By Jonah Bruneau

EUGENE, OR — The 2023 Oregon Ducks defensive personnel saw a hefty amount of changes compared to the season prior, with the departures of Christian Gonzalez, Bennett Williams, Noah Sewell, and Jordan Riley off to the NFL. Transfers such as Khyree Jackson from Alabama have come in to be a key help in the secondary, yet the majority of the starters on the defensive side have come from within the Oregon system. One of those leaders from within: Junior Inside Linebacker Jeffrey Bassa.

A four-star recruit out of high school who was widely regarded as the top-rated safety in the state of Utah, Bassa is now in his third year wearing the Oregon green and yellow. As a true freshman in 2021, he opened up the season listed as a defensive back before soon making the switch primarily to an inside linebacker. Once the position switch was made, Bassa started making a big impact relatively quickly. In the Week 10 matchup at Washington, he received the PAC-12 Freshman of the Week honor with a six tackle performance and finding his first career collegiate sack. He ended the season with 48 total tackles, propelling him with good momentum going into 2022. That momentum stayed constant with Bassa throughout 2022 as he finished second on the team with 62 total tackles behind Bennett Williams’ 72, along with two interceptions.

Now coming into this campaign, Bassa has been looked to as one of the leaders both vocally and on the stat sheet with the absence of Noah Sewell. Through three games so far, Bassa has tallied 16 total tackles with the highlight being his nine tackle performance at Texas Tech, a game where he brought back the game-clinching pick six as well. Through three games in 2022, Bassa had recorded just nine, already showing the positive impact he has made in a pivotal role at the start of this season.

Now Oregon sets to host the story of the young college football season: The Coach Prime 19th ranked Colorado Buffaloes. As easy as it is to get caught up in the media hype and attention surrounding the re-established Buffs, the Ducks and Bassa seem to be focused on the task at hand. I asked Jeffrey on Wednesday if he has had to keep the defensive group in check and locked in on the game itself more than the advertised hype. “Yeah I mean I didn’t really need too,” Bassa said. “All the guys on the defensive side already knew what it was. We gotta keep the main thing the main thing, you know what I mean. It’s just another game for us”.

The linebacking crew has their work cut out for them going up against Shedeur Shanders this Saturday, the man who stands second in the country in total passing yards behind a fellow PAC-12 quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. Sanders also sits fourth currently in completion percentage, meaning he could give Oregon’s secondary and linebacking unit a 60-minute fit.