As Oregon gears up for the start of the season, linebacker Jeffrey Bassa is emerging as one of the key voices on the team. His leadership on and off the field is resonating with his teammates, particularly as the Ducks prepare to face a dynamic Idaho offense.

Reflecting on his role within the team, Bassa expressed pride in players who seize their opportunities. "It means a lot for a guy who does all the things right, you know, from just on the field and off the field," Bassa said. "A guy that's, you know, going to be asking a whole lot of questions in special teams meetings and a guy who's been seen by other coaches, other players who's like, okay, he's getting extra work. Why, where's his opportunity at, right? So now his opportunity, excuse me, is going to show up. And I know I'm proud of him. I know a lot of guys are proud and happy for him as well."

Oregon's defense has seen an influx of talent through the transfer portal, a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by Bassa. "It's low key amazing," he said. "Yeah, at first, in fall camp, just looking at it, just like you said, from the ones to the twos, it's kind of like, damn, we got all this firepower, right? We have a good three depth type of defense, right? We have guys that can play and do a lot of things for this defense as well. So it's kind of surreal just seeing as much firepower as we have."

Bassa emphasized the importance of maintaining focus on their own performance rather than being swayed by external factors. "Yeah, I think we just truly try to make that about us, right?" he explained. "You know, it's never about external factors or the other team, right? We know that we have a great team and we know what, you know, we can control what we can control, right? So, you know, we have to go out there every game just knowing that we, you know, we got to execute at our highest level, right? We got to execute at our best level."

The coaching staff has played a crucial role in instilling this mindset in the players, according to Bassa. "I think they just do that truly every day, just coming in with the same mentality, same energy every day, just knowing that, you know, there's always going to be rooms for improvement in every aspect," he said. "Right. So if we can improve every aspect every day, there's to a point where we're going to be unstoppable. Right."

As the Ducks prepare to face Idaho, Bassa is well aware of the challenges posed by their explosive offense. "Yeah, very explosive offense, you know, going off of last year's film and a little bit of this year's film as well," he said. "You know, the team that's very coached really well on offense, you know, they're they like to take explosive shots. You know, they like to, you know, take the top off the roof, right? So then but then but then they also pride themselves on a great running game as well. So, you know, very explosive, explosive offense that we need to be prepared for. And I think a lot of the guys are prepared for it."

Bassa also touched on the in-helmet communication system, which has been a focus during fall camp. "It's been working real great, kind of seeing what Tosh likes to see or what the D.C. likes to see from his aspect and then also from my aspect coming out on the sideline as well," he explained. "And then having the tablets on the sideline, having those from the fall camp scrimmages is going to be great as well."

As the season approaches, Bassa's ability to communicate effectively with the coaching staff will be key. "Yeah, just a little bit like, you know, we do have some long worded calls, right? So but if I hear some like one word in the call, I can be like, OK, I know that this is the check to it or we want to check to this. And can I tell my safety this or tell my D-line to do this instead of this? Right," he said. "So, yeah, just, you know, sometimes just being on the same page in my D.C. I know that me and him, we meet a lot. We communicate back and forth kind of just about calls and, you know, what to expect."

As Oregon's season opener looms, Bassa's leadership and understanding of the game will be instrumental in guiding the Ducks through the challenges ahead.