Reviewing Oregon's 2020 season and looking ahead to spring drills.
DEPTH CHART
STUD: Mase Funa, So.; Andrew Faoliu, So.; Treven Ma'ae, RFr.; Jaden Navarrette, Fr.
ILB: Noah Sewell, Fr.; Dru Mathis, Sr.; MJ Cunningham, So.; Nate Heaukulani, Sr.
ILB: Isaac Slade-Matautia, Jr.; Justin Flowe, Fr.; Nick Wiebe, So.; TJ Gilbert, Fr.
OLB: Adrian Jackson, So.; Jackson LaDuke, Fr.
Starters: Just as 2020 was the end of an era for Oregon football at quarterback, given the absence of Justin Herbert, so too was it the case at linebacker, after four straight years in which Troy Dye was the Ducks' leading tackler. His veteran leadership and fiery spirit were perhaps missed as the UO defense got off to a slow start in 2020, but led by veteran Isaac Slade-Matautia and the emergence of star freshman Noah Sewell, the Ducks played their best football of the year on defense in December.
Slade-Matautia moved into Dye's spot, and senior Dru Mathis started the opener before Sewell took over as a regular. Slade-Matautia and Sewell tied for the team lead on the season with 45 tackles, and Sewell had 6.5 tackles for loss with two sacks, totals exceeded only by pass-rusher extraordinaire Kayvon Thibodeaux. On the edges, Mase Funa provided 31 tackles with 3.5 for lost yardage, and the tandem of Andrew Faoliu and Adrian Jackson were key to the success of a dime package the Ducks utilized extensively in obvious passing situations.
Reserves: Sewell was named Pac-12 defensive freshman of the year, and he might have had competition for that award from one or two of his teammates if circumstances had allowed. Fellow five-star recruit Justin Flowe appeared in only one game before being sidelined for the rest of the season. And Jackson LaDuke only made two appearances on the year. Flowe is a high-energy, relentlessly aggressive player who will be an elite playmaker when he has enough reps under his belt to utilize those traits within the system. LaDuke demonstrated invaluable versatility in preseason camp, playing both the inside and outside linebacker positions, and looking like a contributor on multiple special teams. Both players have very bright futures for the Ducks.
In their absence, the Ducks leaned late in the season on a couple of model developmental-squad players, Nate Heaukulani and Nick Wiebe. Hard-working walk-ons — or, former walk-on, in the case of Heaukulani, who received a scholarship in preseason camp — Heaukulani and Wiebe toiled as scout-team players the last couple years while preparing for an opportunity with the travel squad should it arrive. Arrive it did in 2020, most notably for Heaukulani at Cal and for Wiebe after Slade-Matautia's ejection for targeting in the Fiesta Bowl.
Developmental squad: Heaukulani and Wiebe still made their presence felt as scouts over the course of the season, and were joined in the middle by MJ Cunningham (who bounced between the scout team and travel squad) and newcomer TJ Gilbert. On the edges, Treven Ma'ae and Jaden Navarrette provided size and athleticism for the scout-team defense.
ROB'S TAKE
SPRING PROJECTION
STUD: Mase Funa, So.; Andrew Faoliu, So.; Treven Ma'ae, RFr.; Jaden Navarrette, Fr.
ILB: Noah Sewell, Fr.; Dru Mathis, Sr.; Nate Heaukulani, Sr.
ILB: Isaac Slade-Matautia, Jr.; Justin Flowe, Fr.; Nick Wiebe, So.; TJ Gilbert, Fr.
OLB: Adrian Jackson, So.; Jackson LaDuke, Fr.
What To Watch: So far, the only departure from this group is Cunningham, who opted to transfer. The two big storylines to watch in the spring will be the return to action of Flowe and LaDuke, and then how the linebackers are deployed under whoever replaces Andy Avalos as defensive coordinator. This group has the potential to take a massive step forward, now that the 2020 recruits have some experience under their belts, and now that sophomores like Faoliu and Jackson have defined roles to build upon.
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January 21, 2021 at 05:01AM
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Season In Review: Linebacker - GoDucks.com
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