Oregon LB Jeffrey Bassa announces decision to return to Ducks for 2024 season

Oregon linebacker Jeffrey Bassa has decided to pass up the opportunity to enter the 2024 NFL Draft and return to Eugene for the 2024 campaign. He announced the move on Wednesday evening on his Twitter page.

Chapter IV. pic.twitter.com/bmPjuzD8cA

— Jeffrey Bassa (@Bassa_21) January 4, 2024

He earned defensive MVP honors of the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Oregon throttled Liberty in that one to make sure an upset had zero chance of happening. The Ducks steamrolled the Flames, 45-6. Bassa led Oregon with eight tackles, one tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits to bring home Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP honors.

During his three-year career with the Ducks, Bassa has played in 38 games, racking up 181 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, and three interceptions.

He’s expected to be one of the leaders of the Oregon defense for the 2024 campaign.

In his video above in which he announced forgoing the 2024 NFL Draft, Bassa did not say much. He simply showed a couple images of himself, along with the words, “I’m back.”

Coming out of Kearns High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, the gifted linebacker was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 301 overall player in the country, according to the On3 Industry Rankings for the 2021 cycle.

Bassa returning to Oregon, More on the 2024 NFL Draft

The 2024 NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Michigan, with the first round on Thursday, April 25, the second and third rounds on Friday, April 26, and the fourth through seventh rounds on Saturday, April 27.

Players will have the opportunity to solidify their draft stock at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, to be held in Indianapolis, Indiana from February 26 through March 4.

The three-day event will be broadcasted throughout the weekend on ESPN and NFL Network.

To be eligible for the NFL Draft, players must be at least three years removed from their final year of high school while having used up their collegiate eligibility. Underclassmen are able to request league approval to become eligible for the draft, as are players who have graduated prior to using up all of their collegiate eligibility.

Last season, 69 players were granted special eligibility for the 2023 NFL Draft. 13 underclassmen who had completed their college degrees were also deemed eligible to be selected.

The deadline to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft is on January 15. NFL teams will receive a full list of eligible players in the class on January 19.