Ducks Thibodeaux Pre-Season All-American, Aug. 25

UO release – EUGENE, Ore. — Kayvon Thibodeaux’s list of preseason honors continued to grow on Monday as the Oregon defensive end was named a preseason first-team all-American by the Associated Press. Thibodeaux was also listed at No. 3 on ESPN’s preseason top 100 list on Monday, with teammates CJ Verdell and Johnny Johnson III coming in at No. 97 and No. 98, respectively. An AP third-team all-American in 2020, Thibodeaux enters the 2021 season with 12.0 career sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss in 21 games as a Duck. He became the first Oregon defensive lineman since 2015 to earn all-American honors in 2020 after finishing with 3.0 sacks and 9.5 TFLs. Thibodeaux has led the Ducks to back-to-back Pac-12 titles in his first two seasons, combining for 18 quarterback pressures, 10 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in the two conference championship games. He is the first Oregon player since 2009-10 to lead the Ducks in sacks and TFLs in back-to-back seasons. Thibodeaux and the Ducks – ranked No. 11 in the preseason AP top-25 – will open the 2021 season against Fresno State Saturday, Sept. 4, at 11 a.m. in Autzen Stadium (Pac-12 Network).