Oddly, bad news tends to obscure the good.
This week Duck fans were jolted out of their post-Signing Day and Rose Bowl reverie by the announcement that ace recruiter and defensive backs coach Donte Williams was leaving for USC.
While it's discouraging to lose a position coach and recruiter of that caliber to a PAC-12 rival, it should in no way diminish enthusiasm for the future of the Oregon program.
The upward momentum is built on a solid foundation, beginning with the fact that the defending conference champions are likely to field their best defense ever in 2020.
The returning talent on the defensive line and in the secondary (all five starters returning from a unit that finished second in the country in interceptions) is impressive, but what's most exciting is a serious upgrade at linebacker.
The Ducks return starting inside backer Isaac Slade-Matautia (6-1, 235) and principle backup Sampson Niu (6-1, 206, 33 career games and four career starts). Slade-Matautia was fifth on the team in tackles last season with 62, including 8 in the Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin, his season high. ISM also broke up 11 passes, tops on the team in that category ahead of even starting cornerbacks Graham and Lenoir. He also led the D with 6 quarterback hurries, an active linebacker who getting better and may be poised for a breakout senior year. Sophomore Adrian Jackson has returned from a redshirt year after a fall camp knee injury.
Jackson fused his year away from game action with extreme determination. The former four-star from Mullen High School in Denver, Colorado has an SEC body at 6-2, 232. He looks hungry to start hitting some people.
Stud linebacker/defensive end Mase Funa was a first-year impact player last season with 26 tackles, 4 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. At 6-2, 260 the former four-star from Mater Dei High School has the size and strength to be a ferocious run stopper and the agility to rush the passer. His versatility allows defensive coordinator Andy Avalos to present a lot of looks and variations with the same personnel.
Further down the depth chart, returnees Treven Ma'ae, Andrew Johnson, Gemon Eaford, M.J. Cunningham and Dru Mathis have length and athleticism. Any one of them could break through to earn a larger role, plus having plenty of linebackers on the bus promotes deep and effective special teams.
But the biggest cause for optimism about the outlook at linebacker has to be the infusion of exceptional talent in the 2020 recruiting class. Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell are Oregon's two highest-rated signees at linebacker ever, 5-star prospects with an unbelievable combination of instincts, athletic ability and a desire to knock people on the ground.
Landing both Flowe and Sewell to be the heart of the Duck defense for the next three campaigns sends the potential to the stratosphere; it's a level of talent the team has never had in the middle. Remarkably, four-star signees Jaden Navarette and Jackson LaDuke would have been featured, celebrated acquisitions in most years.
Ken Wilson and Andy Avalos have assembled a group of seek and destroy football warriors for the middle of their defense. Troy Dye is gone, but his spirit lives on in this group of playmakers.
It's going to be fun, but it might be miserable for the Oregon offense at the spring game. It's awfully hard to move the football against elite defenders who know all your plays and most of your audible calls.
