Oregon defensive end Deforest Buckner culminated a dominant 2015 campaign by claiming the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honor Tuesday night.
The Oregon senior, who is projected to go in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, finished the regular season with 76 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss — all while taking on numerous double and tripe teams throughout games.
The recognition doesn’t come as any surprise to any of his teammates and coaches.
“We’re extremely pleased that our conference recognized what we’ve always believed,” UO defensive coordinator Don Pellum told GoDucks.com. “DeFo is a tremendous person, teammate and competitor. He’s the best, and we couldn’t be happier for him.”
Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey was named Pac-12 offensive player of the year, while the Cardinal’s David Shaw and Washington State’s Mike Leach shared the Pac-12 coach of the year honor.
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