Dan Lanning provides injury update on Oregon star freshman Matayo Uiagalelei
Oregon produced another dominant defensive showing on Saturday as it cruised to a 63-19 win over Cal at Autzen Stadium.
But the Ducks were missing one of their more dynamic defenders during the win. Standout freshman EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei did not play a single snap against the Golden Bears and was spotted on the Ducks’ sideline in street clothes midway through the first half.
During his postgame press conference, head coach Dan Lanning said Uiagalelei was OK and was held out of the game as a precaution.
“We probably could have used him today, but we were conscientious of him and didn’t want to push him,” Lanning said. “He was able to warm up with the team pregame. I think he could have played if we needed him to play, but we decided to go against him.”
Throughout the 2023 season, Uiagalelei has been one of the more disruptive freshmen in the Pac-12. Through the first eight games of the season, he ranked 12th among all Oregon defenders with 202 defensive snaps played. A former 4-star signee, Uiagalelei has tallied 13.0 total tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, and 1.0 sacks.
Following Oregon’s Week 8 win over Washington State, he was named the Pac-12 defensive freshman of the week.
On Saturday, Oregon safety Evan Williams led the Ducks with eight tackles, and defensive tackle Casey Rogers played one of his best games of the season as the Ducks held Cal to 286 total yards.
