Brandon Dorlus Named to PFF Team of the Week
The Ducks gained another honor this weekend when defensive end Brandon Dorlus was placed on the PFF team of the week for week 1. Dorlus was the only Duck to receive this honor and was one of just two Pac-12 players, the other being Stanford corner Kyu Blu Kelly.
Dorlus had a strong outing for the Oregon defensive line en route to being named the secret superstar of the week. Per PFF, he earned a 92.3 pass-rush grade, while winning 32.5% of his 40 pass-rush reps.
Last season, Dorlus earned a PFF grade of 61.4 as he started to take on a larger role during Jordon Scott's final season. This shows a massive improvement from the past season and is an encouraging sign of things to come.
Dorlus finished the game against Fresno State with three tackles, one of them being a crucial sack on 3rd and 3 with 2:28 left to go in a tie ball game. This led to a 4th and 10 before the Bulldogs would get a false start to back them up further. They would not convert on that drive and it would lead to the Ducks' victory. Dorlus was able to disrupt the entire drive with his important sack.
You can view the full team of the week here.
Dorlus became the first player since Ryan Walk in week 10 of last season to earn PFF team of the week honors for the Ducks.
Another player that stepped up big for the Ducks was linebacker Justin Flowe. Although he did not receive the team of the week honors, he was all over the field for the Ducks. He made 14 tackles throughout the game and will likely be a starter next week against the Buckeyes due to the absence of Dru Mathis.
Linebackers Riko Jeffers of Texas Tech and Jamal Brooks of South Alabama earned the spots for PFF team of the week for the linebackers. If Flowe can continue to play with his level of energy he had in the first week, it could be possible for him to be a part of a future PFF team of the week.
Another name to look out for when it comes to awards is linebacker Noah Sewell. Sewell caused Fresno State’s offense plenty of problems throughout the game. He was able to knock the ball away from running back Ronnie Rivers, which led to a turnover for the Ducks. Oregon’s offense would score just three plays later.
In his first game of the season, Sewell recorded five total tackles, with one of them being a sack. In his first season for Oregon, Sewell finished with 45 tackles, which was a team-high. According to PFF, Sewell had an overall player grade of 70.5, which made him the sixth-best linebacker in the Pac-12 last season.
Sewell has had an entire year to practice and grow under the DeRuyter defense, so making it to the PFF team of the week in the near future is definitely not out of reach for the 251-pound Freshman.
Sewell, as well as the other two players, will have a big opportunity to prove their talent next weekend against Ohio State. Regardless of weekly honors, there will be a lot of talent coming together next Saturday when the Ducks clash with the Buckeyes.
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