Oregon Football: Dave Iuli strengthens Ducks’ quest to be “O-Line U”

When you have a head coach who was once an offensive lineman, you’ll see just how much of an emphasis he puts on recruiting the trenches. Such is the case with Oregon football coach Mario Cristobal.

The former Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman from 1989-92 has become one of the fastest-rising head coaches in college football and he’s also a heck of a recruiter. The two almost always go hand-in-hand. If you know how to recruit at a high level, it’s going to be very difficult to fall short on the field in terms of results.

Cristobal has been proving for the past few years that he was once named national recruiter of the year for a reason and he currently owns another top-10 recruiting class for 2022.

On Saturday, he bolstered that 2022 class with the addition of yet another talented offensive lineman in four-star Dave Iuli from Washington who is ranked the No. 195 recruit in the country.

With the addition of another elite offensive lineman, the Ducks’ 2022 class now owns five commitments along that line, including Iuli and five-star Kelvin Banks Jr. who are the current top-ranked Oregon pledges. Outside of those two, the Ducks have the nation’s top JUCO player Percy Lewis, three-star Cameron Williams, and three-star Michael Wooten. Four of those five guys have committed since July 1.

This comes a year after landing five-star Kingsley Suamataia and four-stars Bram Walden, Jackson Light, and Jonah Miller.

Oregon football slowly becoming “O-Line U”

The distinction of “O-Line U” probably goes to programs like Alabama, Wisconsin, or Notre Dame as of late, but Oregon is slowly pushing for those naming rights.

In fact, the Ducks just had Penei Sewell selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions a year after being named the best offensive lineman in college football. Now they have guys like TJ Bass and Alex Forsyth who could be the next draft prospects with Suamataia, Walden, and Light waiting in the wings.

Add five more impressive recruits in the 2022 class to a roster that has been harping depth on the offensive line and you have a group that is prepared to dominate the trenches for years.

Having a former offensive lineman as head coach is paying huge dividends for Oregon.