot of video games and food. I love video games and food.
The former Oregon softball star plays professionally for the USSSAPride, was at one point one of the most marketable athletes in college sports2 and tweets a lot of baseball and softball. And I love baseball and softball.
Oregon’s new running backs coach really loves being Oregon’s new running backs coach. And after a staff that mostly brushed off past Oregon success, it’s been refreshing to see things like this from Lanning’s new staff.
Ruthy Hebard is one of the best Oregon baseball players of all-time, and her Twitter account is a fascinating look into the life of a WNBA player. Plus, as a fellow Alaskan, I felt this.
This club team may have better uniforms than any of the ones that Nike actually makes. And as the Ducks move into the ACHA’s Division 1, this account will continue to grow in the coming years.
Ok, so he’s not ours anymore. But Big Boi left such a big impact that we’ll always remember our time together.
He also gave me quite possibly the biggest Instagram flex I’ve ever had.
One time, Greif and I got stuck in Eugene because of a snowstorm. Naturally, we went to the bar and had the wild idea of firing a tweet off and seeing if any UO fans wanted to have a drink. I don’t know who the hell we thought we were, but two people showed up. One of them was Alec Everson, who didn’t try and murder us. I value that and we’re friends to this day.
It’s my site, my list and I’ll be damned if I don’t plug the company account at the end of this thing, along with a few of your own suggestions.
And now, the generally reasonable person rests.3
— Tyson Alger
@tysonalger
Former Oregon All-American center Hroniss Grasu is dating Ionescu and good friends with Marcus Mariota. By proxy, he’ll never buy a beer in Eugene again in his life.
Well, she would have been had she not missed NIL by a year. A study in 2020 found that Cruse’s projected NIL income could have reached $115,000.
Immediately opens phone.
Didn't try to murder you, *yet*
Yesssss @alaskalute made it into an I-5 Corridor article finally!