Dan Lanning on what Oregon’s revamped linebacker room brings to Ducks’ defense

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi spent the offseason overhauling the Ducks’ roster in order to build a defense that is better equipped to succeed in the pass-happy Pac-12.

At no position is that transformation more evident than inside linebacker.

The Ducks’ all-conference ‘backer, Noah Sewell, is gone, having departed for the NFL Draft. So too are highly-touted reserves Justin Flowe, Keith Brown, Jackson LaDuke, and Devon Jackson. All four hit the transfer portal and have since found their next career stops.

What’s left is a group of smaller, quicker linebackers who — at least on paper — would seem to be better suited for Lanning and Lupoi’s scheme.

“I think nowadays in college football, at linebacker especially, you have to be really athletic,” Lanning said during Friday’s Pac-12 Media Day in Las Vegas. “The day and age of having an old Mike linebacker that can go B-gap to B-gap or C-gap to C-gap. That’s not a reality anymore.

“You have to have guys that can run — guys that have blitz ability and guys who can cover.”

The only Oregon inside linebacker who is back for the 2023 campaign is junior Jeffrey Bassa. The converted safety beat out Flowe and several others for a starting spot last season and found his footing as the season went on.

Bassa played the fifth-most snaps among Oregon defenders and was second on the team with 62 tackles.

Throughout this offseason, he has stepped up as a leader for the Ducks — so much so that Lanning chose Bassa as the program’s defensive representative at Pac-12 Media Day.

“Jeff is just a great example of a guy that’s put in the hard work,” Lanning said on Friday. “He made a position change early on in college and has now gone through the process of changing himself, his body, really become a student of the game. He’s a guy that lives by example every single day. And he really exudes some of the attributes that we want our players to have.”

In addition to Bassa, Oregon brought in former Iowa standout Jestin Jacobs and former Arizona State reserve Connor Soelle via the transfer portal. Both players fit Lanning’s description of “athletic” ‘backers who are suited for the modern version of college football.

Fifth-year senior Jamal Hill has made the position switch to safety, too, after operating at safety and nickel during his first four seasons with the Ducks. In order to do so, he added more than 15 pounds during the offseason after playing at 211 pounds last season.

“I think it adds a lot of versatility to the defense,” Bassa responded. “With me coming in from the linebacker room, I think I can do a lot of things that not your traditional linebacker can do. Also, guys like Jamal Hill coming down into the room now, coming from safety as well. (Freshman Matayo Uiagalelei), a guy that can do a lot of things, also drop back into coverage and do a good job rushing the passer.”

Further down the depth chart, the Ducks’ could potentially lean on Devon Jackson, a speedy redshirt freshman who drew plenty of praise from the Ducks’ coaching staff during spring ball.

“I think we’ve got a lot of versatility,” Bassa said. “I think Tosh and Lanning have done a good job in the off-season program with getting guys to fit the right narrative and the right set for what they want to do with the defense, call a whole lot of different things.”

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