EUGENE -- During his 19 months as Oregon's defensive coordinator, Jim Leavitt has worn the same charcoal-colored, long-sleeved shirt to nearly every practice.



"Fighting Ducks" was once screen-printed across the chest though the letters wore off long ago, leaving only their outline and few shreds of yellow hanging onto the sweat-wicking fabric. But if Leavitt himself doesn't look any different entering his second season, the same cannot be said of his defense.



After inheriting a unit that allowed 41.4 points per game, Leavitt trimmed 12.4 points off that average last season in his 3-4 scheme. In a Las Vegas Bowl defeat that was largely forgettable for every UO unit, the defense allowed 38 points but also scored two touchdowns, too -- scores that resulted from two of the 25 turnovers forced last fall, 13 more than the previous season.



"I thought that was a good, positive thing in a game that we struggled," Leavitt said Monday, in his first interview with local media in four months. "I thought the guys did a good job."



From that foundation, the Ducks hope their extreme defensive makeover will continue.



Their confidence comes from Leavitt's experience engineering a similar turnaround at Colorado. In 2015, his first season in Boulder, the Buffaloes allowed 27.5 points per game, ranking 70th nationally. One year later, that average was down to 21.7 (20th nationally) and Colorado went from conference doormat to dominant, winning the Pac-12 Conference's South division.



Similar expectations now surround the defense entering Leavitt's second year in Eugene.



Asked for his expectation of Oregon's defense in 2018, junior inside linebacker Troy Dye cut to the point: "A championship."



Is that possible? UO clearly has confidence in Leavitt. Though administrators passed over him for the Ducks' head coaching vacancy in favor of former offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal, they also let Leavitt know how much they valued his expertise by raising his salary from $1.1 million -- already one of the nation's richest contracts for an assistant -- to $1.7 million.

Leavitt doesn't like to compare the progression of his old Colorado defense with his new one at Oregon but his stunning rebuild there has unquestionably created similar expectations here.

"Everything's different, everything changes, it just depends," he said. "I don't think you can go by that because there's different people, different pieces, different things, different teams, different offenses and all that."



There is carryover, of course. Seven starters and three defensive assistants, including Leavitt, from the Las Vegas Bowl are back and that familiarity has allowed UO to build off last season rather than start over.



"The ceiling for this defense is going to come down to us executing and then making sure we stay healthy," safeties coach and co-coordinator Keith Heyward said. "I'm encouraged when I watch one-on-ones and I'm watching the safeties all day and seeing them actually carrying over the techniques from my individual drills. I imagine that's happening at other position groups."



Leavitt has the luxury of adding around established pieces such as Dye, UO's leading tackler each of the past two seasons, freshman All-America nose tackle Jordon Scott, who has slimmed down to 329 pounds, and all-conference defensive end Jalen Jelks, whose team-leading 15 tackles for loss propelled his breakout season and will make him a target of opposing offenses as a senior.



"His goal is to outplay his yesterday," defensive line coach and co-coordinator Joe Salave'a said of Jelks. "It really don't matter what people are going to do because again, he's always going to be a guy who has his opportunities."



Colorado's evoluation to a South-champion defense in 2016 was fast-tracked by physical, experienced cornerbacks whose ability to lock down their halves of the field allowed the front seven more freedom to attack. This year those starting jobs at corner will be entrusted to sophomores Thomas Graham and Deommodore Lenoir, who compensate for experience with confidence. Lenoir compares UO's secondary -- with Nick Pickett and Ugo Amadi at safety -- to the Legion of Boom-vintage Seattle Seahawks.



The defensive line and secondary are not deep but there is experience and talent at the top that will be pushed by newcomers who were part of Oregon's best recruiting class in seven years.



"We can never be in settle mode," Salave'a said.



Freshman linebacker Adrian Jackson has already been called a "phenomenal beast" by Dye, and classmate Jevon Holland has impressed Leavitt at safety while mixing in with the first-team. This defense will face a schedule with six opponents that ranked in the top 50 in scoring last season, but also four that ranked 90th or worse. The Ducks' nonconference opponents of Bowling Green, Portland State and San Jose State should allow Leavitt to stress-test his multiple practice permutations before the Pac-12 schedule begins.



"I'm adding some new things, doing some things that are different than what we did last year," Leavitt said. "You're always thinking about, 'Can this guy play a couple of positions, can this guy do that to help create a little depth?' I think about that sometimes. I think about calls a lot, what calls I should make with different people. That's important to me in the big picture."



In Leavitt's pursuit of a second division title in the past three seasons, those are among the toughest calls he will make.



The easiest? What he'll wear to practice the next day.



-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif