Fall camp is a time for Oregon football players to knock off the rust and get back into physical form in advance of the upcoming games. For junior defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux, it is his time to become the leader.
The Portland native was a fixture along the defensive line last season, but with DeForest Buckner departing to the NFL, Mondeaux now takes on a major role as a leader on defense. He is an experienced member of a defensive line that will require contributions from a lot of underclassmen.
“We need him to really anchor that defensive line,” head coach Mark Helfrich said. “He needs to be a high motor, consistent guy and he has been that with only one exception, which I called him out on the other day, and he immediately owned up to it — which is Henry.”
Last season, Mondeaux was the only underclassman in the starting rotation. He recorded 22 tackles, 6.5 for losses and four sacks. Mondeaux played his best game in Oregon’s biggest victory of the season against Stanford, in which he posted a career-high five tackles.
For the upcoming season, he must not only improve those numbers, but grow as a leader.
“It is definitely something that I have to work on. I am not a very vocal leader,” Mondeaux told reporters at Oregon’s media day. “I kind of lead by example … It is tough for me to speak out.”
Mondeaux’s leadership begins with urging his teammates to focus on the little tasks that get overlooked during the day. He works to provide structure and make players responsible for themselves.
“We stress holding guys accountable for the little things,” Mondeaux said. “Making your bed in the morning — coming early; they are easy to do but they’re also easy to forget. Small changes over time will turn into big changes.”
Mondeaux said he sometimes has trouble seeing himself as a leader. Former players like Marcus Mariota and Buckner were leaders when he was an underclassman, and in his mind, he is not in the same echelon as them.
He enters fall camp as the face of the defensive front and possibly the defense as a whole, with the potential for three new starting linebackers and no leader of the secondary emerging yet. Other players look up to him.
“He’s a playmaker. He’s a very hard worker — one of the strongest guys in the weight room,” sophomore Canton Kaumatule said. “He’s a cool guy off the field so he just gets respect automatically from that, and everybody wants to flow towards him.”
Mondeaux’s responsibility as a leader has added weight this season: The Ducks are shifting from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense under defensive coordinator Brady Hoke, so Mondeaux must help acclimate himself and others to the new scheme. In the 4-3, linemen and linebackers are responsible for covering only one gap, compared to the two gaps they are responsible for in a 3-4 system.
“A big part of [leadership] is holding the young guys accountable and making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do because of a new system,” Mondeaux said. “Everyone has to get used to it. Everyone feels like a freshman again.”
Mondeaux is excited about the new defense because he won’t have to read as much to determine the gap he needs to take, as he did in the two-gap system. This allows him to be more aggressive.
Mondeaux will most likely become a strong-side defensive end whose main priority will be to rush the passer and accumulate sacks. On running plays he will be responsible for setting the edge and forcing running backs toward other defensive linemen and linebackers, as well as grabbing tackles for loss.
Throughout fall training camp, Mondeaux has been learning the new system and his new role on the team. He is a player who will will lead Oregon’s defense — which allowed the most yards and points per game in the Pac-12 last season — into a new era.
Follow Jack Butler on Twitter @butler917