Oregon's Chris Hampton Speaks Candidly About Cornerbacks Room

Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator Chris Hampton spoke to reporters following the 16th day of fall practice.

Chris Hampton on Cornerbacks Room

oregon ducks defensive coordinator chris hampton na'eem offord brandon finney jr depth dan lanning college football playoff — Oregon defensive coordinator Chris Hampton speaks during a press conference on March 14, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

One of the most intriguing position groups about this Oregon team is the secondary. It sounds like Hampton likes where the room is at with cornerbacks Na’eem Offord, Brandon Finney Jr., Ify Obidegwu, Dorian Brew, Aaron Scott, and Tre Watson.

“It’s been good…Finney and Ify started majority of the season last year. Na’eem’s had an unbelievable camp. Really proud of him. He’s playing his best football right now,” Hampton said. “Dorian Brew, Aaron Scott. So we’ve got quality depth. Tre Watson is a guy that was a junior college kid that signed with us and he’s had a lot of good flashes this season.”

This is a very young room, but the talent is without a doubt, there. This was on display last season in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.

In Oregon's Orange Bowl win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the at the time true freshman cornerback Brandon Finney Jr. stole the show. Finney had two interceptions and was named the game's Defensive MVP. Finney ended the 2025 season being named Second-team All-Big Ten.

A player that Oregon would love to see breakout this season is sophomore cornerback Na'eem Offord. Offord was a five-star recruit in Oregon's 2025 high school recruiting class. As a true freshman in 2025, he had 15 total tackles.

Chris Hampton in at Defensive Coordinator

Chris Hampton is entering his first season as Oregon’s defensive coordinator. He had previously been on coach Dan Lanning’s staff as a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2023-2025.

Following the 2025 season, Tosh Lupoi left the Ducks for the head coaching position with the California Golden Bears. Lupoi had been the defensive coordinator at Oregon starting in 2022, Lanning’s first year at the helm.

In 2025, Oregon's defense allowed an average of 17.9 points per game. This was the 12th fewest points allowed out of 136 FBS teams in the country. Hampton will have high expectations even with it being his first year in this position for Oregon. Luckily, there is a strong foundation within the program to lean on and a talented roster to work with.

This isn't the first time Hampton has been a defensive coordinator in college football. Prior to being hired at Oregon in 2023, Hampton was the defensive coordinator for the Tulane Green Wave from 2021-2022. In his last season at Tulane, Hampton's defense allowed an average of 22.2 points per game, the 32nd fewest out of 131 FBS teams in the country.

That Tulane team ended up winning 12 games, which included a Cotton Bowl win over the USC Trojans.

Will it be a seemless transition for Oregon's defense with Hampton leading the charge this season or will the loss of Lupoi be noticable? The 2026 season will kick off against the Boise State Broncos on Sept. 5.

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