Oregon football continues to hemorrhage defensive players to the NFL Draft as star safety Brady Breeze elected to leave the program on Sunday.
Breeze gave Oregon a huge lift over the back half of the 2019 season and won the 2020 Rose Bowl defensive MVP. He also was an integral part of the team’s win in the Pac-12 championship game against Utah where he led the team with nine tackles. He finished the season with 62 total tackles, two interceptions and three fumble returns. With Breeze’s departure, yet another member of the vaunted 2019 Oregon defense has left the program. In his absence, Nick Pickett is the favorite to become Oregon’s starting safety.
“I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to fulfill my childhood dreams as a student and a football player at the great university of Oregon,” Breeze said in a statement on twitter.
However it wasn’t all bad news for Oregon. After initially declaring for the NFL draft, senior cornerback Deommodore Lenoir has decided to play one more season in Eugene. Lenoir’s return to Oregon provides the team with a massive boost both in terms of elite athleticism and leadership to a defense that has lost the majority of its veteran starters.
Lenoir finished the 2019 campaign with 47 tackles and one interception and was one of the key playmakers in the secondary.
“Unfinished Business,” Lenoir said in a statement on twitter. “I’m not leaving.”
Ranked as the nation’s third best collegiate cornerback and a top-50 recruit overall by CBS sports, Lenoir is likely leaving a lot of money on the table. However, if he puts in a solid season in Eugene, he may yet improve his draft stock.
