Jestin Jacobs – Syndication Server

Jeffrey Bassa named one of the most underrated 2025 NFL Draft prospects

CBS Sports named Jeffrey Bassa as the No. 3 most underrated draft prospect for 2025.

After coming to the Oregon Ducks as a 4-star recruit in 2019 — playing a different position — Jeffrey Bassa has blossomed into the heart of the Ducks’ defense. Bassa had an up-and-down adjustment period after switching from safety to linebacker in 2022, but in 2023 he excelled in all facets of the game.

In 14 games last season, Bassa played 713 snaps, the third-most of any Oregon defender. On those plays, Bassa racked up 72 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, and an interception — a pick-six that clinched an Oregon win over Texas Tech.

On Friday, CBS Sports writer Blake Brockermeyer made a list of the most underrated prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft, and Bassa landed at No. 3. Here’s what Brockermeyer had to say about the Oregon Ducks defensive leader:

Bassa enoyed his best season in Eugene under Dan Lanning last year. He is one of the top coverage linebackers in the country. That combined with his excellent tackling skills and ability to rush the passer as a blitzer make him a defender who can stay on the field for every snap.

As Oregon’s primary middle linebacker, Bassa runs the defense pre-snap, setting up the Ducks defense based on the opponent’s offensive look. In addition to his cerebral acumen, Bassa also brings speed and hard hits to the middle of the field, making him a versatile and well-rounded defender.

2024 will be Bassa’s final season at Oregon, and he’ll likely make his way to the NFL after his time in Eugene. Flanking Bassa this year will be Jestin Jacobs, a former Iowa transfer. Together, Bassa and Jacobs should lead one of the strongest defenses in the country, bottling up the run game in Oregon’s new, run-happy conference.

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Oregon LB Jestin Jacobs to return to Eugene for 2024 season

Oregon Ducks linebacker Jestin Jacobs will return to Eugene for the 2024 season, pushing his NFL career off for a year.

Oregon Ducks’ linebacker Jestin Jacobs offered a reason to celebrate for fans with the news coming out that he would return to Eugene for the 2024 season.

There was a lot of speculation as to whether or not Jacobs would return or head off to the NFL to test the draft waters. The original plan for Jacobs when coming to Oregon from Iowa in 2023 was to play for a single season and then make the leap to the NFL.

However, an early-season injury held Jacobs off of the field for the first half of the season, which ultimately played a major factor in his decision-making when it came to staying for another year in Eugene.

Jacobs was productive when on the field for the Ducks, totaling 31 tackles, one for loss, and one sack in his seven games at Oregon. Should he want it, Jacobs can have as many as two more years of eligibility at the collegiate level, but the expectation is that he will make the leap to the NFL after the 2024 season. Jacobs was projected to have a mid-to-late-round draft grade after the last season, but that could get much higher with a full season under Dan Lanning under his belt.

Getting Jacobs back for another season is just one of the many wins of the offseason for Lanning and this staff as the team prepares for a future in the Big Ten.

2024 Linebacker Outlook: Depth is not an issue, portal could help

Oregon will have plenty of talented options at linebacker in 2024, but the Ducks could look in the portal for additional help.

The 2023 season is now behind us, and while there is still a bowl game to be played — The Fiesta Bowl vs. The Liberty Flames — Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are working hard on the construction of their roster and hitting the transfer portal in attempts to formulate what this team will look like going into the 2024 season, the team’s first year in the Big Ten Conference. While they work on bringing new players in via the transfer portal, we want to look at the future breakdown of each position, detailing current players on the roster, incoming recruits, and potential targets on the market right now.

So far this offseason, we’ve broken down the future of the Quarterbacks, Running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive line, cornerbacks, and defensive linemen. Now let’s focus on the linebackers.

Oregon has no shortage of linebackers slated to be on the 2024 roster and as the Ducks enter the Big Ten Conference, the more run-stoppers they have, the better.

As of now, veterans such as Jeffrey Bassa, Jestin Jacobs, Connor Soelle and Bryce Boettcher are all set to make their mark on the Big Ten. Since he came from Iowa, Jacobs should be able to tell his fellow linebackers the ropes and what to expect from the conference.

Other than that core four, experience will be at a premium, which is why Duck fans should expect Dan Lanning to search the transfer portal to help out with that experience.

Oregon has many other players already on the roster as linebacker talent has been a priority since Lanning arrived. The Ducks should see the beginnings of that labor beginning next season. Those first two incredible recruiting classes should be ready to make an impact, especially at linebacker, in 2024.

5 major questions for No. 8 Ducks to answer on the road vs. No. 13 Utah

We’re getting to the point in the year where season-long expectations hinge on a few moments during each and every game. The No. 8 Oregon Ducks are currently positioned nicely to grab a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game, and if they can continue to beat the teams in front of them, they could land in the College Football Playoff at the end of the year as well.

They’ve got to take care of business, though.

That will be the key this weekend as Dan Lanning and his team travel down to Salt Lake City to take on the No. 13 Utah Utes. It’s going to be a physical game with the eyes of the nation tuned in, and Lanning’s squad will have a lot of questions to answer when it comes to performing on the big stage.

