On the latest edition of "The Unafraid Show" Pro Duck George Wrighster asked Tosh Lupoi where his energy and enthusiasm come from. Has he always been like that?
"I think it's really important," the fourth-year Oregon defensive coordinator said. "it's something we want to be contagious. We talk about, 'if you're juiceless you're useless.'"
"We want to go out there and bring energy. This is a sport that we devote so much time and energy to that bringing passion is important."
This is an important year for Lupoi and the Ducks. Around college football it's what Fishduck's Jon Jacobs calls "The Year of Roster Turnover"-- the Ducks graduated nearly 30 guys, an unusually high number due to the Transfer Portal and the Covid bubble.
(It's not just Oregon-- think about Ohio State and the exodus of stars like JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Will Howard, Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyeon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, Donovan Jackson, Tyleik Williams, Cody Simon, Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and Lantham Ransom.
Not to say even for a second that the Buckeyes won't be good. They have a lot of talent coming back including two of the best players in college football in Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs. It's just simply that this is a year that represents a changing of the guard with an unprecedented number of fifth and sixth year players passing out of the game.)
That makes teaching, instruction and technique more important than ever. Talking about the secondary yesterday at Oregon Media Day Dan Lanning said, "This group looks a lot like you want it to look as far as size, speed, athleticism. It’s our job now to get them caught up to where they can help execute at a high level.”
Lupoi has the challenge of getting the best out of a young group. He's fortunate to have some veteran leaders to set the pace in Matayo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuioti, Bryce Boettcher and Dillon Thieneman.
The Ducks need their defensive three-headed monster of Uiagalelei, Boettcher and Thieneman to define the identity of this defense the way Jeremy Asher, Rich Ruhl and Chad Cota defined the identity of Gang Green in the '90s. They need to be physical, prepared and consistent. They need to be in the right place and finish plays while keeping their young teammates on the right page.
About Boettcher, Lupoi said, "Bryce is just the epitome of work. Came aboard here and constantly asking, 'How can I get better?'"
Thieneman has the same work mindset and relentless drive. You can see them leading a defense with tremendous cohesion and unity, a group that gets after it and attacks. It'd be shocking if Uiagalelei doesn't break the all-time Oregon single-season sack record of 13--he had 10.5 as a sophomore, which led the Big Ten in the regular season.
The Ducks were a Top Ten team in scoring defense nationally until two disastrous performances in the Big Ten Championship and the Rose Bowl dropped them to 16th, ballooning their yards per play to No. 36 at 5.14.
Lupoi was terribly outschemed in those two games by offensive coordinators Andy Kotelnicki of Penn State and Chip Kelly of the Buckeyes. The Ducks were flat and out of position, giving up 15 plays over 20 yards or more, 5th worst in the country in December and January.
Oregon didn't match up well against elite offensive talent in a postseason atmosphere. A year later, with a group that's young but longer, faster and more athletic, it falls on Lupoi to produce a playoff-worthy defense that's consistent in big games.
He's got to coach like one of the highest-paid coordinators in the game. Having energy is important, but it's equally important to have direction. The energy has to be targeted toward results.