Trench warfare: At Oregon, the entire explosive offense hinges on the o-line

Yesterday the Indiana Hoosiers got the news that edge rusher Stephen Daley, who led the Big Ten in tackles for loss before getting injured during the celebration at the conference championship game, was granted a fifth season of eligibility following a ruling by U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney regarding qualifying players from the 2022 class.

No more redshirts. Going forward, everybody has five years to play five. In Daley's case, it just makes the Hoosiers defensive front that much harder to block, as if Oregon offensive line coach A'lique Terry's job wasn't hard enough.

Terry has cranked out three straight Joe Moore Award Finalist units as chief partner in The Law Firm, but this could be his most challenging trial yet. He has a talented group but they're young. He has to replace Emmanuel Pregnon, the 6-5, 318 guard with a 35-inch vertical leap who made the Sports Illustrated All-America team before being drafted in the third round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Last year play at the tackles was inconsistent. There's a good chance that Crader and the new right tackle could be an upgrade.

Deeper rotations aren't a weakness

He has to sort out the rotations and decide if some uber-talented youngsters are ready to move grown men off the ball. According to the Chile Duck Depth Chart, this is what he is working with:

At Oregon Media Day Dan Lanning got the flock's feathers ruffled by stating he could envision the progrum rotating 6-8 guys on the offensive line, but knowledgeable fans know that is a strength.

The Ducks have enormous talent at the skill positions, the potential to be an explosive offense. The high-flying scoring machine won't get off the ground if the blocks aren't made and the stunts aren't picked up. Last year in big games, the scheme proved vulnerable to some breakdowns. Oregon's most talented opponents rattled Dante Moore a little and his efficiency went way down.

Improving that picture depends heavily on two things, Moore's growth and solidifying this talented but as-yet unproven offensive line. Terry's track record indicates that it's just a matter of time and practice reps.

Geoff Schwartz, the legendary Duck right tackle who went on to play nine seasons in the NFL after setting the PAC-10 Conference record for rushing by a right tackle, assures his followers that the concern is overblown.

It's hard to get too wracked with worry when Terry's choices include five-stars Douglas Utu and Emmanuel Iheanacho, plus a 6-6, 340 workhorse in Tommy Tofi, who played in four different spots in the Spring Game and looked good in all of them. The Oregon offensive line is on track, especially since Tofi and Nacho spent the summer working together on their footwork. Both are weight room warriors with squats in the 650 range.

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