Scouting Profile: Jeffrey Bassa - LB - Oregon
Sales Pitch: Former DB with plus athleticism and plenty of toughness. Plays bigger than his size but a small frame limits his overall run game impact.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Jeffrey Bassa is former 4-Star safety recruit from the state of Utah. He was a three sport standout in high school, lettering in basketball and track & field in addition to football. Bassa was a multi-year starter for the Ducks, receiving All-Pac 12 honors in 2023.
Bassa, as a former DB, is a good athlete who plays his best out in space. He is a tenacious defender who plays well above his stature as a run defender. Bassa does a good job leveraging his gap in run fits and doesn’t shy away from contact. He does a solid job shedding blocks at the point of attack even when outmanned physically. Bassa has the requisite speed to attack laterally and chase down perimeter runs. He plays with a strong motor and takes good angles to limit extra yards. Bassa is a solid tackler, posting back to back sub 10% missed tackle seasons. He is dependable when asked to close out of coverage and take down ball carriers. Bassa is at his best in zone coverage. He does an excellent job using his drops to take away easy access throws. He is an active communicator with a good understanding of leverage to pass off routes. He also has the athletic skills to open up his hips and carry slot WRs and TEs up the seam.
Bassa is on the smaller side for an off-ball linebacker. His sub 230 lb. frame is below the 15th percentile for the position, and despite his efforts, he lacks the play strength to hold up at the point of attack. When offensive lineman are able to attach to him, he is easily washed out of the play. Bassa does a good job aggressively fitting his gap but tends to lose backs in traffic. Too often does he over run plays from the backside and open up cutback lanes. He lacks the redirect ability and arm length to close back down to tackle and prevent chunk gains when this happens. Despite his DB background, Bassa isn’t the caliber of athlete needed to live at his size at the next level. His hips have some stiffness leading to average change of direction skills. Bassa struggles to mirror receivers when they cross his face in zone coverage. He particularly struggled when matched with running backs on choice routes out of the backfield. His struggles in man coverage also show up versus TEs, who can use their size to separate at the top of routes.
Bassa profiles best as a WILL in a 4-3 scheme. His movement skills and mental makeup are his best qualities, but don’t do enough to fully make up for his lack of size and strength. Bassa projects as a priority Day-3 pick who is a special teams standout and rotational piece with the ability to be a low-end starter down the line.