Oregon OL TJ Bass signs with the Dallas Cowboys as UDFA

Oregon OL TJ Bass signs with the Dallas Cowboys as UDFA

As expected, Oregon offensive lineman TJ Bass watched the NFL draft come and go without his name being called, but that didn’t deter him from signing with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent.

The Cowboys perennially produce a good offensive line, and TJ Bass will be the newest member of that group. After a disappointing end to the season in 2022, the Dallas Cowboys parted ways with their former star running back,  Ezekiel Elliot. Next season, Dallas will be looking to reshape their offense and it will be interesting to see if Bass has a role to play in their 2023 system.

The 6-foot-4, 325-pounder from Deming, Wash. came to Oregon in 2020 Bass as a junior college transfer. He was a four-star recruit coming out of Butte College and was the No. 1 junior college offensive lineman in 2019.

Last season, the Ducks had one of the strongest O-lines in the PAC-12. Bass was a big part of that success and was named first-team All-PAC-12 and second-team All-American, for his efforts. Bass is proficient at both pass and run blocking which makes a desirable player at the guard position.

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3 Oregon Ducks ranked in PFF’s best returning players for 2022 season

According to PFF, Dan Lanning has some core pieces to work with in 2022, with 3 Ducks being named among the best-returning players in the nation.

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With all the comings and goings associated with this current Oregon Duck football off-season, it’s easy to pass by the fact that Oregon has some very special players still on the roster and ready to take off to the next level under head coach Dan Lanning.

Three Ducks were recently named by Pro Football Focus as among those top returning players among their respective positions. Two are those three are on the defensive side of the ball, which should make Lanning relax just a tiny bit as Oregon will face Georgia of all teams in the 2022 opener.

Here are the players that PFF thinks Oregon fans should be excited about:

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OL TJ Bass

There were a lot of questions surrounding the Oregon offense in 2021 from the quarterback play, wide receiver depth, and Travis Dye having to step up in CJ Verdell’s absence due to injury. But there weren’t many questions concerning the offensive line, despite the mixing-and-matching along the front with bumps and bruises.

Those five up front, whichever five players were able to take the field, managed to plug away and help Dye to a career season and protect mobile quarterback Anthony Brown. Returning on that line in 2022 will be senior TJ Bass, who PFF rated as a Top 30 overall player in the nation. This is what they had to say about Bass:

Bass pivoted from guard to tackle midway through his 2021 campaign. While the 2020 top-25 ranked JUCO recruit experienced some volatility in pass protection, his standout run-blocking remained. Bass finished with a 90.5 run-block grade for the 2021 season and ranked top 30 among all Power Five offensive linemen regardless of position in negatively and positively graded run play rate — the latter is something only four others accomplished for the year. And it’s not like Bass was a liability in pass protection, either, as he allowed only 14 pressures en route a 74.0 pass-blocking grade for the season.

Up Next: Brandon Dorlus

Oregon Ducks’ OL TJ Bass announces plans to return to Eugene for 2022 season

The all-conference lineman is coming back to Eugene. Welcome back TJ Bass!

Another member of the Oregon Ducks is reportedly returning to Eugene for the 2022 season, giving new head coach Dan Lanning yet another solid piece on the front line for his first season with the team.

TJ Bass announced on Friday that he plans to “run it back” next year. Bass is now one of several players to announce their intention to return to Eugene, following Popo Aumavae, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, Brandon Dorlus, Seven McGee, Alex Forsyth, and Bennett Williams.

With the return of Bass, Oregon’s front line is expected to be among the most experienced in the conference, returning a number of starters from 2021.

We are still waiting on decisions from Travis Dye, CJ Verdell, and others, but this is a big announcement for the Ducks.

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Phil Steele honors 15 Oregon Ducks on his preseason all-Pac-12 list

A total of 15 Oregon Ducks made Phil Steele’s all-Pac-12 selections, with four Ducks making the first team.

It’s that time of year where pre-season lists are being published in the world of college football and there’s no more prestigious pre-season publisher than Phil Steele.

He has selected 15 Oregon Ducks as all-conference players with four of those Ducks on his First Team All-Pac-12 list.

It should come as no surprise that defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux would lead this particular list off. Thibodeaux has a chance to be a First-Team All-American and a very high draft choice when the NFL draft rolls around next April.

Joining Thibodeaux on the first team is offensive linemen TJ Bass and Alex Forsyth to go with cornerback Mykael Wright. Bass and Forsyth will be second-year starters for Oregon along that huge O-line and Wright was an all-Pac-12 player last season as a sophomore.

On Steele’s second-team all-conference is safety Verone McKinley III, linebacker Noah Sewell, receiver Devon Williams, offensive lineman Steven Jones, and tailback CJ Verdell.

McKinley was a freshman All-American in 2019 and Sewell was also one in 2020. Because of the pandemic, those players are still a sophomore and freshman, respectively, and look to be the core of the Oregon defense in 2021.

The 6-foot-5 Williams should be a go-to target for quarterback Anthony Brown this season as he has Jones, Bass and Forsyth to protect him. Brown is listed on Steele’s fourth-team all-conference list.

Verdell is looking to become of of the great Oregon tailbacks of all time with 68 more yards to crack the Oregon Top 10 list. He’s less than 1,000 yards away from 3,500 career yards.

Safety Jamal Hill leads Oregon on Steele’s third team along with offensive lineman Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, long snapper Karsten Battles and punter Tom Snee.

Hill played in all 14 games in 2019 and another six in 2020 where he managed to grab two interceptions. Aumavae-Laulu, at 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds will be yet another massive body on that line and Battles is a very reliable long snapper that is key to the Ducks’ special teams. Snee’s punting ability has improved each season as he averaged nearly 44 yards per punt in 2020.

Along with Brown, defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus made Steele’s fourth-team all-Pac-12 list.

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