Los Angeles, Calif. – Tyler Johnstone looked like the most lively spirit in the room. Carrying a microphone in one hand and being followed by the KEZI Eugene news team’s cameraman, Johnstone flew around the ballroom at the LA Hotel Downtown Monday with a large smirk on his face.
Johnstone, who has popularized the television segment “moose time,” was casting another episode and, as he has done countless times before, comically interviewed a wide variety of Oregon players at the Rose Bowl Media Day.
His personality hasn’t altered one bit since he learned in August that he would be miss the entire 2014 season.
Johnstone, a redshirt junior from Chandler Ariz., started 26 consecutive games for the Ducks in 2012 and 2013. However, an ACL injury in last year’s Alamo Bowl and a re-tear of the same ligament in his knee nine months later, has turned this season into one he hasn’t experienced before.
But as he provoked laughs from the rest of his teammates throughout the slate of interviews he conducted, it served as another example for how he’s carried himself this year.
“He’s had a great attitude this whole season,” said offensive lineman Hamani Stevens. “Taking on the role to mentor guys. He helps out anyway he can. On the field and off the field. He’s been a great support.”
Johnstone’s sudden shift in roles was immediately accepted. But his impact with that role reached exceeding heights as the season’s continued. His injury started a domino effect. Through the first half of the season, Oregon’s offensive line endured setback after setback and at one point was tasked with starting a true freshman and a walk-on at the outside tackle positions.
The injuries took their toll and Johnstone was on the sidelines for every practice and game, serving in any way he could for the untested backups thrown into the fire.
“Yeah we miss him on the field a lot,” Grasu said. “But his leadership with our true freshman tackle Tyrell Crosby and our walk-on Matt Pierson has been unbelievable. He’s been going to every single game. Between every single series he’s always talking to them.”
For Crosby, the true freshman’s first snap came against Michigan State on Sept. 6 after Johnstone’s initial backup Andre Yruretagoyena left with a leg injury. Since then he’s seen the amount of playing time Oregon’s offensive line coach Steve Greenwood admitted he doesn’t like to put on a freshman. But he’s had to, and Johnstone has done everything in his power to steady the transition.
“He’s been a huge role model,” Crosby said.  “He’s helped me out so much with film, he watches my footwork throughout practice and during halftime he’d tell me what the d-line is doing, what I can do to stop that. He’s just been a huge impact for me.”
Crosby looks back to a time in Fall Camp when he realized how much Johnstone could assist him. It was during a scrimmage almost right after Johnstone had been ruled out by injury. His new role was already taking shape.
“He told me to stay more square on my box and that was the first time it really hit me that when you’re square it helps blocking so much easier,” Crosby said.
Johnstone says that the majority of the guidance he’s offered is geared towards the mental side of the game. And with a few starts under the inexperienced guys’ belts, Johnstone says the trust has been solidified.
In total, the offensive line has started eight different starting combinations this season. Yet Oregon is still at a place Grasu, who has missed the last three games with a leg injury, says they shouldn’t even be at.
“This success shouldn’t have happened,” he said.
Since Oregon’s first loss of the season though, the group has come into its own.
“A lot of people wrote us off,” Grasu said. “But we believed in each other, we believed that if we sticked together nothing will tear us apart.
Since then, the rushing attack has averaged 255 yards per game and the offensive line has only surrendered 13 sacks. Left tackle Jake Fisher says a large shift in focus onto the little things has translated to that success.
However, it has still become a year that both Fisher and Stevens describe as “crazy.” No one on the line has ever experienced the amount of turnover they’ve had to endure. Johnstone never could of thought that his injury would be the start of an onslaught of them either.
“It’s crazy to think about,” Stevens said.
But the collective mood never faded, as evident by the continuation of “M0ose Time” on Monday. Johnstone is still taking it day-by-day physically and has plans of dominating next year when back in pads.
As for the rest of the offensive line, they feel as confident as ever.
“We feel confident,” Stevens said. “So I feel like the whole unit, we have confidence in our game and I feel like we can get out there and open up some spaces for our running backs to run.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise