‘A car crash every play’: How Oregon football is growing its offensive line’s versatility
Year-after-year, despite several coaching changes, the Oregon football team has established itself as one of the premier rushing offenses in the Pac-12. With that comes an offensive line that has been mostly dominant for years.
Whether it was under Chip Kelly, Mark Helfrich, Mario Cristobal, or now head coach Dan Lanning, the standard has been set.
Sixth-year senior Steven Jones, who has primarily practiced at right guard during fall camp, is one of the last remaining members of Oregon’s 2019 Rose Bowl-winning team.
“A lot of people on that team was selfless,” Jones said. “Everyone did everything for the team, for the team, for the team. We had a culture at that time that forced everyone to uphold the standard for the team … they look to me to see what the standard is and how to go about the process of being a collegiate athlete. I take pride in that.”
In 2023, the Ducks will have to replace just about every starter from its offensive line a year ago, but the expectations and standard for that group have not changed.
“There’s a standard,” offensive line coach A’lique Terry said. “Other people are going to put pressure on us, but we have a standard of ourselves that we want to keep … as long as our standard is the same, we’re looking at it like we have a standard to upkeep. Then once we get to it, let's raise that bad baby.”
Despite a changing of the guard, the Ducks otherwise feel comfortable with their offensive group up front this season, with coaches saying they could go “eight-deep” if they needed to.
That’s all come to fruition from the cross-training the Ducks did over the spring and summer, and the heavily sought transfers they attracted over the offseason.
With that new level of depth has come a fierce competition, particularly on the interior with newcomers including Junior Angilau (Texas) and Nishad Strother (East Carolina) competing with up-and-comers with familiarity in the program like Marcus Harper and Faaope Laloulu.
“With new guys come new strengths, but also new weaknesses and you gotta help them too,” Angilau said. “It’s been awesome.”
It started over the summer, with guys like Josh Conerly Jr., a projected starter at left tackle, getting work on both sides of the line, and guys like Harper working at the three interior positions, including center.
Though guys are settled into one side of the line or one position as the season approaches, that cross-training will prove invaluable as the season wears on.
“We have to think big picture,” Harper said. “If Josh knows what the right side is doing and if I know what the center is doing, how much is that going to help the entirety of the offense? It helps us understand the entire complexity of a play.”
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon’s projected starting center, echoed that sentiment.
“Position versatility is great on an offensive line,” he said. “It’s a long season and especially at our position, it’s a car crash every play. Having one guy be able to play left, play right, play all five positions, its valuable.”
When it comes down to making a decision on the final five that will trot out against Portland State on Sept. 2, Terry said that it’ll ultimately come down to who is the most disruptive in a close race.
“Consistency and violence,” Terry said. “If it's close between two people, who’s displacing more? Who is causing more disruption in the a-gaps? Who’s clarifying the pocket a little bit better for Bo (Nix)? To me that’s when it starts to clarify itself.”
Josh Conerly Jr. one to keep an eye on
Conerly Jr. is a former consensus top-35 recruit in the nation, and a sophomore with massive potential that will undoubtedly anchor one side of the line at tackle this season after featuring mostly in jumbo packages a year ago as a true freshman. Conerly didn’t allow a single pressure in 27 passing-blocking opportunities last year.
Ajani Cornelius a Duck newcomer to watch
Ajani Cornelius, a transfer from Rhode Island and a Harlem-native, was one of the top offensive line targets in the portal with the third-highest grade by Pro Football Focus in FCS play. Named the Colonial Athletic Association All-Conference first team, Cornelius will likely step in and contribute right off the bat for the Ducks.
Number to know
5 – in the last six seasons, Oregon has ranked in the top third of the Pac-12 in rushing offense five times.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, women's basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Standard is set for reloaded Oregon Ducks football offensive line
