Tim DeRuyter Updates Defensive Install, Standouts from Spring Football

Oregon looks to return to dominant form under one of the top coordinators on the West Coast.

The Ducks are breaking in a new defensive coordinator this offseason in veteran Tim DeRuyter, who has coordinator experience in 20 of his 31 years coaching. With a new defensive coordinator comes a new defense, but he suggests it's not going to be a complete overhaul. 

"We did a lot of really good things a year ago," DeRuyter said. 

Terminology will be a source of continuity from last season, but admittedly some things will need to change as DeRuyter is set to face former coaches who "know your book." 

"There's a pretty good carryover in part of our packages but we're gonna bring some concepts in that they had not done before. So it's it's a combination of the two."

Another early intrigue in DeRuyter's plan is taking advantage of the incredible athletes the Ducks have brought to Eugene by leveraging their versatility. One player he already has big plans for is 2020's Pac-12 defensive freshman of the year, linebacker Noah Sewell.

"We're going to have guys like Noah who will be a traditional inside linebacker, but we're also going to walk him up the line of scrimmage and bring him off edges."

"What we do in our system is we teach a bunch of job swapping," he said.

An example of that we could see is safeties serving as edge players and linebackers playing on the defensive line. 

You can tell DeRuyter is excited by the players on his side of the ball, adding that he thinks there's solid talent at all three levels--noting players like Kayvon Thibodeaux and Isaac Slade-Matautia who will be pushed by the talented youth on the roster. 

Another aspect of the Ducks program that has impressed him already is the culture that Cristobal has in place, which helps ease the transition to a new school.

"The other thing that's been really impressive to me coming in is our guys know how to practice," DeRuyter said of the Ducks. "Coach Cristobal's established a program here and a standard of how we have to do things with a sense of urgency and a physicality."

One area DeRuyter hopes spring football will help bring clarity to is the young defensive line unit, which needs to replace NFL hopeful Jordon Scott, one of the main cogs from a year ago. The Ducks defensive coordinator said it's hard to see much without the pads popping, but a few players have grabbed his attention from an "athletic and hungry" group.

"Popo (Aumavae) and Brandon Dorlus--both those guys have been impressive so far to me. A couple guys flashed, Kristian (Williams) did some good things and Keyon (Ware-Hudson) has done some good things."

One of DeRuyter's main goals in spring ball is establishing the Oregon brand of football. The coach went in-depth on what that will ideally look like, including situational awareness and getting off the field on third down.  

"We want to establish the Oregon Duck defense as one who's going to number one take the ball away. That's our primary goal is to take the ball away," DeRuyter said. "The other thing we're gonna do is we're gonna be a defense that prides itself in stopping the run. All good defenses have to start there."

The Ducks lose some experience in the secondary with Deommodore Lenoir off to the NFL, but will be bolstered by talented young players like 5-star Dontae Manning who DeRuyter says has a "different gear" than most players. 

"Jaylin Davies has flashed a bit outside at the corner spot. Scoop (Daymon David) had a really nice practice on Tuesday when we opened up as a safety. He's a guy that can really run and cover." 

Another important note from the weekend is that former wide receiver Bryan Addison has moved to safety which the coach called "more of a natural fit."

DeRuyter highlighted multiple players that have emerged as leaders on defense early on in spring ball. 

"I think Kayvon (Thibodeaux) wants to be that guy. I've challenged him to be that guy. Because of his talent guys are naturally going to look up to him."

"Noah (Sewell) even being a young guy-- you see him flash and do things the right way, I think he's gonna be very very important as a leader in there."

"On the back end I think Verone McKinley does a really nice job of understanding what we want to do and holding guys to a standard."

The Ducks continue with their third spring practice on Tuesday April 6. 

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[Recruiting]: Oregon pursuing speedy WR Dominique McKenzie 

[Football]: Pro day recap

[Football]: Pro Day photo gallery 

[Basketball]: Chris Duarte wins Jerry West Award

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