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Bright Ugwoegbu, a junior, has 18 college games under his belt with starts in half of them. 2016 was something of a breakout year for the Katy, Texas native. He played in nine of the fourteen games racking up 54 tackles, 11 for a loss, and 5.5 sacks. The latter two stats were team highs for the year.
In last year’s game against Stanford, Ugwoegbu suffered a foot injury that kept him out the remainder of the year. That same injury required two reconstructive surgeries, which kept him from practicing during the spring.
Arguably the biggest game of Ugwoegbu’s college career came against Utah last season when the Beavs lost 19-14. In that game, Ugwoegbu had a career high 11 tackles, two for a loss, a sack, and a forced fumble.
This year, he’s bigger, stronger, and faster in a outside linebacker group that’s relatively deep with the likes of Shemar Smith and Adam Soesman. Ugwoegbu has apparently been one of the leaders in the weight room gaining nine pounds of muscle in the offseason. In a Portland Tribune article, Beavers’ outside linebackers coach Chad Kauha'aha'a talked about how much Ugwoegbu impresses him and how versatile Ugwoegbu really is as a defender.
“Bright has the speed and quickness to cover," Kauha'aha'a says. "We can line him up on receivers, not just tight ends. Last year, we used him to play the same coverages a nickel back can play. This year, with another season under his belt, he can do it even better.
"We're going to bring him (on blitzes) from the outside, and we might loop him around (inside), too. We can use him in multiple ways in our defense this year." — via The Portland Tribune
Look for Ugwoegbu wearing #1 this year as opposed to his old jersey number of #47. He’ll be hard to miss.