Last season Derrick Harmon was the disruptive heart of the Oregon defense. He created massive havoc up front, leading the nation with 55 quarterback pressures. He blew up Big Ten offenses from his defensive tackle spot, 45 tackles, 10.5 of those for loss.
Harmon penetrated and collapsed the line of scrimmage. With the 6-5, 310 Michigan State transfer clogging the middle the Ducks held nine opponents to 132 yards or less on the ground:
Top Performances in rushing defense, Oregon 2024
Opponent | Score | Att | Yds | YPC | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Idaho | W, 24-14 | 20 | 49 | 2.45 | 1 |
UCLA | W, 34-13 | 24 | 47 | 1.96 | 0 |
MSU | W, 31-10 | 30 | 59 | 1.97 | 1 |
Maryland | W, 39-18 | 31 | 81 | 2.61 | 1 |
Huskies | W, 49-21 | 37 | 43 | 1.16 | 1 |
Source: collegefootballstats.com
Worst performances rushing defense, Oregon 2024
Opponent | Score | Att | Yards | YPC | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boise State | W, 37-34 | 33 | 221 | 6.70 | 3 |
Purdue | W,35-0 | 40 | 208 | 5.20 | 0 |
Penn St | W, 45-37 | 35 | 292 | 8.34 | 2 |
Ohio St | L, 41-21 | 31 | 181 | 5.84 | 2 |
Derrick Harmon checks a lot of boxes.
— SCOUTD (@scoutdnfl) April 21, 2025
• Age: 21 ✅
• Size: 6’6 (88%), 322lbs (90%) ✅
• Athlete: 4.95 40 (75%) + Twitch ✅
• Production: 55 Pressures (#1 in NCAA) ✅
• Film: extremely impressive ✅
Has some Chris Jones to his game… pic.twitter.com/VQYzAEx9TV
At Oregon Media Day Dan Lanning said, "We want to be able to be a team that can rush consistently for over five yards per carry. We want to be a team on defense that can hold people under 3.3 yards per rush." In 2024 they achieved that defensive goal five times, and Harmon's penetration and disruption was an integral part of that result.
About Alexander, Lanning said, "Bear's worked his tail off since he's been here and I think he understands the perception that's out there... Perception isn't always reality. He's been a pleasure to coach."
In his best season as a sophomore at USC, Alexander was sixth on the team with 48 tackles, 6.5 for loss with 1.5 sacks and four pass breakups. But those numbers are similar to what Harmon had at Michigan State before coming to the Ducks.
Oregon Coach Dan Lanning on USC transfer Bear Alexander:
— Olivia Cleary (@LivCleary) July 28, 2025
“He understands the perception that's out there...perception isn't always reality.”#GoDucks | #TransferPortal | #OregonFootball | #USCFootball | #BigTen pic.twitter.com/Qr7N3o97Or
For the former four-star from Terrell, Texas, coming to Oregon is a new lease on life. "Ducks Wire" writer Zachary Neel asked him what's different for him in Eugene. “Man, honestly and truly, speaking, just the joy and the peace. The team, the connection piece of just being able to be around the guys," Alexander said.
Sometimes, true brotherhood brings out the best in people. For the Ducks, a critical part of success in the defensive line is Alexander achieving his potential. It will be fascinating to see if it comes together for him.
Life has been so peaceful that I am simply just preparing for battle #NextTask 😁😈 pic.twitter.com/qyGYxu2BTv
— Bear Alexander (@BearAlexander_) July 13, 2025