Second-year surge: Oregon defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei
With spring ball just around the corner, the ScoopDuck staff is taking a look at where some of Oregon’s key contributors from the 2023 signing class might fit into the Ducks’ 2024 plans.
Next up is defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei.
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DE Matayo Uiagalelei
Size: 6-foot-5, 270 pounds
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 40 overall, No. 5 DL, No. 5 in California
2023 stats: In 13 games, Uiagalelei tallied 18 tackles, nine solo tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two pass deflections, and 12 quarterback pressures
He garnered a 69.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade, including a 73.1 run-defense grade
Freshman year recap
In the months leading up to the 2023 season, there was plenty of reason to wonder where Oregon’s depth was going to come from at defensive end and outside linebacker. The Ducks featured veteran standouts Brandon Dorlus and Jordan Burch but didn’t have much in terms of proven depth behind their pair of standout pass-rushers.
Within the few several weeks of fall camp, though, it was easy to understand why Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi did not feel the need to add another veteran edge defender.
Throughout August and September, Matayo Uiagalelei showed that he was one of the more day-one-ready prospects in the 2023 recruiting class. He went on to play an integral role for the Ducks throughout his freshman campaign.
Uiagalelei logged 330 snaps for the Ducks — 14th among the program’s defensive players and fifth among defensive linemen. Of those 330 snaps, 271 came while lined up outside the opposing offensive tackle.
Only Burch played more such snaps among Oregon players.
Uiagalelei’s brightest performances came during wins against Colorado and USC. He produced two pressures in each game and also performed well in run scenarios.
The Buzz…
There aren’t many players who generated more excitement among teammates last spring than Uiagalelei last spring.
“Young Matayo — he’s gonna be a dude, man,” Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. said after the Ducks’ 2023 spring game. “Whether people believe it or not, he’s gonna be a dude. … His ability to bend, he can give you power, he can give you speed moves. He’s got it all in his bag.
“You can put him outside, you can put him inside, you can put him at tight end. Whatever. He’s going to be a dude.”
While Uiagalelei’s physical traits stood out immediately during his freshman year, he admits there was a steep learning curve during his first college season.
“The mental aspect, my game IQ, and my mentality,” Uiagalelei said in December when asked which areas he improved the most during the 2023 season. “Like, in high school, I don’t if I really gave the best effort every play. Even still I would catch myself needing to work on it.
“One of our main morals on defense we say is, ‘Relentless effort.’ I feel like that was kind of the big thing that helped me.”
As he enters his second season in Eugene, now that he has a full year in Lanning and Lupoi’s scheme under his belt, Uiagalelei will look to fine-tune the intricacies of his game.
“I think I can maximize my body more,” Uiagalelei said in December. “Like, really dial in on my diet, the weight room, speed stuff. Physical attributes. The mental stuff is always non-stop self-improvement.”
In 2024…
In 2024, Oregon’s group of defensive ends and outside linebackers is going to look a whole lot like it did in 2023.
Dorlus, who spent time at both defensive end and defensive tackle last season, is gone. So is veteran strong-side linebacker Mase Funa. Other than those two, though, Oregon is returning every one of its primary edge defenders from last year’s squad.
Burch and Uiagalelei are both going to play plenty while rotating at defensive end and Jack linebacker. Fellow ’23 signees Blake Purchase and Teitum Tuioti will be in the mix there, too, as will redshirt sophomore Emar’rion Winston.
Even still, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Uiagalelei’s playing time take a significant uptick. He looked like Oregon’s most consistently disruptive first- or second-year edge defender last season, and he’s only going to improve in the coming months.
Ideally, will climb into the 400-450 snap range in 2024 and up his pass-rushing production.
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