Oregon Ducks Transfers Dillon Thieneman, Bear Alexander Commanding Attention In Practice

EUGENE - The Oregon Ducks wouldn't have been able to accomplish an undefeated regular season in 2024 without a prominent defense and star players such as defensive lineman Derrick Harmon and linebacker Jeffrey Bassa.

With Oregon also losing some of its defensive stars from last season, other players will look to step up in 2025.

Defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi broke down how the Ducks can improve their defense from 2024 and who has stood out so far in fall camp.

What Tosh Lupoi Said:

tosh lupoi oregon ducks dan lanning defensive coordinator fall camp big ten a'mauri washington bear alexander bryce boettcher — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, left, talks to defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi during practice with the Oregon Ducks Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Biggest Area Of Improvement From The Defense And Biggest Area Of Emphasis:

“I don’t know if there’s a specific improvement to really truly test yet, so we’ll find out pretty soon here. Our goals are to stop the run at even a much higher standard than the way we finished. We finished our rivalry game after game, I think that was 12 and we were near where we want to be as a top 10 defense in the category and then gave up way too many rushing yards in the postseason to get our yards per carry way up,” Lupoi said.

“That’s one immediately addressing if we’re going to be the defense and the team that we want to be we got to stop the run. And then our redzone efficiency is what we’re trying to attack. Scrimmage one did an elite job at that, so it’s really cool to see that both those categories of improvement and the offense certainly got after us in the redzone a week ago,” Lupoi continued.

“We had to readdress that of if there is one major difference, is a week ago, in our Game 1, we either stopped them, got a turnover or forced field goals as opposed to this last week, where we gave up too many touchdowns in that area. Red zone efficiency, decreasing the amount of touchdowns, getting stops and forcing field goals there and then our yards per run is what we’re attacking holistically every day.”

How Much Safety Dillon Thieneman’s Presence Has Impacted The Secondary:

“Dillon’s impressive. Thankful to have him. He’s a lead by action individual. He’s a detailed individual. He’s the essence of attacking details and if something is unclear or perhaps I haven’t coached it well enough or whatever it is, he’s going to ask, whether he’s calling you, texting you or ask you after practice or in between a drill and I love that about him,” Lupoi said.

“He’s coming on strong here and once again, some great young players pushing. We’ve done a lot of dual training in that room. Coach (Chris) Hampton’s done an awesome job with those guys and Coach (Connor) Boyd.”

“From playing our nickel position, what we call the star, boundary safety, field safety and then even some stuff with our dime and corner, even, rotating through that room and that’s a special thing when you can do that. Really cool to move those guys around and challenge them there and he’s one of those guys that’s been dual trained in multiple positions,” Lupoi concluded.

How Linebacker Devon Jackson Has Evolved:

“I don't know if I even really, necessarily, say evolved. What I really respect, really about both (Jackson and Bryce Boettcher) is those guys are part of, really, I call the modern old school player, where they came in. One was a walk on, and one was on a scholarship,” Lupoi said.

“Don't believe there was even an IL related there when he first came, so that means something to some players that are still have experienced that. The way they come to work and having that tough man workers mentality, so I think that is shown through action. And that's where the leadership rises from.”

How Much Deeper The Cornerback Room Is:

“We got some quality players there and hungry players. Just had a individual meeting with that group, and it's exciting, and it's a reminder of just like the National Football League, every single day we come to work, we are fighting, and we're fighting for our jobs, and ultimately, somebody's going to run out there first,” Lupoi said.

“But there's certainly my plan, and our plan is to have a have a healthy rotation going in that position and reset competition every single week of who runs out there first no different than one season ago. We had two quality corners start last season, and the second week, somebody else started that did the first week,” Lupoi continued.

“At all positions, that's how it's going to be treated. But pleased with where that group is right now and then, especially based off of this last scrimmage, specifically in the red zone, plenty of stuff for us to clean up there at the position as well.”

Who’s Has Stepped Up On The Edges:

“A great competition on the edges. Pleased with (outside linebacker) Ashton Porter the way he's been competing. (Outside linebacker Nasir Wyatt), is different. He's got different juice, as we know, in the recruiting and that has stood true. Now (defensive lineman) Elijah Rushing, quality guy that's continues to develop. Arguably played, played the best in this last scrimmage when you compare everybody in the group,” Lupoi said.

“But again, we've been fortunate to get a lot of reps out of these guys, have a great camp and maintain our health there, and going to continue to progress and challenge those guys right out. I failed to mention too, Blake Purchase has grown a lot, and I'm pumped about to see where he is from a maturity standpoint. It's another guy, too, that's truly competing to start for us.”

Where Outside Linebacker Ashton Porter Has Grown The Most:

“He’s become more of a productive rusher. He’s a guy that plays both inside and outside. He offers some of that versatility and to do that, you better be tough and you better be physical and Ashton certainly is. He’s put on some solid weight and some muscle mass,” Lupoi said.

“He’s competed with his body comp to put on the right kind of weight. He feels more comfortable now doing both rushing inside and outside instead of just outside. Competing there and if we played tonight, there’s no doubt in my mind that Ashton would be in the conversation of one of the four best rushers on the team. He’d be in that conversation.”

How He Sees A’Mauri Washington And Bear Alexander Replacing Defensive Line Production:

“A’Mauri, gifted individual. Really cool to see his progression with his fundamentals and technique. The challenge to him is just constantly challenge him of how important is to at his weight as his conditioning and that'll be critical for his success. This year and in his future. So right now, if he continues the trend that he's on, he's a special player, and then just an awesome competition to see develop here,” Lupoi said.

tosh lupoi oregon ducks dan lanning defensive coordinator fall camp big ten a'mauri washington bear alexander bryce boettche — Nov 18, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive lineman A'Mauri Washington (58) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

“I mean, you got Tionne Gray, you mentioned Bear Alexander, you got Terrance Green, Jericho Johnson has come on really strong. Had had arguably one of the best springs, and had a had a minor setback, so missed some reps with a minor setback, but another guy that's just these guys are pushing each other, so we got to grow. And there's no secret to that. So it's exciting,” Lupoi added.

“We're challenging those guys every day. You have an absence of three NFL players that left in the first three rounds. So that's an awesome competition to see unfold. And similar to that corner room, I see that being a reset every week, that might who run out there first, and just constant competition and who can help us in each specific package mastering their role and bringing that to the table.”

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What He’s Seen From Outside Linebacker Tobi Haastrup In The Last Couple Of Weeks:

“Tobi had his best block. Refer to it as a block this last week, building into the scrimmage. And what I love of what's occurring right now, he's playing hard and physical. We want that first, and then we're gonna get the alignments and assignments down,” Lupoi said.

“And so, it's cool to see some growth there in this last week, and I haven't evaluated the film today, so we'll see if that stands true today, but that's what's been cool to see about him answering that bell, just playing at the you know, some relentless effort that we're requiring.”

What He’s Seen From Defensive Back Brandon Finney Jr.

“He has really gained some confidence as he's gotten a lot more comfortable with the system. I think he's highly benefiting from being an early enrollee and coming in and now really being a part of what we call Phase Five, the off-season, all the way into camp," Lupoi said.

"And it's really cool to see, including yesterday at the Jaqua Ranch, he's on the stage singing multiple songs. Haven't heard him speak a whole lot. And I felt like he was a bona fide artist.”