Oregon Football: Who will step up in Justin Flowe’s place?
Not having Justin Flowe or Kayvon Thibodeaux for the Ohio State game was tough for Oregon football. When the news broke that neither would be able to suit up against the Buckeyes, the overwhelming feeling was that there was no hope for a win in Columbus.
Thibodeaux nearly suited up but Mario Cristobal didn’t want to chance his superstar defensive end’s health in the second game of the season. It turned out to be a great decision.
As for Flowe, mum has been the word since he went down with an injury.
There were rumors floating around Twitter that he broke his foot and then rumors that it was his brother Jonathan Flowe and then he was out against Ohio State with an apparent foot injury. The original rumors seemed to hold the most weight and on Tuesday, Bruce Feldman reported that the former five-star linebacker could miss the regular season with the injury.
SOURCES: Oregon LB Justin Flowe, the former 5-star, is expected to be out the length of the regular season, if not the rest of the year due to foot injury. LBs Dru Mathis and Jackson LaDuke are also expected to be sidelined with injuries for an extended length of time.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) September 14, 2021
Flowe’s luck couldn’t be any worse as he missed the entire 2020 season and his time off was supposed to be the perfect rehab for a full 2021 campaign. Unfortunately, he can’t catch a break as he might just miss a second year with a season-ending injury.
Mario Cristobal has to be preaching that ‘next man up’ mentality after this crushing injury, so who could be the replacement for Flowe, and his backup Dru Mathis who is also injured, at WILL linebacker for the foreseeable future?
Who could replace Justin Flowe?
Flowe could be out for the remainder of the year and Mathis missing some time will also be a tough blow, so who will step up in their place?
Fortunately, the Ducks have talented freshman Keith Brown who enrolled early and who’s likely to assume that starting role. He did leave the Ohio State game in the second quarter with a leg injury which had fans thinking worst-case scenario, but Cristobal revealed that it was a cramp-related injury and he should be fine.
The freshman linebacker was looking solid against the Buckeyes before he left the game and he didn’t seem to be afraid of the big stage. My money is on him being ‘the guy’ moving forward, and that would be the best-case scenario for the Ducks.
If Brown excels here, Oregon may have one of the best young linebacking corps in the nation for 2022 and beyond with Flowe, Brown, and Noah Sewell all starting.
Other guys who will contribute will be Jabril McNeill and Jeffrey Bassa who are true freshmen who will have to grow up fast.
Brown is going to be the starter at WILL for Flowe, in my opinion, and it feels like he’s more than ready for an increased workload.
Next. 3 hot takes from Oregon's win over Ohio State. dark