Season in Review: LB

Reviewing Oregon's 2022 season and looking ahead to spring drills.

2022 ROSTER
ILB: Noah Sewell, So.; Keith Brown, So.; Jackson LaDuke, So.; Harrison Taggart, Fr.; Elijah Williams, Fr.
ILB: Jeffrey Bassa, So.; Justin Flowe, So.; Micah Roth, Sr.; Devon Jackson, Fr.

Starters: At a position stocked with multiple five-star recruits, it was converted safety Jeffrey Bassa who led Oregon's linebackers in tackles for the 2022 season. After moving down from the secondary midseason in 2021, Bassa remained at linebacker for 2022 and finished the year with 62 tackles, second on the team behind defensive back Bennett Williams. That total reflected the balanced production Oregon experienced on defense in 2022; Williams had 72 tackles, one of the lowest team-leading totals in modern UO football history. And 13 different players finished at least one game as the Ducks' leading tackler.

Remarkably, not among those 13 was Noah Sewell, who led the UO defense with 114 tackles in 2021 and who had 56 in the 2022 regular season before opting out of the Holiday Bowl. Sewell did have three different games with at least seven tackles, one less than Williams's team-leading four games with seven-plus tackles. Among Sewell's total tackles were 5.5 tackles for loss, and he was officially credited both with four quarterbacks hurries and four pass breakups. Improved pass defense was a point of emphasis for Sewell entering 2022, and he had the most pass breakups of anyone in the Ducks' front seven.

Sewell_Utah_IW

Reserves: Justin Flowe started the season opener against Georgia and also later in the year at Colorado, but injuries once again limited the former heralded recruit's production. Jackson LaDuke started against both Eastern Washington and BYU, but he too saw his production limited by injury in 2022. With those two opting to transfer after the regular season and Sewell opting out for the NFL Draft, Keith Brown played a major role in the Holiday Bowl and finished with seven tackles, a most encouraging performance for a budding up-and-comer on the UO defense. Micah Roth also moved up into the two-deep for the bowl, after contributing primarily on special teams in the regular season.

Developmental squad: Devon Jackson and Harrison Taggart came into Oregon together and were attached at the hip in 2022, playing next to each other in practices for the "look team." Jackson is a rangy athlete in the middle of the scout defense, while Taggart is an exuberant competitor whose energy is contagious. Elijah Williams enhanced the depth for that unit.

The Oregon Ducks take on the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona on October 8, 2022 (Eric Evans Photography)

The Oregon Ducks take on the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona on October 8, 2022 (Eric Evans Photography)

2023 SPRING PREVIEW

Veterans: Keith Brown, Jr.; Jeffrey Bassa, Jr.; Devon Jackson, RFr.; Harrison Taggart, RFr.; Elijah Williams, RFr.
Newcomers: Jestin Jacobs, Jr.; Connor Soelle, Jr.

What to Watch: When Sewell and Flowe signed as recruits in 2020, it would have been reasonable to think they'd be gone by 2023, though injuries and the pandemic got in the way of the tandem truly having the careers they might have otherwise. Instead, the Holiday Bowl might have been a preview of the linebacker spots for the Ducks come fall, with Brown and Bassa playing big roles. They'll be challenged this spring by a couple additions via the transfer portal, Jestin Jacobs and Connor Soelle. And the duo of Jackson and Taggart will look to build on the foundation they laid together as freshman last season.