The deficiencies of the 2016 Duck defense have been well chronicled, but a big reason Oregon had trouble stopping its opponents from scoring was that the Ducks couldn’t get to the quarterback.

Oregon ended the season with just 25 sacks credited to the defense, or just above two times a game. In context, opponents threw on the Ducks almost 37.5 times per game and we just sacked two times. The threat, or the lack of a threat, of being hit will make the quarterback comfortable in the pocket and thus more successful.

Whether it was scheme, aggressiveness, technique or combination of all of those, Oregon couldn’t get to the quarterback on a consistent basis. New defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was brought in to correct those deficiencies and the linebackers will play a huge role in making those opposing quarterbacks a bit more uneasy.

The Ducks have a good mixture of upperclassmen and talented freshmen at the linebacker spot at Leavitt’s disposal. It will be Leavitt’s, the former Colorado defensive coordinator and also the Ducks’ inside linebacker coach, as well as outside linebacker coach Raymond Woodie’s job to find a good combination of linebackers who will give the Ducks as much success as possible.

“We’re getting close. The competition between the 1’s and the 2’s is really tight,” Leavitt said as the team heads into game week. “In a number of those situations, we’re not sure yet. There’s some real battles going on and that could continue through the year.

One thing the Duck defense can be sure of is Troy Dye.

As a freshman, Dye managed a banner season, which included a Pac-12 Honorable Mention award. For the first time in school history, a true freshman defender had a share of the most outstanding player of the team award.

In 2016, Dye led the team with 91 tackles, 13.5 of those were for loss and 6.5 sacks. The freshman made a name for himself early on when was named as the Pac-12 Player of the Week in the season opener. In the 53-28 win over UC Davis, Dye racked up 11 tackles, 4.5 for loss and a sack. It was the first time in 38 years a true freshman started the season opener at linebacker.

Dye had another monster game later in the season and proved he wasn’t a flash in the pan. Although Oregon lost to Cal 52-49 in double overtime, Dye led the team with 14 tackles.

The Norco, Calif. native had all that success as an outside linebacker, but now he’s moved to the inside spot and he’s feeling more comfortable there as fall camp progresses.ve learned a lot from Coach Leavitt and he makes it easy to understand, Dye said. “He’s done a great job in making, not just me, but the 10 other guys on the field I’ll be playing with. Moving to the inside isn’t that big of a change. I gto used to playing in space, but now I’m in the box more. Once I got used to that, things have come more naturally to me.

Dye should be flanked on most snaps with seniors Jimmie Swain and AJ Hotchkins on either side of him.

Swain had a breakout junior season and was second in tackles with 77. He managed just 26 tackles combined for his freshman and sophomore seasons. But in 2016, the 6-3, 237-pounder from Olathe, Kansas showed the potential he had when he was one of the top prospects to come out of the state of Kansas. Swain torched the Sun Devils last season with a career-high 13 tackles and he hopes that becomes the norm instead of blip on the radar.

Hotchkins is looking to make that similar leap on the stat sheet as Swain did last year and if he did, no one would be shocked. The former JC All-American from Tigard had 34 tackles in his first season on the Division I level. The 5-11, 232-pounder was the nation’s top-ranked junior college inside linebacker, according to 247Sports.com and accumulated 99 tackles his sophomore season, which included 5.5 tackles for loss. As a freshman, Hotchkins posted 101 tackles and was named that league’s defensive player of the year.

Junior Justin Hollins (6-5, 238 pounds) will be fighting for playing time after a solid sophomore season where he managed 51 tackles, 9.5 of those for loss as well as three sacks.

Jonah Moi is hoping to receive more playing time and show more of the talent he displayed at Nebraska where he managed nine tackles, half of his season total. At 6-4 and 240 pounds, Moi was one of the top JC recruits out of California in 2014. He and Hotchkins were teammates on the same JC team for a season where Moi was second on the team with 82 tackles.

~ Don Smalley

www.DuckNews.com

