Kingsbury wanted Peters to 'take Oregon tackle.' The Commanders did, drafting Conerly in 1st round

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Kliff Kingsbury walked by Adam Peters' office earlier this week, and the Washington Commanders' offensive coordinator dropped a piece of paper on his general manager's desk.

It read: “I stopped by. Take Oregon tackle. Thnx! -Kliff.”

It worked.

Peters held up the note with a big grin after selecting Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. late in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night.

“I think it was a pretty good note, to say the least," Conerly said Friday at his introductory news conference. "It just really felt good to know that the person that’s going to be calling plays really had a really good belief in me before anything even started.”

Peters said the decision to take Conerly with the 29th pick had support from the entire organization, starting with West Coast scout Paul Skansi and down to Kingsbury and coach Dan Quinn.

Conerly, a Seattle native who flew with several family members from the Pacific Northwest to northern Virginia, is drawing even more motivation from Kingsbury's endorsement.

“It obviously makes me feel really great that you have people that believe in you," Conerly said. "I feel like when you’ve got people that believe in you, you’ll do whatever for them.”

Whatever might mean moving from the left side, where he started 14 games for the Ducks as a junior last season, earning first-team All-Big Ten and third-team AP All-America honors, to right tackle or even guard.

“He played a little right tackle in the Senior Bowl, and that’s not totally foreign to him and he’s practiced at it,” Peters said. "Whether it’s left guard, right guard, right tackle — I don’t think it’ll be center, although I do think he could play center if we needed him to. He'll probably compete at those spots.”

The starting left tackle job is taken after Washington acquired five-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil from Houston last month. Tunsil is one of the players Conerly has watched and tried to emulate, and they could bookend the all-important protection of franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels.

The outreach to Conerly from those guys has already begun.

“I actually got a FaceTime from Laremy Tunsil (on Thursday) night, and I missed it because of the celebrations right after," Conerly said. "But I also got to talk to Jayden Daniels like (Friday afternoon), and that was pretty cool. It was nice to get to meet him.”

Daniels and Conerly should get to know each other well as first-round picks a year apart. Asked what he thought he brings to the Commanders, Conerly said in part, "Someone that’s going to make sure their quarterback stays upright and opens up lanes for anybody else.”

After taking Ole Miss cornerback Trey Amos in the second round, Peters chuckled when asked about how many notes he got about who to use the 61st pick on.

“I got no notes,” Peters aid. “No notes.”

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Washington Commanders first-round draft pick offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr., center, holds his jersey with head coach Dan Quinn, left, and general manager Adam Peters, right, after an NFL football news conference in Ashburn, Va., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Washington Commanders first-round draft pick offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. holds his jersey after an NFL football news conference in Ashburn, Va., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Washington Commanders first-round draft pick offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. speaks to the media during an NFL football news conference in Ashburn, Va., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters, left, and head coach Dan Quinn, right, listen to first-round draft pick offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. during an NFL football news conference in Ashburn, Va., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters prepares to introduce first-round draft pick offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. during an NFL football news conference in Ashburn, Va., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Washington Commanders first-round draft pick offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. speaks to the media during an NFL football news conference in Ashburn, Va., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Washington Commanders first-round draft pick offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. speaks to the media during an NFL football news conference in Ashburn, Va., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Washington Commanders first-round draft pick offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr., center, holds his jersey with head coach Dan Quinn, left, and general manager Adam Peters, right, after an NFL football news conference in Ashburn, Va., Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. scored a career-high 29 points, including 17 in the first half, and No. 2 Michigan beat No. 24 Southern California 96-66 on Friday night.

Roddy Gayle Jr. added 12 points for the Wolverines (13-0, 3-0 Big Ten), and Will Tschetter, Trey McKenney and L.J. Cason each scored 10.

Michigan is off to its best start since it won 17 straight games to start the 2018-19 season.

Jaden Brownell scored 16 points and Erza Ausar added 15 for the Trojans (12-2, 1-2), whose only previous loss was by eight points against Washington on Dec. 6. Chad Baker-Mazara, who came into the game averaging 21 points, was hampered by early foul trouble and finished with 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

Michigan starting guard Nimari Burnett was helped from the court with 16:25 left after falling during a battle under the basket. He went down to the floor and appeared to be bleeding above his eyebrow and holding his ankle. He sat on the bench the rest of the night.

The Wolverines bolted out to an 11-0 lead thanks to a defense that forced six early turnovers. USC got within five points twice in the first half and Michigan responded with a 32-19 run to build a 49-31 halftime advantage.

USC got no closer the rest of the way.

USC: At No. 9 Michigan State on Monday.

Michigan: Visits Penn State on Tuesday.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Michigan center Aday Mara, front, drives against Southern California center Gabe Dynes, back, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)