Oregon Football: Are we really shocked Justin Flowe starred vs. Fresno State?

Is it possible that a player can exceed expectations despite having all the hype heading into the season in Week 1? Oregon football’s Justin Flowe proved that it is possible.

The freshman linebacker finished with a game-high 14 tackles to go along with a big forced fumble in an impressive effort against Fresno State which concluded with a seven-point win.

Flowe impressed everyone with his sideline-to-sideline speed, athleticism, and aggressiveness all game long as he looked like a veteran linebacker. He looked like the guy we all would have expected this year if he was healthy in 2020. But he didn’t play last season because of an injury and still came out and took the defense by storm.

It was good to see him shake off some rust early on to look like a Freshman All-American and his performance led to him winning the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award.

Are we really surprised, though?

Honestly, no one should be. Isaac Slade-Matautia’s transfer was a pretty significant sign for Flowe as it seemed like his insertion into the starting lineup was inevitable and his growth in the spring was likely to win him the first-string job. He came out and looked the part immediately.

Flowe was one of the main reasons the Ducks held on for a season-opening win.

Oregon football’s defense is in good hands

The defense is in good hands and stepped up even with Kayvon Thibodeaux leaving the game. He’s still “day-to-day” according to Mario Cristobal, so we’ll see if he’s available on Saturday night at Ohio State, but the rest of the defense looked really solid against the Bulldogs.

You might look at the passing yards and be concerned about the secondary, but there were only two passes completed over 20 yards and the average per attempt was just 6.9. Basically, the Ducks kept everything in front of them as Jake Haener had just under 300 yards on 43 attempts.

If Flowe continues playing like he did against Fresno State, the run defense continues to plug holes, and the secondary avoids the explosive play from opposing receivers, the defense is going to make some serious noise this season.

Now the offense just needs to catch up.