During the 2016 season, Oregon’s defense struggled. The Ducks ranked 126 in the nation in total defense, and allowed an average of 518.4 yards per game.
In particular, the play of the Oregon secondary was erratic. The team often seemed unable to defend the pass, which in the pass-happy Pac-12 often proved catastrophic.
This season, the Ducks return a number of key veterans in Arrion Springs, Tyree Robinson, Ugo Amadi, Khalil Oliver and Brenden Schooler.
Schooler, a safety, will look to follow up a strong debut season in which he posted a 74 tackles and a team leading four interceptions. The rest of the returning secondary has all shown promise, but had trouble forcing turnovers. Watch for Robinson to move between safety and corner, a trend likely to continue from last year.
The most notable of the Ducks’ new talent comes in the forms of Deommodore Lenoir and Thomas Graham Jr. Both are four-star recruits and expected to have an immediate impact on the field. After the spring game, Springs noted that the freshmen talent boosted the depth of the team, and that he expects them to contend for playing time.
Looking to forge both sides of the secondary into a cohesive force will be new defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt. Leavitt has experience in remaking a defense; in his one season with Colorado, he took the team from 85 in the nation in total defense to 15. Regarded as one of the best defensive minds in college football, Leavitt certainly has his work cut out for him. One of the biggest changes he’ll make is shifting the defense back to a 3-4 scheme, a decision that head coach Willie Taggart expects to pay dividends.
“I think going back to the 3-4 is going to help a lot of these guys because a lot of them were recruited to play in a 3-4 system, so hopefully that helps,” Taggart said. “Hopefully with Coach Leavitt and our defensive staff, they’ll do the things we know they’re capable of doing and get our guys to play at a high level.”
Projected Depth Chart:
CB: Ugo Amadi, Jr., Thomas Graham, Fr., Jihree Stewart, So.
S: Brenden Schooler, So., Brady Breeze, R-Fr., Billy Gibson, Fr.
S: Tyree Robinson, Sr., Khalil Oliver, Jr., Juwaan Williams, Sr.
CB: Arrion Springs, Sr., Deommodore Lenoir, Fr., Ty Griffin, Sr.
Follow Aaron Alter on Twitter @aaronalter95