Let’s take a look at some of those questions that we, and the college football world, are still waiting to learn the answers to:

Snap Count Takeaways: Major notes from Oregon’s usage report vs. Washington State

A look at the Oregon Ducks’ usage report vs. the Washington State Cougars in Week 8.

Saturday’s game between the Oregon Ducks and Washington State Cougars gave us an interesting look at the roster that Dan Lanning is deploying in Eugene.

While we are in the middle of the season, and the depth chart is largely set, a couple of injuries gave us a look at where things stand deeper on the rotational sheet. On top of that, we finally got the debut for Oregon linebacker Jestin Jacobs, who played a big role in his first game for the Ducks.

So with an eye on the usage report in Eugene, what did we ultimately learn about the Ducks in Week 8? Let’s take a look:

Stock Report: Jestin Jacobs makes debut, while Bucky Irving bursts onto national stage

Saturday’s game against the Washington State Cougars was nowhere near the biggest game that the Oregon Ducks have played, or will play during the 2023 college football season, but it seemingly had one of the biggest impacts thus far when it comes to putting one of its player on the national stage.

Running back Bucky Irving took the opportunity and ran with it.

In front of a national ABC broadcast, Irving racked up 180 total yards and three touchdowns, with 42- and 43-yard scores on back-to-back drives captivating the television audience and turning the heads of some NFL scouts.

Elsewhere, there were a number of highlight performances on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. As we always do, let’s go through our weekly stock report to highlight some of the top players in the contest.

9 Major Takeaways: Oregon rolls to a 38-24 win behind Bucky Irving’s big game

The Ducks rushed for almost 250 yards in a decisive win over Washington State, but have several things to improve on going forward.

The Oregon Ducks needed a win like this.

After their brutal loss to the Washington Huskies a week ago, Dan Lanning and his team were in need of a bounce-back opportunity, one in which they got tested, for certain, but never really had the outcome placed in doubt.

That’s what they got on Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out Autzen Stadium as the Ducks rolled to a 38-24 win over the Washington State Cougars. The number on the scoreboard looks closer than the game really was, with Cameron Ward and the Cougars adding a late touchdown with 52 seconds left in the game to make it a respectable score, and ultimately cover the betting spread.

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There were some ups and downs in this game and a lot of things that it’s clear Oregon needs to clean up over the next week before going to Salt Lake City to face a dangerous Utah team.

Here are some of our major takeaways from the Ducks’ sixth victory of the year:

7 major questions for Oregon Ducks to answer in Week 8 game vs. Washington State

What we see from the Oregon Ducks over the next 48 hours is going to tell us a lot about the makeup of this team. After a heartbreaking loss to the Washington Huskies last week, the Ducks still have all of their goals in front of them, but they’re going to have to dig down a bit deeper in order to achieve them.

The potential bounce-back spot doesn’t come against a nobody team, either. While the Washington State Cougars may have lost their top-25 ranking after back-to-back losses, they still possess an extremely talented quarterback, a potent passing offense, and one of the top coaches in the Pac-12.

Anyone who is passing this off as an easy win for the home team could be sorely mistaken.

Going into the game, we wanted to highlight some of the biggest questions that we have for Dan Lanning and his team. Here’s what we most want to find out:

Brandon Dorlus returns to practice for Oregon

One of the most notable absences for the Oregon Ducks at practice on Tuesday was resolved on Wednesday morning.

Oregon defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus was spotted walking into practice on Wednesday morning.

Dorlus, one of the top defenders on the Ducks’ roster, was not present for the portion of practice that media members were able to watch on Tuesday morning.

It appears the Dorlus is at full capacity and ready to play this weekend against Washington.

There were not any other notable absences on Wednesday at practice other than wide receiver Justius Lowe, who was also absent on Tuesday.

As was the case on Tuesday, linebacker Jestin Jacobs was also a full participant at practice again and looks to be on track to make his Oregon debut this weekend against the Huskies.

5 things we’ve learned, 5 things still to learn about the 2023 Oregon Ducks

By almost any metric you wish to look at, the 2023 season for the Oregon Ducks has been a success so far. Head coach Dan Lanning has the squad off to its first 5-0 start since 2013, and Oregon is one of only two teams in the nation to boast both an offense and a defense that rank inside the top 10 nationally.

Quarterback Bo Nix is among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy; wide receiver Troy Franklin is among the favorites to win the Biletnikoff Award, and the Ducks have one of the best odds in the nation to make it to the College Football Playoff and win a national championship.

If you were to tell an Oregon fan all of those things about two months ago, they certainly would sign up for those results in an instant. It’s safe to say that we’ve learned a lot about this team through the first five weeks, but there is still a lot to find out going forward.

While the Ducks’ numbers look great so far, it is important to note that they have not faced the meat of their schedule just yet. Over the final 7 weeks of the regular season, Oregon will go up against five teams that have been ranked inside the top 15 at some point this season, with a trio of No. 7 Washington, No. 13 Washington State, and No. 18 Utah all in a row coming out of this bye week.

We are certain to learn a lot more about the Ducks going forward.

So at this point in the season, what do we know for sure about this team, and what are a few things that we still need to find out? Let’s break it down in this midseason check-up to close out the bye week: