Jeff Bassa, Terrance Ferguson preview upcoming season
On the final day of Oregon’s first Big Ten Media Day, defensive leader and linebacker Jeff Bassa and tight end Terrance Ferguson got the opportunity to preview Oregon’s upcoming season. Here is what they had to say:
On what the feeling in the locker room is like:
Jeff Bassa started off by responding with “There’s really no fall off (from last year). I think the main thing this year is we’re even more connected, guys are hanging out with each other more outside the facility. These two are best friends (motioning to Terrance Ferguson and Dillon Gabriel), and I’m best friends with a lot of the guys on the defensive line.
On what Dillon Gabriel:
Terrance Ferguson responds “He throws a great ball, but what makes him special is off the field. Since he got here, me and him have hit it off, and he’s done that with everybody. He’s best friends with the kicker, the walk-on, and everybody in between because he cares about everybody, and I think that’s what makes him such a special person.
On deciding to stay another year:
Ferguson would go on to say, “I was blessed enough to have that decision, I prayed about it, the Lord put it on my heart to come back and it makes it easier to come back when there’s guys like this (motioning to Dillon Gabriel). We all have the same goal, we all want to win a national championship, that’s what we came back to do, there’s no expectation of anything else. It was it (the decision) easy when you have the talent and the guys coming in that have that mindset.”
On Oregon’s defensive mentality:
“I would for sure have to say relentless, and nasty,” Bassa responded. “I think Coach Lupoi does a great job and Coach Lanning coming together with two great defensive minds, they have seen it all. Now it’s just them instilling that into our mindset, into how we approach everyday. I think we have the players in the room to do that as well. Especially with me being a leader on the defense, I think that’s also my job to let people know since I’ve been for all four years, let people know this is how we do stuff, and this is how we’re going to run it.”
On what to expect from the Defensive Line:
“I think we brought in a lot of great talents, with Ja’Maree Caldwell, Derrick Harmon coming in from Michigan State, as well as Keyon Ware-Hudson being a key returner. I think those guys on the edge as well are going to be great for us as well. There’s not going to be (any) falloff, I know we lost a couple of seniors last year, and those are some big boys up front, they’re mean and nasty and ready to get to work.
