By any metric you want to look at, it’s pretty easy to see that the Oregon Ducks had one of the best offensive lines in the nation last season. They were loaded with veteran leaders on the offensive front, utilizing the experience of guys like Alex Forsyth, T.J. Bass, Ryan Walk, and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. Oregon gave up only four sacks all season, which was the best in the nation.
Unfortunately for Duck fans, it seemed early in the offseason like that may have been the mountain-top for OL play in Eugene. With four of those veterans leaving Eugene after exhausting their collegiate eligibility, it leaves only LG Marcus Harper as the returning starter.
Sure, there are guys like Josh Conerly, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and a handful of other younger players who have some experience playing in games, but it’s no secret that the Ducks don’t have the same depth and experience going into 2023 as they did going into 2022.
It’s a good thing the transfer portal exists, isn’t it?
Both Dan Lanning and offensive line coach Adrian Klemm attacked that need for the Ducks this offseason, and the early returns have been spectacular for Oregon. On Tuesday night, former Texas Longhorns OL Junior Angilua announced that he would transfer to the Ducks, and Wednesday afternoon saw former Rhode Island OT Ajani Cornelius do the same.
Angilua started 34 games across multiple spots on the line during three seasons in Austin, and was named a team captain for the Longhorns, as well as a Preseason Big-12 All-American in 2022 before an injury sidelined him for the year.
As for Cornelius, he is among the most highly-coveted players in the transfer portal this off-season, and has held offers from some of the top Power-5 schools in the nation, including Tennessee, Ohio State, Nebraska, Miami, and Penn State.
When it comes to new coaching staffs who haven’t had a few years to stack recruiting classes on top of each other and build up a depth chart full of their own guys, losing a group of seniors at a single position could be catastrophic, with not many places to turn. However, Lanning and Klemm took the opportunity to attack the transfer portal this offseason and get the offensive line back to a strength for the offense with a couple of big-time commitments.
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