The dog days of summer have arrived. And while there’s little cause for celebration during this portion of the calendar, there is good news to report:
WFOD’s 2019 Fall Camp Preview has arrived as well!
As fall camp fast approaches, WFOD will be rolling out an in-depth series of position-by-position previews to help you fully prepare for the upcoming season.
Our Fall Camp Preview series continues Friday with a breakdown of Oregon’s offensive line.
As always, you can find the most up-to-date look at the Oregon depth chart by visiting our Living Depth Chart page.
The Headliners
When you’re a team that returns 153 combined starts along the offensive line, the most of any FBS team since 2011, there’s a pretty good chance that you have more than one marquee name that headlines the group. That’s precisely the case for the Ducks entering the 2019 season, as all five starters – plus every reserve – returns from last year’s team. Penei Sewell, Shane Lemieux, Jake Hanson, Calvin Throckmorton, and Dallas Warmack represent this vaunted starting contingent for Oregon, which many believe that, in addition to being the nation’s most experienced starting offensive line, is also its most talented, setting sky high expectations for the upcoming year.
By now, and particularly in comparison to the rest of the projected starting unit, Duck fans are well acquainted with Lemieux, Hanson, and Throckmorton – a rock solid power trio that has played virtually every game together since making their initial start back in 2016. All three earned either first-team (Lemieux, Throckmorton) or second-team (Hanson) all-conference recognition last season, and together, they anchor a unit has seen just about everything you can possibly experience as a football player at the FBS level.
Joining them, however, is arguably the best player of the bunch in sophomore Penei Sewell. In fact, before it’s all said and done, it’s not a stretch to say that Sewell could very well go down as the most talented offensive lineman to ever play at Oregon. A remarkable claim, especially considering the fact that Sewell appeared in only seven games last season due to an ankle injury suffered in the upset victory over Washington. A freshman All-American a season ago, Sewell is a player primed and ready to take his game to another level in Year 2.
Rounding out this formidable group is Warmack, a former grad transfer from Alabama who appeared in all 13 games for the Ducks last season, starting 12. Of the five, Warmack’s status as a starter may be the most precarious heading into the fall. However, given his battle-tested nature and the fact he has reportedly reshaped his body over the course of the offseason, he’s a player who will at worst provide critical depth for head coach Mario Cristobal in the offensive trenches.
The Supporting Ensemble
As impressive as Oregon’s front line talent is across the offensive line, perhaps even more impressive is their considerable depth at virtually every position. The most experienced player of this reserve group is fifth-year senior Brady Aiello, a seasoned vet who has appeared in 34 games at tackle over the course of his collegiate career, including 20 starts. He is joined by fellow senior tackle George Moore, who is light on experience compared to Aiello (has appeared in only five games) but is one of the most physically imposing players on the Oregon roster.
Speaking of physically imposing, a conversation about the Ducks’ o-line depth can’t take place without mentioning sophomore Steven Jones and JUCO transfer Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. At 6-foot-7 and 354 pounds, Jones is a player who would start on most offensive lines in the Pac-12, though with the veterans ahead of him, will likely need to bide his time before becoming a full-fledged starter at Oregon. Despite being a true freshman a season ago, Jones performed admirably in the five games he appeared in after being pressed into action as a result of injuries up front. Aumavae-Laulu may be the most compelling player of Oregon’s o-line reserves. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 332 pounds, the native Hawaiian, who played his high school ball in Nevada before attending junior college in Texas, may have taken a circuitous route to Eugene but arrives as the top JUCO offensive tackle in country. Though it’s expected that he’ll play guard at Oregon, that shouldn’t impede Aumavae-Laulu’s path to the field. After an impressive spring, he will push Warmack for the starting right guard spot during fall camp.
Alex Forsyth, Ryan Walk, Dawson Jaramillo, Chris Randazzo, Justin Johnson, and Sam Poutasi round out this group of reserves, but each brings a little something to the table. Forsyth, Walk, and Poutasi are the most experienced members of this contingent, and specifically, Forsyth and Walk could play key roles this season if injury strikes. Forsyth is one of the line’s most versatile players with the ability to play tackle, guard, or center. Look for him to take on a major role in 2020. Walk, on the other hand, is a walk-on from nearby Sheldon High School and has managed to fend off all-comers for the backup center job behind Jake Hanson. Like Forsyth, he could also be in the mix for a starting role once Oregon’s vets graduate. Keep an eye out for Jaramillo, Randazzo, and Johnson as well. The trio utilized their redshirts this past season, but will play integral roles for this unit in the years to come.
The Intriguing New Cast Member
Duck fans should get used to seeing the nation’s top high school offensive linemen flock to Eugene given Cristobal’s illustrious background as both a recruiter and offensive line coach. During the 2018 recruiting cycle, Cristobal helped Oregon edge out Alabama and USC to pluck the top offensive lineman out West in Penei Sewell. Cristobal then followed that up by nabbing the top offensive lineman on the West Coast during the 2019 recruiting cycle in four-star offensive tackle Jonah Tauanu’u. Ranked as the nation’s ninth-best offensive tackle coming from the prep ranks, Tauanu’u has everything you look for in an elite offensive tackle: terrific size (6’5″, 305 lbs.), outstanding athleticism, and a mean streak that cannot be taught. The only question is, when does Tauanu’u get his chance to play? Considering Oregon’s offensive line depth entering the season, it would seem likely that Tauanu’u would redshirt and come into 2020 with a chance to lock down a starting job. But whether it’s now or later, there’s good reason to be excited about Tauanu’u’s future in an Oregon uniform.
The Stirring Subplot
Is Oregon’s offensive line really all it’s cracked up to be?
On the surface, this may seem like a silly question. After all, when you return three all-conference caliber players from a season ago, plus a freshman All-American, the proof kind of seems like it’s in the pudding. But when you take a closer look at this group, there’s enough evidence to suggest that maybe this unit wasn’t quite as good as advertised, particularly when it comes to establishing the run.
Since 2016, the year that Oregon’s current core made their debuts, the Ducks have failed to claim the top rushing mark in the conference – a position they had a stranglehold of in each of the previous 10 seasons. In fact, last season’s fourth place finish in Pac-12 rushing offense was Oregon’s lowest finish since 2005 when they finished seventh in the league in the category. Not surprisingly, it was also the first time since 2005 that the Ducks also averaged less than five yards per rush attempt as a team. Perhaps even more concerning, however, was the fact that, over the final seven games of the 2018 season, Oregon was held to less than 100 yards rushing as a team on three occasions. For comparison, the Ducks had been held to less than 100 yards rushing on only three occasions in the previous six seasons.
Certainly, one can attribute the slide to some key injuries up front, historically bad/inexperienced skill position talent, and an offensive philosophy that was markedly different from the one that Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly, and Mark Helfrich employed with remarkable success over the past decade. But considering the overall depth, experience, and offensive line pedigree of Cristobal, it’s also fair to have expected more.
With so much expected of this team in 2019, Oregon’s offensive line will in many ways serve as this team’s north star, as they will be thoroughly tested over the course of a difficult schedule that begins in earnest with a date with Auburn and arguably the nation’s best defensive line on August 31. Their performance in that game should provide an early referendum on where exactly this unit stacks up among the nation’s best.
WFOD’s 2019 Fall Camp Preview – The Quarterbacks
WFOD’s 2019 Fall Camp Preview – The Running Backs
WFOD’s 2019 Fall Camp Preview – The Wide Receivers
WFOD’s 2019 Fall Camp Preview – The Tight Ends