On Day 2 of Spring Practice, Will Stein takes the mike

In college football, spring is the season of hope. This is what we've got. This is what our team is about. This is how we're going to win it all.

What's clear from the beginning is that the 2025 Ducks are loaded with talent, and that the key to making it a reloading year is identifying new leaders.

When the reporters asked Will Stein about it, he immediately identified junior center Iapani "Poncho" Laloulu as one of those guys. The third-year offensive coordinator said, "Poncho is finding his voice. He was an underclassman last year but now he's the anchor for us up front. He started as a freshman but he played a lot, so he's almost a three-year starter for us. He's definitely one of our leaders."

"We all know it takes time to develop leadership and it starts with your actions but I believe we have the potential to have a lot of strong leaders on our team and it's through this practice, through summer and through fall and through real games for them to really show."

"I would say Poncho right now is doing a really good job up front and really establishing that culture for us."

Laloulu's new confidence and assertiveness in the leadership role is a key for the Ducks in two ways. A productive offensive line runs on cohesiveness. Oregon will have new faces on the o-line this year and position coaches A'lique Terry and Cutter Leftwich have to mold a unit out of Isaiah World, Alex Harkey, Dave Iuli, Matthew Bedford and Gernorris Wilson.

Laloulu makes the line calls-- he's the quarterback up front, and his willingness to be vocal and occasionally instruct or call guys out allows the Ducks to have more trust in talented newcomers like early enrollees Douglas Utu, Ziyare Addison and Demetri Manning. Guys who haven't played as much, Wilson, Lipe Moala, Fox Crader, Devin Brooks and Trent Ferguson, can be brought up to speed.

Leadership is never more critical than it is at quarterback. Stein said, "It's been really fun so far. It's been fresh. It's been challenging at times in a good way. The good thing about them: Dante is in year two, Austin is in year three, Brock Thomas is in year three and Luke Moga is in year two.

"Even though Dillon had a lot of experience last year, which is invaluable and played a great standard for us, was a Heisman finalist and all the stuff that you guys know, he was still in year one. So there's challenges in that aspect too, for me and our staff, but these guys have been professional since day one. They've attacked this offseason like champs and through the first two days, they've all shown a good understanding of our offense."

“I think the sky’s the limit for that group. I do feel like we have guys in there that can win games for us, and we’ll figure out over the next, you know, five, six months, who that guy’s going to be running out against Montana State.”

Stein isn't going to tip his hand about who runs out against the Bobcats, because he wants to do everything he can to instill a sense of competition and simulate pressure. Plus he wants to keep all four if he can, plus Akili Smith Jr., a 6-5, 200-pound freshman who enrolled early after winning a state championship at Lincoln High in San Diego, the son of an Oregon legend.

Whoever starts (and the smart money says it's going to be Moore) they have a security blanket in a strong running room and a dynamic tight end. Stein noted that junior Kenyon Sadiq is up to 250 pounds after a productive offseason in the weight room with no loss of speed. The OC said, "I really do believe he's one of the best players in college football... It's my job to make sure he's getting as many touches as he can every single game."

The Ducks are loaded in the running back room. One of the things to look for at the spring game is any kind of hint about whether Jay Harris or Da'Juan Riggs are due for a larger role in the offense. They both shined in limited touches last season. Tulane transfer Makhi Hughes is slated to be the workhorse, while Noah Whittington has had a full year-plus to recover from knee surgery four games into his sophomore season.