EUGENE — With Oregon down three inside linebackers due to injury, freshman Keith Brown made his debut as a starter for the Ducks at weak-side linebacker at Ohio State.
Brown, a former five-star recruit, had two tackles in the 35-28 win before leaving with a leg cramp and the coaching staff was pleased with the way he played.
“When he first got here in January, schematically and terminology that’s a lot for a freshman,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said. “Then by end of spring you’re like ‘OK, he’s starting to get it’. The middle of camp, you saw a guy who was really hitting his stride. Linebackers are like running backs. You can always train an offensive linemen; you can train a guy to block. Linebackers, particularly middle linebackers, and running backs they have be natural. They have to have instincts. They have to have a feel for the game where they know how to trigger and go make a plan.
“Keith has that and Keith made a couple of really impressive, physical plays and when he was blocked he really fought hard to get off of them and run to the football. He did a really nice job. We expect big things out of Keith Brown.”
Making Brown’s debut performance all the more impressive was he was limited in practice last week as he recovered from an unspecified injury that caused him to miss the season opener.
“The fact that he stepped up, got out there and competed I was really impressed with,” defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said. “He’s going to get a lot of confidence from being able to step up, look at himself and say I competed against a pretty good ball team and held my own. Wasn’t always perfect but we’ll learn from there and keep going from there.”
For a true freshman, knowing what to do is the first hurdle and Brown showed the moment wasn’t too big, Cristobal said.
Teammates notice how Brown’s knowledge of the defense has improved since he arrived in the spring and now that he’s seeing the field the game experience is helping him develop, hopefully rapidly for the Ducks.
“He knows the defense pretty well now,” fellow linebacker Nate Heaukulani said. “It’s all about reps at this level. In four years he’s going to be one of the best linebackers in the country. I’m excited to see him grow.”
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