Kingston Lopa Reflects on Growth From Redshirt Season: 'I think it really helped me'
Oregon Ducks redshirt freshman safety Kingston Lopa is just one of many young defensive backs fans are excited to see in 2025. He saw a bit of action in the Big Ten Championship game against Penn State and now he’s tasked with taking a leap forward and stepping up for Chris Hampton in the secondary.
Lopa met with the media for the first time as a Duck following Oregon Football’s second spring scrimmage on Saturday.
Below are his top quotes.
On being thrown into the fire against Penn State
Lopa: “I felt actually confident. That’s really why I feel like I got that role to play that and I got to go in there and play in that game. I’d been getting more confident as the season started rolling.”
On what he’s been working on this spring, goals
Lopa: “Really just communicating across the board. Trying to get everybody on to play fast, which Lanning says a lot. Just trying to get calls out as fast as we can, get everybody lining up faster, play faster.”
On his impressions of Purdue safety transfer Dillon Thieneman
Lopa: “His work ethic for real. I’m not gonna lie I’ve never really played with somebody like him. Just always ready to work, just ready to find something new to work on everyday. I think he’s a good person too. Like really good person outside of football. It really helps me look at things.”
On redshirt experience last year, how it benefited him
Lopa: “There’s a lot of guys that took it as I’m not gonna play this year. At first I was thinking like that. But as practice started rolling I just felt like I started getting better. And I think it really helped me, just winning the day every day. Just working every day. Getting more meetings in and I started feeling more confident. Really my confidence (is) what it helped for real.”
On his impressions of true freshman safety Trey McNutt
Lopa: “Trey McNutt, he’s gonna be a dude for sure. He’s gonna be a dude. He’s young, but I kind of see myself in him last year. So that’s why I really try to help him. Because he’s ahead of where we were—where a lot of us freshmen were around this time. Just really trying to get him to be at the level that we’re trying to be at.”
