There are some big shoes to fill at Oregon next season – literally and figuratively.
“You can’t fill Haloti’s shoes. Nobody wears those big shoes,” joked defensive line coach Michael Gray.
Oregon’s former mammoth defensive tackle Haloti Ngata is expected to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft on April 29. And with his departure, he leaves a big hole for the Ducks to fill in the fall.
“It changes our dominance inside because when you have a guy 6-foot-5, 330 pounds, you’re feeling pretty good about (isolation) and the plays up the middle,” Gray said of Ngata. “You feel pretty secure about that.”Ngata, facing constant double teams from opponents, recorded 61 total tackles, including 32 solo tackles, nine for a loss and three sacks last season.
He became Oregon’s first consensus All-American since 1962, was the Pacific-10 Conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, earned the team’s Most Outstanding Player Award and was a finalist for Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the nation’s most top defensive player and Outland Trophy for the best interior lineman in the country.
The former top-rated defensive tackle out of high school opted to forego his senior season at Oregon for the NFL following last year’s Holiday Bowl appearance.
The offensive line, which returns every starter this season, certainly notices Ngata’s absence.
“It does make our lives easier,” offensive tackle Geoff Schwartz said. “He was the number one defensive tackle in the nation, so of course it made it tough for all of us, but it made us better in a sense because every day we go out there and play the best guy in the nation.
“But (the replacements) are really doing well right now. They played well in the scrimmage and they’re all just competing. They’re going to fill the void pretty well, I think.”
Cole Linehan (6-foot-4, 295 pounds) and David Faaeteete (6-foot-2, 307 pounds) are the frontrunners to fill vacancies left by Ngata, team sack leader
Devan Long, who graduated, and defensive tackle Matt Toeaina, who switched to defensive end.
“I think it’s shaping up well,” Linehan said of the defensive line. “We definitely have a different look, but we have a good group of guys with a lot of talent.”
Despite switching to defensive end, Toeaina (6-foot-3, 301 pounds) still may see time at defensive tackle, Gray and defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said.
“It gives some young guys an opportunity to step up and maybe be a starter, maybe be a player for us next year,” Gray said. “I think we’ve got enough guys here to find out who’s going to be the guy to step up into the starting role and backup role.”
Linehan deflects any notion of added pressure with trying to replace one of the most decorated players in school history.
“I don’t think you can look at it that way. You know, Haloti’s moving on and you’re the next guy coming in, and you’ve got to look forward to the chance to take over his position,” Linehan said. “He’s a first-round draft pick. He’s a tough guy to replace, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be.”
Both Gray and Aliotti noted Linehan’s marked improvement this spring. In just 10 games last season, Linehan recorded an interception, a sack and two tackles for losses.
Still, Aliotti recognizes the great challenge ahead for each player.
“We’re not going to fill the void of Haloti Ngata,” Aliotti said. “You’re talking about a first-round draft pick, but we’ve got to have good play out of those guys.”
