Matayo Uiagalelei Living Out Childhood Dream With Oregon Ducks

Through plenty of roster turnover in the offseason, the No. 4 Oregon Ducks have gotten off to a strong start to the 2025 season. At the center of their early success is the new Ducks’ leaders.

One of those leaders is returning junior edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei, who’s been a staple of Oregon’s defense the past few seasons – and is still getting better.

Once A Dream, Now Reality

oregon ducks matayo uiagalelei dan lanning big ten recruiting transfer portal defensive end edge rusher defensive lineman — Oregon Ducks Matayo Uiagalelei | oregon ducks on si jake bunn

Uiagalelei was a highly coveted five-star recruit coming out of high school, where he was the top prospect at his position in the state of California. Despite being sought out by teams such as the LSU Tigers and the Ohio State Buckeyes, he ultimately committed to play for the Ducks in 2022.

Now in his third year at Oregon, Uiagalelei is living out a dream by playing for a top-5 Ducks squad.

“It’s crazy, when I was a little kid, I was an Oregon fan,” Uiagalelei said in an interview with Brady Quinn of FOX Sports. “And now I’m here and I actually get to live it.”

“It’s crazy, when I was a little kid, I was an Oregon fan… and now I’m here and I actually get to live it.” 🦆🔥@Brady_Quinn sits down with @oregonfootball's Matayo Uiagalelei ahead of this weekend's Big Noon Kickoff starting this Saturday at 10am ET on FOX 🙌 pic.twitter.com/X2eZfUNXDv
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 9, 2025

In his first two seasons with the program, Uiagalelei was a standout player. He recorded 18 tackles, a pair of sacks, two pass breakups and three tackles for a loss as a true freshman. Last season, he earned All-Big Ten team honors and was named a finalist for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.

He led the Ducks (and the Big Ten) with 10.5 sacks in 2024 and 12.5 tackles for a loss. Through two games this season, the edge rusher picked up two sacks and three tackles to help the team to an undefeated start.

While Uiagalelei and the program are focused on getting back to the College Football Playoff and winning a second consecutive Big Ten Conference Championship, many experts believe the edge rusher is on his way to a top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

When asked which professional players he models his game after, Uiagalelei listed defensive ends Maxx Crosby and Micah Parsons among some of the players he admires.

“I try to take a little bit from everybody,” Uiagalelei told Quinn. “I’d definitely say last year, during the NFL season, I really was watching (Detroit Lions defensive end) Aiden Hutchinson. “

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Uiagalelei Still Improving

The scary part about Uiagalelei’s play is he still believes he has more to give.

“Definitely there’s a lot of things I feel I can work on,” Uiagalelei told Quinn when asked what he’s still building upon.

During fall camp, Uiagalelei said that he spent a lot of the offseason self-diagnosing and looking at film.

“The main thing is, just like, I need more effort. I need more relentless mentality,” Uiagalelei said. “That’s definitely been one of my main focuses just throughout this whole offseason and leading in the season, just be more relentless.”

A year ago, the Oregon defense reached double-digit sacks as a unit, which it hadn’t done in several decades. Uiagalelei alone was just 2.5 sacks shy of tying the single season program record. With already two sacks under his belt this season, the edge rusher has the potential to break the record in 2025.

Oregon’s defense has only allowed 16 points between the first two games. The Ducks’ defense is proving hard to score on, despite Uiagalelei being one of the only returning defensive starters from 2024.