Oregon football: 5 Ducks poised for breakout seasons in 2020

4. Oregon football breakout players: Kayvon Thibodeaux

This may be cheating because Kayvon Thibodeaux already had a breakout freshman season last year. But he’s still got a lot of development to do, which is scary for opposing offenses and quarterbacks standing in his path.

Last season, the former No. 1 overall recruit stepped up when it mattered, including 2.5 sacks in the Pac-12 Championship Game. He forced a fumble, blocked a punt, tackled another punter and was a beast off the edge. With one more year of growth, Thibodeaux could legitimately be in the running as the nation’s top defender at any position.

The Ducks defense is expected to be extremely young this season, which bodes well for Thibodeaux. Instead of being the outlier to a veteran unit, he can already take a leadership role on this defense. After focusing last season on being a disruption to the other team’s offense, he can focus this season on becoming a star.

Thibodeaux could be one of the best defensive players in all of college football this season. Even with opposing defenses expecting him to dominate, there were times last season he was downright unblockable. When he’s rushing, he gets to the backfield. Offensive tackles can’t keep up with him, and his highlights show them literally holding on to his back to try and stop him. He still gets to the quarterback/running back.

Thibodeaux added seven of his nine sacks in the fourth quarter last season. He gets better when his team needs him. The Ducks were giving him more responsibilities in the second half of the season, and Thibodeaux dominated. We expect him to get out of the gates destroying opposing offenses. Thibodeaux might be the only player that’s hurt by losing big games against Ohio State and North Dakota State because he thrives on a big stage like that. Oregon fans hope they get to see him step up on the National Championship stage.