2015 in Review: Defensive Line

By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com

Reviewing Oregon's 2015 season and looking ahead to spring drills.

DEPTH CHART
DE: DeForest Buckner, Sr.; T.J. Daniel, Jr.; Jalen Jelks, RFr.; Drayton Carlberg, Fr.; Jordan Kurahara, RFr.
NT: Alex Balducci, Sr.; Austin Maloata, So.; Rex Manu, Fr.; Gary Baker, Fr.; Spencer Stark, RFr.
DE: Henry Mondeaux, So.; Tui Talia, Sr.; Canton Kaumatule, Fr.; Gus Cumberlander, Fr.; Jason Sloan, So.

Starters: Thus endeth the DeForest Buckner era; and what an era it was. For all of Oregon's defensive issues in 2015, which prompted a coordinator change, the Ducks' star lineman performed well enough to be named Pat Tillman Pac-12 Defensive Player Of The Year. Buckner's 10.5 sacks tied him for 10^th in UO history for a single season, and his 17 tackles for loss were just outside the top 10. For his career, the Morris Trophy winner as top Pac-12 D lineman had 18 sacks and 36 tackles for loss, each in the top 10 all-time at Oregon. Most of the players above him were defensive ends and outside linebackers less prone to facing the double- and triple-teams Buckner drew. The projected top-10 NFL draft pick need only make a Pro Bowl or two, and he figures to go down as arguably the best defensive end ever to play here.

Alongside Buckner, from the time of their first career start at Stanford in 2012, was nose guard Alex Balducci. Finally (relatively) healthy for a full year, Balducci more than doubled his career numbers, making 40 tackles with 3.5 sacks among his 7.5 tackles for loss. At the other end spot, Henry Mondeaux and Tui Talia traded off starting assignments. Like Balducci, Mondeaux took the next step as a playmaker in 2015, recording sacks in four straight games at one point.

Reserves: Behind Balducci, the Ducks rotated two aggressive young space-eaters in Austin Maloata and Rex Manu. Each finished with a mere six tackles in 12 games, but they flashed the potential to be active, impact D tackles moving forward. Jalen Jelks showed off his promise as a pass-rusher, with three sacks among his nine tackles. The most high-profile backup probably was freshman Canton Kaumatule, a top recruit whose frame and athleticism call to mind NFL rookie Arik Armstead. Kaumatule was impressive in preseason camp but injuries limited his availability to eight games in 2015.

Redshirts: The veteran depth allowed for the redshirting of three other recruits: Drayton Carlberg, Gary Baker and Gus Cumberlander. Carlberg was named the defensive scout-team player of the year, showing off a motor akin to that of Taylor Hart a few years back. Cumberlander is a long edge player in the mold of Dion Jordan, and Baker is another agile young tackle prospect. Given Oregon's move to a 4-3 under new coordinator Brady Hoke, they have the potential to feature even more prominently in the Ducks' 2016 plans should they continue to develop.

SPRING PROJECTION
DE: Henry Mondeaux, Jr.; Jordan Kurahara, So.; Hunter Kampmoyer, Fr.
NT: Austin Maloata, Jr.; Rex Manu, So.; Spencer Stark, So.
DT: Canton Kaumatule, So.; Drayton Carlberg, RFr.; Gary Baker, RFr.;
DE: T.J. Daniel, Sr.; Jalen Jelks, So.; Gus Cumberlander, RFr.; Jason Sloan, Jr.

What to watch: Given Mark Helfrich's statement that Hoke will employ a base 4-3 defense, the above is a best guess at how the returning lineman might be arrayed in such a front. Mondeaux and Kaumatule move well enough at their size that they could play either defensive end on the strong side of the formation, or at tackle on the other side of the nose. Jelks' value as a pass-rusher seems to be a good fit as an end on the weak side. And the Maloata-Manu duo, in any order, seems solid in the middle. But there's much to sort out now that Hoke is taking over. Spring drills will be very illuminating as to the makeup of the 2016 defensive line, even more so than usual given the schematic changes.