Nasir Wyatt has seen the buzz. If you Google the Oregon football edge player or look up his name on X, it won't take long before your screen is littered with highlights from scout content creators and former players claiming they've found the next big thing. Wyatt's teammates and coaches share the sentiment that he could be special for the Ducks, partly because of the pure talent of what those highlights show. But also because of what they've seen over the offseason from the sophomore outside linebacker.
Wyatt has added roughly 30 pounds of weight since arriving in Eugene a year ago, up to 245 pounds while retaining his trademark speed and first step that saw him produce three sacks, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble in just 41 snaps as a true freshman. "He’s a great person, he’s a great teammate and he works really hard," fellow edge Teitum Tuioti said. "The amount of hard work that he’s put in is great and it’s gonna show up on the field. Obviously he has that twitch, he’s a really special player and he’s going to really help us this year on the edge." Wyatt was part of a strong freshman class for the Ducks that saw players like Brandon Finney, Dakorien Moore, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. all contribute meaningful or sometimes starring roles throughout the season. He called it the best sophomore class in the country but recognized that he'd need to build on that foundation toward Year 2. His ultimate goal? To become an every-down player, rather than a third-down pass rush specialist. "A lot of the time I saw myself focusing on more pass rush to where I get kind of looser on first or second down to where I’d fall out of my gap," Wyatt said. "I just want to be able to evaporate the C-gap and attack the passer as much as I can to be an all-around pass rusher."
Controlling that C-gap, or space between the offensive tackle and tight end, is what Wyatt views as key to his progression as an edge player. He cited David Bailey, Rueben Bain Jr., Nik Bonitto and Nolan Smith as players he wants to emulate in controlling that part of the field while also striking fear into opposing quarterbacks. The first step toward that goal was bulking up without sacrificing his speed. Though he joked that he had to find a completely new wardrobe and give away his old clothes to defensive backs and thinner teammates this offseason. "I took this offseason so serious when it comes to transforming my body and all around just becoming a better player on first and second down," Wyatt said. Tuioti, who went through his own weight transformation from his freshman to sophomore years and took a huge leap because of it, said that will only be a boon for the blossoming star. "On the field you feel so much more powerful," Tuioti said. "You feel so much faster, even though you added weight. At the end of the day, all that weight is going to help him out on the field. I think he’s gonna be a great player and he’s going to do some special things this year because he added it and did the right things off the field." With every Oregon defensive line starter returning from a year ago, including Tuioti, Matayo Uiagalelei, Bear Alexander and A'Mauri Washington, Wyatt will have to fight for every rep of game action he gets. He'll almost assuredly see more than the 41 snaps he played as a freshman. But he hopes to continue to make a difference every time he sees the field, in whatever role that might be. While Wyatt has seen the praise over the offseason for his limited on-field work last season and what fans, scouts and content creators envision his future could look like, he's not worried about the outside noise heading into the season. "Coach Lanning, he talks about it all the time," Wyatt said. "The machine, one day you’re doing good, they love you, you’re doing bad, they hate you. "I just stay levelheaded. If I look at that, it’ll mess up how I play … I’m worried about what they’re saying but deep down I’m just focused on the team."
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com. This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Nasir Wyatt bulks up, ready to be all-around Oregon football player