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As we look ahead to the upcoming 2022 college football season, people are trying to get a feel for how good their team will be while many across the landscape have experienced a major change in both coaching staff and roster makeup over the past month.
Though the start of the season is still months away, ESPN recently took a look at their preseason top-25 and highlighted a main area of strength that fans should be excited about going forward, For the Oregon Ducks, who enter the offseason ranked at No. 12, it is the defense that should be the biggest reason for excitement. More specifically, how new head coach Dan Lanning is going to utilize the abundance of talent at the linebacker position.
Even following Kayvon Thibodeaux’s departure for the NFL, the Oregon defense has a chance to improve next season with the arrival of new coach Dan Lanning. At Georgia, Lanning coordinated an all-time great defense, and in Eugene he’ll have a talented group to work with, especially at linebacker. Noah Sewell is a possible preseason All-American and if he’s paired next to a healthy Justin Flowe, the Ducks could have arguably the best ILB pairing in college football. Mase Funa will also return, having been a major contributor at outside linebacker the past three seasons.
One of the biggest “what-ifs” for the Ducks over the past two seasons has been the health of Justin Flowe, who missed almost the entirety of both seasons that he’s spent in Oregon thus far. When on the field, Flowe has looked like one of the best linebackers we’ve ever seen in Eugene, totaling 14 tackles in Week 1 against Fresno State last year. However, a knee injury and foot injury have hindered his ability to see the amount of playing time that we all hope for him.
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Should he be able to stay healthy in 2022, then his pairing with Noah Sewell could be exactly what ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura said it could be: “arguably the best ILB pairing in college football.”
You give that group to Lanning, the former Georgia defensive coordinator who has orchestrated some of the nation’s best defenses over the past few years in Athens, and it could be a tantalizing combination.
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