The Ducks' defensive line was already set to be one of the top units in the country, but this could make them unstoppable.
The Oregon Ducks are coming into this next season as one of the heavy favorites to win a national championship. Arguably, the biggest reason for them being viewed as favorably as they are is due to them bringing back a slew of talent.
While a player like Dante Moore gets the lion's share of the headlines, Oregon is set to return a stellar defensive line as well.
Players like A'Mauri Washington, Bear Alexander, Matayo Uiagalelei, and Teitum Tuioti will create problems for any offensive coordinator in the country next year.
All of them have been playing for some time now, and their success makes it hard to see the field if you're a young and up-and-coming player.
That has certainly been the case for Elijah Rushing. He came to Eugene with high hopes, and thanks to a recent update about Rushing out of spring ball, he may be ready to realize his full potential in this Ducks defense.
Elijah Rushing Bulked up to Reportedly 285 lbs
According to DUCKSWIRE, Oregon defensive line coach Tony Tuioti says that the former 5-star edge rusher Elijah Rushing is now up to a whopping 285 pounds and is ready to make a difference for the Oregon defense this season.
“We had a really good talk with Elijah in the offseason," Tuioti said. "He's put on more weight. He's 285 pounds now. So he's tall, he's long, he’s continuing to get bigger and stronger, so he's able to anchor in the run game a lot better. When he first came in here, he was like 250, so trying to anchor in the run game and get as much knock back, he wasn't that strong enough to do that. Now he's growing into his body, which is something that happens with a lot of defensive linemen when they come in; you've got to develop to be able to play that position effectively."
This is absolutely massive news; no pun intended. Rushing's pass-rushing ability off the edge was never in question, but as Tuioti alluded to, he wasn't able to properly utilize his frame to help anchor the run game.
He's played very sparingly at Oregon, but when you look back to his senior year stats and see that he had 13.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, you know a playmaker is on the way.
Having a player who's 6'6, 285 pounds coming off the edge with the ability to rush the passer and establish an edge in the running game is a Swiss army knife on an Oregon defense that was already slated to be very good next season.
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