Tag: Ajani Cornelius

5-Star OT Josh Petty locks in official visit with the Oregon Ducks

Josh Petty, a 5-star offensive tackle in the class of 2025, has scheduled an official visit with the Oregon Ducks.

The college football recruiting season for the class of 2025 is starting to ramp up, and the Oregon Ducks are already on the trail. On Sunday, Josh Petty, a 5-star offensive tackle, locked in official visits with four schools, one of which is Oregon, according to a report from On3’s Steve Wiltfong.

At 6’5″ and 262 lbs., Petty is one of the most physically gifted tackles in his class, and he seems to love finishing his blocks with Jackson Powers-Johnson-style pancakes. Relative to his peers, 247 Sports ranks Petty as the No. 2 OT in 2025, and On3 ranks him at No. 4.

Along with Oregon, Petty announced official visits with the Clemson Tigers, Auburn Tigers, and the Stanford Cardinal. His visit with the Ducks is scheduled for June 14th.

The Ducks have had success recruiting tackles during Dan Lanning’s time at Oregon, bringing in 5-star Josh Conerly in the class of 2022 and landing Ajani Cornelius as one of the top transfers in the class of 2023. Last year, they were close to landing 5-star Brandon Baker, but he ended up committing to Texas.

Conerly and Cornelius were the Ducks starting OTs in 2023, and they are expected to start at tackle for the Ducks in the fall. After this season though, both will probably move on to the NFL, leaving openings at the tackle spot, which could make OT recruiting a focus in 2025.

Pair of Oregon Ducks make ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2024 Second Team

Both Dillon Gabriel and Ajani Cornelius made the ESPN “Way-Too-Early” All-American team.

The 2024 college football season, which promises to be a historic one with the 12-team playoff expansion, is a little over eight months away. Oregon opens Week 0 on August 24 at Hawaii.

So obviously it’s time to think about All-American candidates.

The Oregon Ducks are expected to be one of the top teams next season with a legitimate shot at not only making the playoffs but also making a run at a possible national title.

One of many reasons is quarterback Dillon Gabriel, a senior transfer from Oklahoma. The window for winning a national title is open now and the Oregon coaching staff felt an experienced and successful quarterback was needed.

In their way-too-early selection of preseason All-Americans, ESPN puts Gabriel on the Second-Team. They put Georgia quarterback Carson Beck on the First Team.

In his two seasons at Oklahoma, Gabriel completed 66 percent of his passes good for 6,828 yards, 55 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He spent three seasons at Central Florida before that.

Another reason Gabriel chose to finish his career in Eugene was that he will play behind an experienced offensive line that will protect him. Ajani Cornelius will anchor the right side of the 2024 line for the Ducks and he was also part of ESPN’s Second Team only behind Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr.

The transfer from Rhode Island had a nice season in his first year on the D-I level where he played in all 14 games for the Ducks. Cornelius is a 6-foot-5, 308-pounder from Harlem, NY. He was an Honorable Mention on the All-Pac-12 team.

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Oregon OT Ajani Cornelius announces return to Eugene for 2024 season

Oregon Ducks offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius announced that he would be returning to Eugene for one more season.

In the era of the transfer portal, it has become as important to recruit your own roster in the offseason as it is to recruit potential incoming transfers. Dan Lanning has just put on a masterclass of recruiting his own roster and convincing players who very well could have declared for the 2024 NFL Draft to come back to Eugene for one more season.

The latest player to opt in for another season with the Oregon Ducks is offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius.

After transferring to Oregon a year ago, Cornelius took over as the starting right tackle for the Ducks and was one of the best players at his position in the nation, grading out as the 11th-best pass-blocking OT (minimum 300 snaps) and allowing 0 sacks in 511 opportunities this year.

Cornelius is one of many players who have decided to come back for one more year at Oregon, joining players like Jeffrey Bassa, Jestin Jacobs, Terrance Ferguson, Tysheem Johnson, Tez Johnson, and Traeshon Holden.

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2024 Offensive Line Outlook: Ducks’ elite OL could be even better next year

Oregon’s offensive line was one of the best in the nation this year. They could be even better moving forward.

The 2023 season is behind us. While there is still a bowl game to be played — the Fiesta Bowl against the Liberty Flames — Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are working hard on the construction of their roster for the 2024 season. They are hitting the transfer portal to fill holes ahead of the team’s first season in the Big Ten Conference. While they work on bringing new players in via the transfer portal, we want to look at the future breakdown of each position, detailing current players on the roster, incoming recruits and potential targets on the market right now.

So far this offseason, we’ve broken down the future of the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. Now let’s focus on the offensive line.

Coming into the 2023 season, the inexperience of the Oregon Ducks’ offensive line stirred doubts about how Oregon’s offense would fare. Quickly, that doubt was cast away. The Ducks’ O-line looked like a unit that had been playing together for several seasons, and they were named a Joe Moore Award finalist.

There should be plenty of returners along the O-line for 2024, which is a great sign for an offense that will employ a new QB. Of course, there will be changes, but Oregon has plenty of OL talent waiting in the wings, and they’ve shown they have some of the best coaching in the nation.

