EUGENE, Ore. — As Oregon continues its spring football practices, defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi addressed the media following the team’s second session. With the Ducks facing turnover in key defensive positions, Lupoi spoke about the challenges and excitement that come with rebuilding a unit that saw major departures after last season.
One key returner on defense is linebacker Bryce Boettcher, whose leadership will be crucial in a group with limited experience. Lupoi expressed enthusiasm about Boettcher’s role in the team’s development.
EUGENE, Ore. — As Oregon continues its spring football practices, defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi addressed the media following the team’s second session. With the Ducks facing turnover in key defensive positions, Lupoi spoke about the challenges and excitement that come with rebuilding a unit that saw major departures after last season.
One key returner on defense is linebacker Bryce Boettcher, whose leadership will be crucial in a group with limited experience. Lupoi expressed enthusiasm about Boettcher’s role in the team’s development.
“Yeah, pumped to have Bryce back. You know, the best thing about him is he's a lead by action guy, so not a whole lot needs to be said there. He's continuing to increase his value as a vocal leader as well. But when you lead by action, that's, that's the number one thing in leaders I prefer from a work ethic standpoint, how to play the game standpoint, physicality standpoint, so we're in a situation. I mean, Bryce and like you said, one veteran coming back there. So exciting to have him back. But this is awesome, exciting challenge right now. You know, we have a particular lack of Oregon experience, but some, you know, some really exciting players and potential NFL talent that we're working with. So it's an exciting challenge right now.”
The Ducks must also replace their entire starting secondary from last season, a daunting task that will require development and adaptation. Lupoi emphasized the need to coach up players who are new to the program or lack significant playing time.
“Yeah, I think again, you got a total lack of Oregon experience. So whether that's, you know, youth or individuals from other places that haven't had the Oregon experience. The most exciting part is, you know, our evaluation in these guys and our development that's led to this point now. So we've got to get these guys, from a schematic standpoint, fundamentals and technique standpoint, to match the intensity of those three guys you just mentioned that's played a lot of reps here, Dante Manning, Tysheem Johnson, Nico Reed, that was returning from the '23 season last. Right now, what these guys, you know, walk in, walk down the tunnel with is something different when it comes to length, speed, you know, and the potential of what these guys come. So that's the big challenge, is, can we tap in and maximize the potential these guys have to offer? And that's really exciting. You know, when it, when it comes to coaching, you love that opportunity when you know, there's, there's a multitude of athletes here now that are really fitting those measurement specs. You know that we've worked really hard bringing here.”
One key piece to stabilizing the defense is safety Dillon Thieneman, whose experience will be invaluable as the team navigates a transition year in the secondary.
“You look at our roster, I believe we played 887 snaps in 14 games. Dillon's coming in as the rep leader. Obviously not a part of our defense. Played 791 snaps last season, the year before he played over 800 snaps so he's got experience playing the game. You know, that's always something we're very critical on is the portal recruiting. We're going to go over the top. We're going to, we're going to reach out to every human being we know that has some form of relationship. Because you have such a lack of time. You know, when somebody enters the portal, you feel so behind, as opposed to where we really cut our teeth, and that's recruiting high school players, you know. So when those individuals like a Dillon, that's, that's always the concern is, how committed is this individual? Does he love the game? You can tell so much on film, and that’s what's extremely clear to us now, with Dillon, this guy is an absolute pro with preparation. So he's an individual that's in here, you know, early, leaving late. He's wanting to do bonus meetings. You know, the millisecond he kind of made this decision to come here, the process really started of, you know, let's learn this defense. So obviously we've only had two days of no pads here, but he's certainly doing a nice job leading up to this point.”
The linebacker group features young players like Brayden Platt, Dylan Williams, and Kamar Mothudi, whose development will be key for Oregon’s defense.
“Yeah, I don't think I can answer, as far as how far along, but they're part of the reason what I'm talking about, this excitement. Those are three names right there, you know. I think those names you just mentioned are consistent at every position, you know. So you know, you have A'mauri Washington, that was a contributor last year. He did play under 300 snaps, but certainly a contributor, certainly a guy that's going to be competing to start for us, made some critical plays like he did in, you know, the end of the game against Ohio State.”
Another key addition is defensive lineman Bear Alexander, who has earned praise for his work ethic since joining the team.
“Yeah, I agree with that. You know, just another guy that's, you don't, you know, you don't know all these details, and you do everything you can to research them. And obviously, a guy that's been a part of two different programs, now his third, there's going to be natural concerns there, and all you can do is research the heck out of them. Thankfully, we've had a lot of strong relationships at the University of Georgia, both myself and Coach Lanning with past experience. So there's some guys there that can trust some information and then have faith in ourselves. You know, if there is some concerns there, you know, that's up to us.”
When it comes to pass rushers on the edge, Lupoi emphasized the importance of consistent improvement.
“Yeah, I don't think, you know, there's, there's not going to be a magic wand, you know, recipe that just shows up on game day. It's going to be all about the process, just like we saw out of Teitum and Matayo being major contributors. You know, those who are two rep count leaders in our entire defense returning. Those guys play a lot of good football, but they both have the mindset that they're, you know, they're here to improve and grow.”
Lupoi also reflected on the Rose Bowl loss and how it serves as motivation moving forward.
“Yeah, I think first you, I always got to look myself, you know, in the mirror. So and from a preparation standpoint, you know, we probably utilized too many things that helped us win the first time we beat them.”
As the Ducks continue their preparation, the challenge will be blending young talent with experienced veterans to maintain the high defensive standard Oregon has established.
“Yeah, when we're looking for an elite corner, you know, we want, we want to find a guy with a unique length, size, speed combination. So it starts there, you know, we need an individual that can defend the deep third, that can play the ball.”
Lupoi and the Oregon coaching staff have a tough task ahead, but as spring practices continue, their focus remains on developing a unit capable of competing at a high level this fall.
