Early in the season, there was plenty of concern that Oregon’s defensive line didn’t have the experience or skill to quickly adapt to defensive coordinator Brady Hoke’s 4-3 defensive scheme.
The Ducks were young to begin with, and senior defensive end Henry Mondeaux represented the Ducks’ only returning starter along the front seven.
Things have gone from bad to worse in the trenches for Oregon since the start of the year. With two games left in a disappointing season, the Ducks are stringing together a patchwork defensive line after six of their linemen have been ruled out for the season for various reasons.
“Nothing is going as planned since the start of the season,” Oregon defensive end T.J. Daniel said. “It’s really just next man up. What’s done is done; we can’t look in the past, we can’t dwell on it. So we’re looking onto Utah.”
Austin Maloata, one of the Ducks’ top run-stoppers this season, became the most recent casualty along the defensive front when he was arrested on three charges last Sunday morning and subsequently dismissed from the team later that day. The dismissal of Maloata came less than a week after Oregon sophomore Canton Kaumatule, one of the top recruits in Oregon history, accepted a medical hardship and saw his career at Oregon come to an end. Junior College transfer Ratu Mafileo also took a medical retirement in early October following various injuries.
The departures of those three players, as various injuries to freshman defensive tackle Drayton Carlberg, who hasn’t played since Oregon faced Cal on Oct. 21, have left the middle of Oregon’s defensive line depleted. But the edge positions have fallen victim to the same amount of attrition, as two of Oregon’s top edge rushers have missed time as well. Junior Eddie Heard was suspended indefinitely on Nov. 3 after being arrested one day earlier on assault charges.
Senior defensive end Torrodney Prevot was suspended indefinitely on Aug, 26 after it was revealed that Prevot was under investigation for a criminal offense.
The loss of six players who all figured to contribute in some capacity has forced Oregon to get creative in the way it configures itss front seven, which after the switch to a 4-3, is sending a four-man rush much more frequently than last season.
“Part of that is who’s available and that’s a reality-slash-excuse,” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich told reporters last Sunday. “So you’re doing a few things differently from a front standpoint and moving guys around a little bit more. You’re blitzing a little bit more rather than playing base. But trying to change it up. … We can’t just put in eight D-lineman that we don’t have.  So that creates a challenge but challenges are opportunity as well.”
To make up for the lack of depth at interior linemen, Oregon has experimented with moving Henry Mondeaux, its top pass rusher, from defensive end to defensive tackle this week. At 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, Mondeaux has recorded 32 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss and could plug up the middle as Oregon prepares to face a Utah rushing attack that has found plenty of success lately.
“He’s moving down to the [three-technique position] inside, where we’re low on men,” Daniel said. “We’re just rotating — everybody knows each position. … He brings speed, quickness and the ability to get up field and get after the quarterback.”
Oregon is slated to start freshman Gary Baker and sophomore Rex Manu at the interior linemen spots this week, with freshman Wayne Tei-Kirby listed on the two-deep as well. With so many contributing players lost for the year, Oregon’s success over the remaining two games will hinge on the ability of young defensive tackles to adapt quickly.
“We’ll move some guys around,” Oregon defensive line coach Ron Aiken said. “We’ll rally together and we’ll keep marching forward.”
Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney