One of the biggest disappointments of Oregon football’s 2021 season thus far — there haven’t been many — has been the lack of Kayvon Thibodeaux.
The All-American defensive end got injured against Fresno State in the season-opener, sitting out the remainder of the second half, being spotted in street clothes with a walking boot on the sidelines. It was every Oregon fan’s worst nightmare and all playoff aspirations and hopes of an Ohio State upset seemingly went out the door.
Thibodeaux went on to miss the Ohio State game along with Week 1 breakout performer Justin Flowe (who has since been ruled out for the regular season) and everyone just assumed a loss to Ohio State was inevitable. The Ducks shocked everyone by winning and they’re not 4-0 despite Thibodeaux playing minimally all year.
Well, it looks like he may be back for good.
Oregon football could get Thibodeaux back for remainder of year
He did appear against Arizona in the first half but didn’t see any second-half action which had some worried that he may have reaggravated his previous injury. But Mario Cristobal said that’s not the case, per Ducks Wire.
Mario Cristobal speaking to the media after that game. Says that Kayvon Thibodeaux felt good and wanted to try and play. They tried to get 6-10 plays out of him to see how it went.
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) September 26, 2021
Said he feels good about where he will be going into next week.
This is fantastic news because Oregon is going to need him against a tough Stanford team.
It didn’t take long for Thibodeaux to make his presence felt this season, strip-sacking Jake Haener in the opening half of the first game which led to an Oregon score. He was dominating before his injury and the defensive line has played well, but the absence of him and his backup, Bradyn Swinson, has hurt on the edge.
Oregon fans have to be ecstatic about this news.