Oregon’s defense, though still looking quite solid heading into the 2025 season, nonetheless lost a good chunk of talent from 2024. And the backfield was no exception, with Jabar Muhammed, Tysheem Johnson, and Donte Manning all heading to the NFL.
In that sense other players will have to fill the void, and one player who I firmly believe will be of more importance than fans might realize is Jahlil Florence.
“Oh yeah, I remember him”, one might say.
Florence redshirted the 2024 season, so he has a remaining two years of eligibility and is now firmly ensconced amongst the upperclassmen.
I’ve been pretty high on the kid since he first arrived out of high school, when he was a consensus four star recruit and 247 Top 100 player in the nation. His 6-foot-2 height and 10.77 100m had me remembering Cliff Harris a bit.
Florence came in right as Mario Cristobal (who initially recruited him) was heading out and Lanning was making his debut. Despite this transition, he stuck with the Ducks.
As a true Freshman, he wasn’t necessarily expected to get a load of playing time, and ended up appearing in eight of Oregon’s 13 games. Two midseason games against Stanford and Arizona showed his potential though, as he tallied four tackles, one for loss, had a forced fumble and an interception.
In 2023 he appeared in 11 games before an injury sidelined him at the end of the season, making nine starts. He compiled 27 tackles (21 solo), and had another interception to go with two tackles for loss and a sack.
Fans were disappointed to learn that Florence had again suffered an injury during Spring Ball, but he did end up playing in the Spring Game, and is expected to be ready for Fall Camp and the start of the season.
If that is indeed the case, it’s time for us to see Jahlil let off the chain, so to speak. With his natural size and talent coupled with three season’s experience in the program and a gutted starting backfield, I fully expect him to be one of the main impact players on the defensive side of the ball.