Tosh Lupoi Looking for Oregon Defense to Be 'Extremely Aggressive'

The Ducks' defensive coordinator is teaching his defense to give the ball back to the offense, which it did plenty of times in the spring game.

See ball. Get ball. Defensive coaches in college football love to echo this mentality and inject it into the bloodstream of their players.

But Tosh Lupoi isn't just talking about this mentality, he's being about it in his first spring at Oregon.

It's apparent early that the Oregon defense, particularly in the secondary, is fairly reminiscent of Dan Lanning's Georgia defenses and Lupoi's Alabama defenses because of their aggression and tenacity, which is exactly the philosophy that Lupoi wants to implement.

Oregon LB Keith Brown

Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest

"We want to be extremely aggressive and confrontational," Lupoi said following Monday's practice. "We want to play press coverage. We want to operate out of man-match, quarters, and complement that as well with some zone."

Lupoi said earlier in spring that he wants his defense to be known for being relentless. The defense had an up-and-down debut in the spring game, allowing some chunk plays and long touchdowns. But it did force five turnovers, including four interceptions.

The group also recorded nine "sacks," and the defensive front, down multiple starters, created plenty of pressure around the quarterbacks and stopped multiple run plays for little to no gain.

Oregon OLB DJ Johnson

Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest

Both Lanning and Lupoi have had success with a variety of defensive looks, including disguising pressures, which will be a staple in the new Oregon defense.

"We want to try to do our best to mix up things, offer disguises and then pressure off of those looks as well," Lupoi said. "We want to be really aggressive. That's the system I come from and that I believe in, and Coach Lanning as well. We really want to be the dictator at the end of the day."

Certainly there's plenty of room for improvement from such a young defensive unit. But one thing that the Ducks will look to keep doing from last year is forcing turnovers. Oregon gained 22 turnovers (17 interceptions, five fumbles) last season, a mark that was good for second in the Pac-12.

Oregon DB JJ Greenfield

Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest

"That's the expectation," Lupoi said of forcing turnovers. "It's no secret: if we can get the ball back to our offense, it's going to increase our chances to win. I don't know why we wouldn't put a huge premium on that."

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