Last season for the Ducks, Jeffrey Bassa played inside linebacker at 6-2, 214 pounds. He's gone to work this offseason transforming his body and the results are evident, showing up at PAC-12 Media Days at a robust, visibly yoked 228 pounds.
It's a delicate balance with linebackers. They have to have the strength and power to knock running backs backwards in the hole while maintaining the agility to avoid whiffing when a quarterback pump fakes, ducks and shuffles up into the pocket when they blitz.
In the last couple of years the Oregon linebacker crew did a lot of whiffing and being dragged in the wrong direction.
Bassa's power boost ought to add some teeth and finish to the defense, something to watch in the season's early games.
This spring Dan Lanning said of the junior from Salt Lake City, "He's a guy that can be sideline to sideline," Lanning said of Bassa. "He has the athleticism of a defensive back but has the physicality of a linebacker. All good linebackers nowadays can run, and Jeff has that trait."
Jeff Bassa wanted that score pic.twitter.com/KG4RKua5Nz
— The Flock Pod (@TheFlockPod) December 2, 2022
At Media Day Bassa told the press, "I think the guys did a tremendous job this off-season putting weight on their bodies, but also coming in with the right mindset every day, coming in ready to work. We all got one goal on our mind, and that's just to be the best every day. I think the guys are taking one day at a time. We're focusing on heading into camp healthy and ready to grind in camp."
Bassa continued, "I think it adds a lot of versatility to the defense. With me coming in from the linebacker room, I think I can do a lot of things that not your traditional linebacker can do."
His improvement and versatility should be a major key to the success of Tosh Lupoi's defense, a big reason why the Ducks will be better and tougher on defense this season.
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