EUGENE - Last week, Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi spoke to the media about “knocking off the rust” in fall camp and about the maturation of young defensive players on the program’s roster.
On Monday, co-defensive coordinator Chris Hampton and defensive backs coach spoke to the media for the first time this preseason.
“We got multiple guys working there, not just Daylen. No, we got Jadon Canady Dillon (Thieneman) doing it. Zach Grisham is having a heck of a camp so far. We got plans. We got plenty of DBs so hopefully he's with us. But if the decision is that he's not with us for a while, then we gotta play.”
“We've had an outstanding competition, young guys, old guys. There’s no depth chart right now. We're letting everybody roll. Different guys are going with different groups. We call it green, yellow, so everybody's getting the same amount of reps. We're splitting guys up, working with different combinations. The competition's been great. Today’s been one of the most competitive days, probably the most competitive so far.”
“I thought we had a really good group. Following the spring, all those guys were here in the spring and going into fall. And so, I thought this summer they took tremendous gains in the weight room, in the offseason, we had to have opportunity to get some meetings this summer with them. I thought the guys learned a lot know the system a lot better. They're playing a lot faster than they did in the spring. I think we're going in the right direction right now.”
“We've got a good group, and Theran’s been a guy that’s came in, he learned the system, he's highly intelligent. Today, I think was his best day. I've got to go watch the film, but just from watching from the sideline, he made a lot of plays. He had some ball production. So hopefully tomorrow and the next day and the next day is better than today was but today was one of his better days. If continues to go like he's going today, he'll have another great year for us.”
“I think the big thing you said was leadership. I think he brings it to the group. He's been here for a while, longer than anyone in the room. He understands the scheme, knows what we're doing, he knows the standard, he knows what's expected. He motivates the guys on the sideline. So, he's definitely gotta take on a leadership role for us, and I think he's ready to do that.”
“Ify’s having a great camp, but that's a lot of guys having a great camp right now, but he's definitely having one of the better outputs in the secondary. So, he's just got to continue to grow, continue to get better. We’ve only had five practices. We've got a long way to August 30. Every day's competition, like he just acts in the back. We’ve got great players, so you've got to bring it each and every day. Nobody owns a position right now. Ify knows that. But I definitely expect big things.”
“I think he really changed his body. Got in the weight room, hit the weights hard. He's probably put on about 15 pounds of muscle this offseason. That's the first thing I think he did. He has a greater understanding of what we're doing right now on defense. Year two in the system. He gets it. So, another guy, just like Ify, to have a great season for us.”
“We’re kind of rolling guys between field safety, boundary safety, and star. And we've got Peyton (Woodyard) playing some star. Kingston Lopa, Dillon Thieneman, Jadon’s playing safety, Daylen’s playing safety," Hampton said.
"So, I'm making them learn all three of them, because you never know injury may happen throughout the season. So right now, in camp, we kind of just rolling everybody playing all three positions, and making them learn, and making the challenges on them right now, so it’ll be easier in the season if that happens where we lose a guy due to injury, or whatever the case might be.”
“I think he's gonna have a great season. He needs to tackle well, have some great ball production, be a great communicator, which he's done all that. He's working hard enough to do it. He's trying his best to do it, and it’s just a matter of how he plays in the season.”
“I think we're still gonna run our system at the end of the day, but obviously we have guys that we think fit the profile of what we would want. Height, weight and speed. We've done a great job recruiting, I think everyone in the organization. So, we definitely look the part," Hampton said.
"We're not as experienced. I think everyone knows that, but we do have the height, the weight, the speed. We look the part. I think we got all the talent to be a really good secondary, and we just got to do it and continue to grow each and every day. We're going in the right direction.”
“It's a different room, but I don't think I get all the credit. I think that Rashad Wadood has done a great job of recruiting elite players here, Connor Boyd, a lot of guys that really don't get as much credit as they should. I get a lot of the credit because I'm a secondary coach," Hampton said.
"But you've got Kyle Cogan. There's so many guys that work with me, and I think hopefully guys understand that I'm selfless and I don't have an ego. I hope I don't seem that way. And I allow them to coach and listen to their opinions and their input, and we all team recruiting. I think we brought in some really good players, and now you just got to play like it.”
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