... to the Rose Bowl. The heart and soul of that defense was the linebackers. The unit of Jeremy Asher, Rich Ruhl, Derrick Barnes, and Reggie Jordan simply made plays all over the field.

While that team put Oregon on the national map, it was largely made up of "sleepers" who were overlooked by the Pac-10's big boys at the time (USC, Washington, UCLA, and Arizona).

This year's unit of linebackers is probably the deepest, fastest, most athletic, and most highly recruited gang to ever play at Oregon.  

Quarterbacking the unit is middle linebacker Casey Matthews. The son of former NFL star Clay Matthews, he broke family tradition by deciding not to attend USC.

The former Bleacher Report - College Football