Quarterback isn't the only competition taking place this week during practice in Eugene. The Oregon Ducks are reevaluating every position this week after nothing went right in a 17-15 loss to UCLA over the weekend. Dan Lanning is looking to shake things up, and no position saw more movement than the offensive line.
Nine offensive linemen logged snaps in pass protection for the Ducks against the Bruins. Five games into the season, Oregon's bet on its development under offensive line coach A'lique Terry doesn't look like it is paying off. There still is not a set group of starters up front, and both tackles could be on the move soon.
Fox Crader flipped to left tackle during the game, and Ziyare Addison was pulled, losing snaps to Gernorris Wilson.
The Ducks also rotated Kawika Rogers, Douglas Utu, Dave Iuli, and freshman Tommy Tofi at guard, and the lack of continuity was evident. Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas were under constant duress, and the Ducks managed just 2.7 yards per carry while the Bruins racked up seven tackles for loss.
Lanning has opened the door to more competition in practice this week, hoping to finally find a combination that can work for four quarters. The Ducks have dealt with attrition up front, with some guys dealing with injuries during fall camp, but Lanning doesn't think that is a viable excuse for the struggles this season.
"Injuries certainly affect it, but that's part of the game," Lanning said. "Football, you're gonna be banged up from here on out. We're gonna be playing banged up. There isn't a timeline. It reveals itself when it reveals itself. I don't know the number of exactly how many guys we tried out there on Saturday, but it was a lot, and that's hard to build continuity."
Iapani Laloulu is the central figure along Oregon's offensive line, with veterans Iuli, Rogers and Utu having plenty of experience as well. Crader and Addison have had bright moments this season, but really struggled against UCLA and Oklahoma State. The Ducks only brought in one player from the transfer portal to help out, but Yale transfer Michael Bennett II has not worked out either.
The lack of additions was a bet on Oregon's young linemen, led by Crader and Addison, to finally step into the limelight and anchor the Ducks in big roles. The Ducks previously used transfers Isaiah World, Alex Harkey and Emmanuel Pregnon last season to fill gaps in the line, and it worked tremendously. But the Ducks haven't been able to run or protect this season because the inexperienced players up front have had too many mistakes.
All of the changes throughout a given game also haven't afforded the Ducks much time to gel a starting five together in game action. Lanning mentioned before the season using a rotation with as many as eight linemen this season, and not only has that been true, but the number has only increased. Rotations are fine, but as long as the Ducks don't have a set group to turn to when push comes to shove, the production up front isn't going to change.
"There's nobody that's separating themselves from a performance standpoint where you're like, 'This guy has to be the guy consistently,' and we have to be consistent at that position to be effective," Lanning said. "But we have some guys that are capable of doing that. We just have to do it at a higher clip and more frequently. But there's going to be really open competition in the position."
Nebraska's pass rush will once again test the Ducks up front with similar blitzes that UCLA pulled off, only the Cornhuskers have more sack production. Nebraska has 18 sacks this season and seven players with multiple sacks. The pressure will be on in Autzen Stadium on Saturday night, and with Oregon's quarterback situation also unsettled, the offensive line will be under a microscope, hoping to give the Ducks a chance to make a big play offensively to keep up.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dan Lanning says Oregon OL jobs remain 'open competition'
