The 2023 Ducks offensive line is shaping up to be drastically different from the 2022 iteration. Four of the five starters, along with offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, departed in the offseason. That is not to say that there isn’t a great group of talent competing for spots on this line.
New offensive line coach A’lique Terry is set to begin his first year in charge of this unit, and will try and recreate last year’s magic with a very different group. Terry has previously coached in Eugene during the 2019 and 2020 seasons as a graduate assistant and was aiming to join Dan Lanning’s staff last season, but decided to take the opportunity to coach with the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. He has previously been the head offensive line coach at the University of Hawaii in 2021, so he is bringing a lot of experience to this group. To assist on the staff, Oregon brought in a 30-year veteran in Mike Cavanaugh, who has spent the last two seasons at Arizona State coaching their line.
After losing star center Alex Forsyth, junior Jackson Powers-Johnson is expected to step into that role, which are some very big shoes to fill. Having played center, guard, and tackle last season, he is a very experienced and versatile lineman. The Ducks have four offensive guards that have all started more than 10 games in their careers, so JPJ will have to adapt and move to center in order to get into this starting unit.
The four aforementioned players are Texas transfer Junior Angilau, East Carolina transfer Nisahd Strother, and returners Marcus Harper, and Steven Jones. Harper filled in last year for the injured Jones, but he is expected to take a sixth-man type role on this year’s roster, also taking some snaps at center during camp. Jones missed most of last season due to injury, but primarily plays right guard, so he will compete mostly with Nisahd Strother while Angilau and Harper battle it out for the left side. Coach Terry notes that there isn’t much separating this interior group and when it comes down to it he is looking for some specific traits from his linemen. “Consistency and violence…If it’s close between people…Who’s causing more disruption in the A gaps, who’s clarifying the pocket more for Bo,” Terry said. Steven Jones is expected to regain his starting right guard spot while Junior Angilau will be deployed on the left. Regardless of who starts, this will be a very successful and experienced group of interior linemen.
The depth chart for the tackles is a lot more clear cut than the interior. Sophomore Josh Conerly Jr. was too good to keep off the field last year as a true freshman, appearing in all 13 games primarily on the left side of the line. Conerly is noted as one of the highest rated Oregon recruits ever and one of the most athletic linemen on the roster, so he is expected to take on the role of starting left tackle. Fellow offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius notes, “Honestly what stands out most to me is Josh’s work ethic…not only is he talented, but he’s gonna push to give himself the advantage.” As a hard worker and super gifted athlete, Conerly seems to be the best man for the crucial job of protecting Bo Nix’s blindside. On the right side, the Ducks brought in one of the best tackles from FCS in Ajani Cornelius out of Rhode Island. With a ton of playing experience under his belt, the redshirt junior is ready to make the leap from FCS to FBS and really blossom into an elite offensive tackle.
Like last year, the offensive line is expected to be one of the Ducks’ more exciting groups to watch out for. Oregon had one of the nation’s top rated o-lines in 2022, and Coach Terry and Lanning believe that the key to repeating that success given the players departing is maintaining the standard set everyday.
Offensive linemen are integral to any play, which means there is a lot of pressure on these players to gel together and set that standard for the rest of the team, a pressure shared by Coach Terry. “There’s a pressure that is really on me. But I let them let me have all the pressure. You go out there and play ball and have fun.” Nonetheless, the starting unit this season will come with tons of experience, but even more to prove.
