The 2021 college football season will have the biggest lists in recent memory, with teams being able to carry more than 85 players due to an NCAA exemption because of the pandemic. But with so many returning stars in college football, it’s the new members of a program that can make the biggest impact on a team year after year.
The ESPN team analyzed the different newcomers to the teams in their top 25 “Very early” rankings and how these new team members can change the fate of a program.
While Oregon signed its best recruiting class in 2021 and will bring a plethora of elite talent to campus in the class, ESPN does not think the most intriguing newcomer to the Ducks is a player, but a coach.
Oregon hired Cal’s Tim DeRuyter as a defensive coordinator last month and ESPN believes the rent could be a major upgrade for the Ducks.
“Oregon is starting to become a coach factory. One year after losing the offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo for UNLV, defensive coordinator Andy Avalos jumped to become the head coach of Boise State, who led the coach Mario cristobal hire Cal’s Tim DeRuyter to deal with the defense. DeRuyter, a former Fresno State coach, helped turn Cal into one of the most difficult defenses in the Pac-12 and could turn out to be an update over his predecessor, “writes ESPN’s Kyla Bonagura.
Although the Ducks have lost a defensive coordinator to a position as head coach, DeRuyter brings experience to shape Oregon’s defense, especially with the level of talent that Cristobal has recruited in recent cycles.
The 2021 season is likely to be the last year for the ex-defensive five-star Kayvon Thibodeaux, who will be eligible for the NFL Draft after the season. DeRuyter has already made it clear that he plans to highlight Thibodeaux’s skill set in defending the Ducks, just as he did with Von Miller a decade ago at Texas A&M.
Mario cristobal he spent almost a month doing the hiring and interviewing potential candidates, but he didn’t have to leave the conference to get a guy he believes will raise the defense of the Ducks.
“What led us to Tim DeRuyter he was an exceptional teacher, who really understands defensive football face to face, disruptive defenses, forced changes, experience at all levels of each level of defense face to face “, said Cristobal. I think when you have a guy who can teach this completely and who has that kind of success and knows this conference very well, we feel that he was by far the best guy for the job. He made us extremely excited and excited for him to join us.
“In the short time he’s been here, you can say that it’s not just the right fit, but it will make us a lot better.”
Sign up to receive the FREE DuckTerritory.com newsletter and get all your Oregon news sent directly to your email inbox daily.
If you are not a VIP subscriber to DuckTerritory.com, consider sign up today and get your first month for just $ 1!