Devon Jackson explains decision to remain at Oregon despite coaching change

Oregon Ducks linebacker Devon Jackson was the top recruit coming out of his home state of Nebraska in the 2022 recruiting class. He committed to Oregon prior to the massive coaching change when Mario Cristobal decided to leave the program for Miami, and current head coach Dan Lanning was hired in his place.

Still, the redshirt freshman linebacker chose to honor his commitment to play for the Ducks. And recently, he revealed just how difficult it was for him to stay committed to Oregon despite the regime change.

“It was a difficult time, around that time when Cristobal left. But I felt like this was the home for me, no matter who was coaching me so,” said Jackson. “I was gonna slide; I was gonna be here no matter who was coaching me. But when Dan Lanning came, and I know he’s a mastermind, he was going to bring in the guys that he brought. He’s a defensive mastermind; DB, inside linebacker. He’s going to help me reach the goals and the goals of the team, where we want to go.”

In his freshman year, Jackson did not see the field often for the Ducks. But this season, the former highly recruited 4-star recruit is competing for playing time at multiple linebacker positions. With him having a year under his belt in Lanning’s defense, Jackson should be well on his way to contributing to the team’s defense success in 2023.

Bo Nix says relationship with new Oregon players is really good

Ducks quarterback Bo Nix also spoke to the media on Wednesday. Nix transferred into the program last offseason. So, he is familiar with the process of getting acclimated to the Ducks’ way of doing things. Which is why he was the perfect candidate, as the team’s star quarterback and a former transfer, to explain how the new Oregon players are connecting with the rest of the team at fall camp.

“I think really good. We started when they got here. We just have a close-knit team, they connected overall, and then they just fit in and just kept right on going,” said Nix. “I think from a team perspective, I like where we’re at. A lot of the time, in this day and age, you get a lot of new guys and a lot of clicks and a lot of guys on teams that have been here for a while. And the new guys, I have a hard time matching or gelling together. But I feel like we have a very close team.”

Oregon brought in 27 players via the recruiting trail this offseason and another 15 out of the NCAA transfer portal. That brings the number of new faces entering the program to 42 in total. Which means, there are a lot of individual thoughts, feelings, and opinions that had to merge and align into one vision under head coach Dan Lanning in order to achieve the Duck’s goal of competing for a national championship this year.