Let’s look at the full OL breakdown for the Ducks and see what the state of the position is going forward.

Oregon Ducks offensive line named as a finalist for the Joe Moore Award

The Oregon Ducks O-line has been named one of the four finalists for the Joe Moore award — given to the best OL in college football.

The Oregon Ducks offensive line has been named one of four finalists for the Joe Moore Award — the award given to the best offensive line unit in college football. The announcement is another in a line of accolades that seem to be flying the Ducks’ way right now. Earlier this week, several Ducks were named to the All-Pac-12 teams. Bo Nix was also named a Heisman Trophy finalist and the winner of the Campell Trophy.

It’s easy to see why the Oregon O-line was so successful in 2023. LT Josh Conerly, RT Ajani Cornelius, and G Steven Jones, were All-Pac-12 honorable mentions, and C Jackson Powers-Johnson was named to the All-Pac-12 first-team offense. Powers-Johnson also received the highest Pro Football Focus (PFF) season grade for a center in the country (84.6), making him a PFF All-American.

There is no date set for when the winner of the Joe Moore Award will be announced, only that it will be in late December. The other three O-lines competing against the Ducks for the award are the Washington Huskies, the Georgia Bulldogs, and the LSU Tigers.

The other good news for the Ducks’ O-line, is that most of the unit has remaining eligibility. Cornelius and Powers-Johnson both have 2024 NFL Draft potential, but depending on the results of their draft grades in the coming months, we could see them both back in Autzen next season. Conerly is only a sophomore, so he should be in Eugene for at least another year, and starting guard Marcus Harper also has remaining eligibility. Steven Jones is the only key Oregon O-lineman without can’t return next season.

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Oregon Ducks RT Ajani Cornelius named to midseason Senior Bowl team

Oregon Ducks RT Ajani Cornelius named to midseason Senior Bowl team

Each year in February, the top football players from colleges across the country are invited to Mobile, Alabama, to compete in the Senior Bowl. Similar to the NFL’s Pro Bowl, the Senior Bowl is an exhibition game featuring two All-Star teams of the nation’s best draft-eligible college football players. Historically, the players selected for the Senior Bowl have had a high rate of success on NFL draft day and gone on to have fruitful careers.

While we’re still in October and a ways away from the 2024 Senior Bowl, predictions for this season’s class are beginning to unfold. Today, the Reese’s Senior Bowl tweeted the “Senior Bowl Midseason All-American Team.” The only Oregon Duck to make the team: Ajani Cornelius

Cornelius is a 2022 transfer from Rhode Island. After Bruce Feldman wrote a feature story on Cornelius for the Athletic, his story became known nationwide. One of the things that made Cornelius’ story resonate with people was his journey from being a no-star high school recruit to one of the most sought-after transfer targets last offseason.

There was a massive rush of schools trying to bring Cornelius in after last season, but on early signing day last December, he chose Oregon. So far, it seems the Ducks couldn’t be luckier to have to him.

Through five games as the team’s starting right tackle, Cornelius has played 304 snaps (the third most on the team). But what’s most impressive about the way Cornelius has played, is that he has yet to give up a QB pressure this season, despite facing 182 pressure opportunities.

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When blocking for the run, Cornelius has been just as dominant. No matter who he faces off against, Cornelius has been able to consistently set the edge for the Oregon RBs — who love to bounce it outside.

Despite being selected to the midseason Senior Bowl All-America team, Cornelius still feels like one of the unsung heroes of the Oregon offense. When asked about Cornelius on Monday night, Head Coach Dan Lanning had this to say.

“I wish everyone could see where he started when he first got here this spring and what he’s been able to do throughout the spring and his development and all the way into the fall. He’s proven to be one of the best tackles in the league. I think he’s really playing at a really high level, but I know he has a high bar for himself and he wants to get even better and I think he will.”

Cornelius and the Oregon Ducks still have a long way to go in order to end this season atop the mountain. Their matchup this weekend against the Washington Huskies will be their most important game of the regular season, and Cornelius will have a key role to play as he faces off against one of the nation’s premier pass rushers, Bralen Trice.

In terms of Cornelius’ individual path, a midseason Senior Bowl selection is certainly not his long-term goal, but it’s a large step in the right direction. Like I said earlier, a trip to the Senior Bowl says a lot about one’s chances in the NFL draft. For Cornelius, a chance in the NFL has to be his objective, and for a player who received zero FBS offers out of high school, it doesn’t seem too far from his reach.

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Ajani Cornelius named to first-team All-Transfer Portal ahead of 2023 season

Offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius is one of the top offensive players to land in Eugene via the transfer portal for 2023.

In the last five years or so, the transfer portal has become as important to roster building as recruiting and scouting out the top prep talent out there. It’s become a source to acquire talent and to shore up holes quickly on a football team.

Oregon, like most schools, has utilized this tool as well as anyone and while Dan Lanning has been in Eugene, the portal has been used to get defensive talent such as Christian Gonzalez. As soon as he said he was leaving Colorado and coming to be a Duck, the attitude of defense changed almost overnight.

