Oregon football: 5 questions the Oregon Ducks must answer in 2020

2. Oregon football questions: Will young linebackers fall easily into line?

It’d be doing Oregon football a disservice to not talk about defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, who should step into a starting role and be one of the best pass-rushers in the country. Having said that, the Ducks defensive line really isn’t much of a question mark as we approach the 2020 season. Instead, the bigger question is behind them at linebacker.

The big loss for the Ducks was long-time starter Troy Dye. Not only was he a unique talent and gifted player who was a buzzsaw on all levels of the field, Dye was a guy who called the shots and guided the rest of the defense. Losing that type of presence isn’t easy and Oregon hopes that junior Isaac Slade-Matautia is able to step into that role relatively seamlessly.

What will be interesting to see, though, is if two freshmen inside linebackers, Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell (Penei’s brother), are ready to be thrown into the fire right away. They have plenty of pedigree as recruits as they were the top players at the position in the recruiting class. Even for prospects of that caliber, though, making the jump from high school to college successfully is something that’s never going to be easy.

Regardless, a team that could have a huge question mark at linebacker, at the very least, has a boatload of talent at their disposal and an experienced player to lead the way. Perhaps the loss of Dye won’t be a glaring negative that it otherwise could’ve been.