Dye Enjoys Memorable Debut For UO Defense
09/03/16 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
True freshman linebacker Troy Dye led all players Saturday with 11 tackles in the win over UC Davis.
EUGENE, Ore. – Tradition holds that, once UO coach Mark Helfrich gives his postgame remarks to the Oregon football team following victories, players shout out nominations to lead the team in the singing of "Mighty Oregon."
On Saturday, following a 53-28 win over UC Davis that featured 11 tackles and a blocked field goal by true freshman outside linebacker Troy Dye, players didn't even wait for Helfrich to make it back to the locker room to summon Dye to the front of the room. The catcalls began as soon as Dye made it back from the field himself.
"Troy, you're singing!" teammates shouted. "You know you're singing!"
There was no way Dye was escaping the spotlight postgame, after commanding it throughout Saturday afternoon's victory over the Aggies. His 11 tackles were more than twice as many as any other defender, and included 4.5 tackles for lost yardage, one of them a sack.
"I think we can just say he's not a freshman anymore," senior linebacker Johnny Ragin III said. "He came out there, made a statement and played very well. There's probably some things here and there to correct from the film, but the effort and the passion is there and he's going to make a lot more plays for us."
Dye shot out of the gates as if from a cannon Saturday, making tackles on consecutive plays after UC Davis' opening drive was extended by a muffed Oregon punt return. On the play after the muff, Dye made a brilliant open-field tackle of Aggies quarterback Ben Scott. He followed that by bringing down burly running back Manusamoa Luuga in the backfield.
Dye had four tackles on a single UC Davis possession later in the first quarter, and recorded his first career sack late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, with the Aggies threatening to make it a two-possession game, Dye blocked a field goal.
"I came in thinking I was very prepared," said Dye, who won the starting SAM linebacker spot over the final week or 10 days of preseason camp. "So I was ready to play the game. I wasn't expecting to make as many plays as I did. I just wanted to give it all I had."
Dye credited Oregon's coaches for preparing him to make plays Saturday, and his teammates for playing their assignments and leaving him in position to pile up stats.
"We played our leverages well, so everything kind of got funneled to me," Dye said. "I was in position to make some plays, and I made the plays."
Typically Dye lined up at the line of scrimmage, outside a defensive end, and came firing off the line at the snap. His aggressiveness can cause him to overcommit at times, but it helps him get back into plays as well.
"Troy has a great motor," Ragin said. "I said this earlier in the week, that makes up for any mistakes he has. He wants to bring the ballcarrier down, and he's going to do it."
On the field-goal block, Dye's assignment was to engage a tight end who was blocking for the Aggies. Dye did more than that.
"Once I pushed him he kind of fell back, so I was like, I might as well go block it," Dye said.
Surely things won't seem to come as easy in the weeks ahead for Oregon's freshman outside linebacker. But whatever path his career takes, he'll always be able to look back on an unforgettable collegiate debut.
"There's definitely room for improvement," he said. "We gave up too many points, obviously. But we're gonna get past this one, out it behind us and get ready for Virginia."
On Saturday, following a 53-28 win over UC Davis that featured 11 tackles and a blocked field goal by true freshman outside linebacker Troy Dye, players didn't even wait for Helfrich to make it back to the locker room to summon Dye to the front of the room. The catcalls began as soon as Dye made it back from the field himself.
"Troy, you're singing!" teammates shouted. "You know you're singing!"
There was no way Dye was escaping the spotlight postgame, after commanding it throughout Saturday afternoon's victory over the Aggies. His 11 tackles were more than twice as many as any other defender, and included 4.5 tackles for lost yardage, one of them a sack.
"I think we can just say he's not a freshman anymore," senior linebacker Johnny Ragin III said. "He came out there, made a statement and played very well. There's probably some things here and there to correct from the film, but the effort and the passion is there and he's going to make a lot more plays for us."
Dye shot out of the gates as if from a cannon Saturday, making tackles on consecutive plays after UC Davis' opening drive was extended by a muffed Oregon punt return. On the play after the muff, Dye made a brilliant open-field tackle of Aggies quarterback Ben Scott. He followed that by bringing down burly running back Manusamoa Luuga in the backfield.
Dye had four tackles on a single UC Davis possession later in the first quarter, and recorded his first career sack late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, with the Aggies threatening to make it a two-possession game, Dye blocked a field goal.
"I came in thinking I was very prepared," said Dye, who won the starting SAM linebacker spot over the final week or 10 days of preseason camp. "So I was ready to play the game. I wasn't expecting to make as many plays as I did. I just wanted to give it all I had."
Dye credited Oregon's coaches for preparing him to make plays Saturday, and his teammates for playing their assignments and leaving him in position to pile up stats.
"We played our leverages well, so everything kind of got funneled to me," Dye said. "I was in position to make some plays, and I made the plays."
Typically Dye lined up at the line of scrimmage, outside a defensive end, and came firing off the line at the snap. His aggressiveness can cause him to overcommit at times, but it helps him get back into plays as well.
"Troy has a great motor," Ragin said. "I said this earlier in the week, that makes up for any mistakes he has. He wants to bring the ballcarrier down, and he's going to do it."
On the field-goal block, Dye's assignment was to engage a tight end who was blocking for the Aggies. Dye did more than that.
"Once I pushed him he kind of fell back, so I was like, I might as well go block it," Dye said.
Surely things won't seem to come as easy in the weeks ahead for Oregon's freshman outside linebacker. But whatever path his career takes, he'll always be able to look back on an unforgettable collegiate debut.
"There's definitely room for improvement," he said. "We gave up too many points, obviously. But we're gonna get past this one, out it behind us and get ready for Virginia."
Players Mentioned
LB
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