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Sampson Niu in line to take over as Oregon's starting middle linebacker

EUGENE -- Oregon's linebacker corps is trying to make up for the loss of Kaulana Apelu, perhaps the most vocal leader on the entire roster, for the remainder of the regular season.

The unenviable task of trying to replace Apelu as the Ducks' starting middle linebacker falls on sophomore Sampson Niu, who started in place of an injured Apelu against Arizona and took over when the senior went down last week against UCLA, making seven of his eight tackles this season in the last two weeks.

"He certainly got downhill and made some tackles in the run game," Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said.