Oregon held its 15th practice of fall camp on Monday. Defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi met with reporters in Eugene to give his thoughts on the defensive line competition and how a handful of players are progressing in fall camp.
Oregon held its 15th practice of fall camp on Monday. Defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi met with reporters in Eugene to give his thoughts on the defensive line competition and how a handful of players are progressing in fall camp.
Below are some of his top quotes.
On depth of cornerback room
Lupoi: “My plan and our plan is to have a have a healthy rotation going at that position and a 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. So 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.”
On growth Brandon Finney Jr. through fall camp
Lupoi: “He’s 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. And it’s really cool to see, including yesterday at the Jayqua Ranch, he’s on the stage singing multiple songs. Haven’t heard him speak a whole lot. And I felt like he was a bonafide artist.”
On outside linebacker group stepping up aside from Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti
Lupoi: “Pleased with Ashton Porter the way he’s been competing. Nas (Nasir Wyatt) is different. He’s got different juice as we know, in the recruiting and that has stood true now. Elijah Rushing, quality guy that’s continues to develop. Arguably played the best in this last scrimmage when you compare everybody in the group. 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. Gotta continue to progress and challenge those guys. Blake Purchase has grown a lot, and I’m pumped to see where he is from a maturity standpoint. So it’s another guy too that’s truly competing to start for us.”
On A’Mauri Washington, Bear Alexander, defensive line competition
Lupoi: “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 at his weight, his conditioning. 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.
“You got Tionne Gray, you mentioned Bear Alexander, you got Terrance Green, Jericho Johnson has came on really strong. Had arguably one of the best springs, and had a minor setback, so missed some reps with a minor setback, but another guy that’s—these guys are pushing each other. But we gotta grow, and there’s no secret to that. So it’s exciting. 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. 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 bringiing that to the table.”
On Dillon Thieneman‘s leadership and presence in the secondary
Lupoi: “Dillon’s impressive. Thankful to have him. He’s a lead by action individual, but he’s a detailed individual. So 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. He’s coming on strong here. And once again, some some great young players pushing, and we’ve done a lot of dual-training, in that room.”
On growth of Ashton Porter, what his role could be this season
Lupoi: “He’s became a more of a productive rusher. He’s a guy that plays both inside and outside. He offers some 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. He’s competed with his body comp, to put on the right kind of weight, so he feels more comfortable now doing both rushing inside and outside instead of just outside. 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.”
Category: General Sports