On the offensive side, quarterback Bo Nix has made all the difference in the world and the Ducks are hoping a similar outcome will occur with former Rhode Island offensive lineman Ajani Cornelius.

That so-called acquisition has turned enough heads as to where the 6-foot-4, 315-pounder from Harlem, NY was named to the first-team All Transfer Portal, according to On3.com. This is what writer Jesse Simonton had to say about Cornelius.

An unranked prospect out of high school, Cornelius has skyrocketed up NFL Draft boards after starting at right tackle the last two seasons at Rhode Island. (He) was among the most coveted transfers as a premium position this offseason.

The website also said mentioned edge rusher Jordan Burch was a top transfer for Oregon on the defensive side of the ball. Of course not all transfers can be mentioned, but wide receivers Tez Johnson (Troy) and Traeshon Holden (Alabama) both looked good in the Ducks Spring Game this past April and linebacker Jestin Jacobs (Iowa) could also be a difference-maker in 2023.

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Oregon set with two of Pac-12’s top returning offensive linemen ahead of 2023 season

With a remade OL and a new OL coach in Eugene, the Ducks have a lot to prove. Fortunately, they have 2 of PFF’s top returning players in 2023.

One of the biggest leaders to Oregon’s success a year ago was the play of the offensive line, and the Ducks’ ability to keep the quarterback clean while also creating massive running lanes for the stable of backs in the backfield.

One of the biggest questions about the team’s success going forward in 2023 is regarding that same offensive line, and if a remade set of starters will be able to find comparable success and lead the Oregon offense in a similar fashion.

After losing players like Alex Forsyth, T.J. Bass, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, and Ryan Walk, the Ducks will have at the very least four new starters on the OL this year, as well as a new OL coach after Adrian Klemm left to take a job with the New England Patriots. Fortunately, according to Pro Football Focus, two of the guys that the Ducks have on the offensive front grade out higher than any other returning offensive lineman in the Pac-12 conference.

With incredibly talented players like Josh Conerly, Ajani Cornelius, Steven Jones, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Nishod Strother, and Junior Angilau, among others, there is a path for Oregon to have another outstanding season, this time under coach A’lique Terry. If all goes well, they will have one of the top O-lines in the conference.

Here is a look at the top-returning linemen in the Pac-12, per PFF.

Position Outlook: Ducks offensive line stacked with talent, experience

There very well could be 5 new starters on the UO offensive line this fall. Despite the newness, the Ducks have the talent to be really good up front.

One of the many positions on the Oregon Ducks roster where Dan Lanning and the rest of the coaching staff have made a concerted effort to increase the level of talent is on the offensive line.

With the addition of guys like Ajani Cornelius, Junior Angilau, and Nishod Strother, Lanning has used the transfer portal in order to up the level of talent on the offensive line. While the Ducks are trying to replace four of the five starters from a season ago, there is a belief that the talent is there to be just as good as they were in 2022 is on the roster.

We have a pretty good idea of what the starting left tackle and right tackle positions will look like, but as for the interior of the OL, there are spots that are up for grabs. Going into fall camp, the offensive line is going to be one of the more intense position battles in Eugene.

With the new lineman on the roster and the expected jump from underclassmen, we broke down what we expect the Ducks’ offensive line to look like this fall.

Oregon Spring Ball Position Battles: Ducks’ OL enters spring with a clean slate

The Ducks have a clean slate when it comes to the starting offensive line. Watching those guys battle for snaps is going to be fascinating.

As we get into the start of spring football across the nation, it’s become increasingly hard to find either fans or media members who don’t hold some semblance of confidence when it comes to the immediate outlook for the Oregon Ducks.

After a successful 10-win season in 2022, Dan Lanning and his staff did a good job of increasing the level of talent on the roster and creating a culture of competition across the board going into spring practice, which starts on Thursday. One of the biggest areas of competition is going to reside with the big boys up front in the trenches.

The competition to secure the five starting spots on the offensive line is going to be contentious, and incredibly entertaining to watch.

For those aforementioned positive feelings about the Ducks to come to fruition, it’s going to be necessary for the Oregon OL to play at or near the level that we saw last season. The Ducks were among the best units in the country, allowing the fewest number of sacks in the nation and bolstering one of the best rushing units. Of course, with four of the five starters from a year ago now off of the team, matching that level of success is a big ask.

So you take a contentious position competition and add some relatively high stakes.

The result is entertainment for anyone who is paying attention.

Despite the relative lack of notable experience on the offensive front, the Ducks are loaded with talent across the board. You have Josh Conerly, a former 5-star who was the No. 1 OT in the class of 2022, Ajani Cornelius, the former Rhode Island player who was the No. 1 OT in the transfer portal this year, and you also have George Silva, the No. 1 JUCO OT this season as well. That’s just the competition at the tackle position. Throw in a couple of returners at guard, a few highly-rated recruits, and another veteran transfer addition, and you’ve got the makings of a loaded OL room, all competing for snaps.

Again, I can’t wait to watch this play out.

Of course, we likely won’t have an answer on who the starters are after spring ball concludes at the end of April, but we could get a pretty good sense for how things stand. Here are some players that I will be keeping a close eye on over the next several weeks on the OL in Eugene.