Tag: Alex Forsyth

Where the Ducks land among the top-ranked offensive lines in the nation

The Ducks have experience on their side when it comes to the O-Line. They rank among the best units in the nation going into 2022.

When many people project the Oregon Ducks are going to find success in the 2022 season under new head coach Dan Lanning, a lot of that is on the basis it will come of the backs of the defense.

However, you shouldn’t be so quick to overlook the offensive line.

One of the most valuable position groups on the field, Oregon has a real strength on the line this season, returning a handful of starters from last season and bringing in some talented young pieces as well. Though there have been a couple of injuries to monitor — T.J. Bass and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu have missed time during fall camp — the Ducks look largely healthy and ready to go for the start of the season.

If you’re looking for it, there is also an upside that comes with the injuries on the front line as well. While we expect the veteran players to be ready to go by Week 1, their missing practice has allowed some young guys — five-star offensive tackle Josh Conerly, four-star offensive guard Dave Iuli and three-star OT Kawika Rogers — to get valuable reps early on in practice.

“Fortunate for us we’ve been able to get a lot of young guys reps early,” Lanning said earlier this week. “And there’s been some guys that have stuck out and had really good days. You know, Josh Conerly had a good day, had a really good rep and competition today. Competition drill — we do kind of a one-on-one drill — he did a really good job. Seen some good things from Dave (Iuli), seen some good things from Kawika (Rogers). A lot of those young guys have done well up front.”

As it stands, the Ducks should feel confident about where their OL stands going into the season. But where do they stack up when it comes to the best position groups in the nation? Here’s where On3 ranked them:

Alex Forsyth on Rimington Trophy Award watchlist for second year in a row

For the second year in a row, Oregon Ducks center Alex Forsyth is a candidate for the Rimington Trophy award.

There is not a lot of continuity between the 2021 Oregon Ducks and the 2022 version, which features a new head coach, new offensive and defensive coordinators, a new quarterback, mostly new running backs and wide receivers, and multiple new starters in the secondary.

One constant is the man in the middle of the offensive line, center Alex Forsyth, who was once again named to the watchlist for the 2022 Rimington Trophy Award, given annually to the nation’s top center.

Forsyth was on the watchlist last season as he led Oregon’s offensive line unit, although the award was eventually given to Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum.

Forsyth is one of five Pac-12 centers to make the watchlist, alongside Brett Neilon from USC, Drake Nugent from Stanford, Jake Levengood from Oregon State, and Matthew Cindric from Cal.

Oregon has had their ups and downs on the front five in the past few seasons, but Forsyth remains a steady presence on a team filled with uncertainty (and excitement) as the 2022 season approaches.

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Alex Forsyth offers advice to 5-star Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr.

Josh Conerly comes to Oregon as the highest-rated OT in Oregon history. Despite lofty expectations and comparisons, veteran Alex Forsyth offers sage advice.

Life as a 5-star recruit is sometimes a blessing and a curse. The opportunities presented to you are often endless, with almost any school in the nation falling over themselves trying to get you to commit to their school. However, once you decide which team you’re going to play for, the expectations are extremely high. Even a slight underperformance will leave you exposed to ridicule and fan aggravation.

For Oregon’s freshman offensive tackle Josh Conerly, that has to be something that’s not far from mind. After signing with the Ducks this spring, Conerly became the highest-rated OT in school history, ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 player at his position in the country. With that ranking, some are expecting him to start from day one, and have an instant impact on the offensive line.

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Veteran center Alex Forsyth wants to push back on those expectations.

“It takes a while to get good at football or to be like ready,” Forsyth said, via Duck Territory’s Erik Skopil. “It’s not their fault that they’re a five-star. It’s not their fault that they were highly ranked. So I think sometimes it kind of sucks for the kids.”

As the new highest-ranked OT in Oregon history, Conerly is drawing immediate comparisons to Penei Sewell, arguably the best OT to ever play for the Ducks. Sewell — who was the No. 1 OT in Oregon history at the time of his commitment — started as a freshman, won the Outland Trophy as a sophomore, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the No. 7 overall pick in 2021.

“I hate comparing players. You can never try to be somebody else because then you’re gonna lose sight of who you are and what makes you special,” Forsyth said. “Penei did unique things that I can never do and 99.9-percent of football players can never do. So it’s hard to compare anybody to him and I just think for a young player, it’s unfair to make comparisons and be like, ‘Oh, he’s like that guy.'”

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Conerly will have an uphill battle to find a starting spot on the Oregon O-line, considering that the Ducks bring back 5 starting linemen from last season. If he can’t crack the starting lineup, that shouldn’t be viewed as a detriment to the freshman phenom, though. He may be ranked higher than Sewell was, but that doesn’t mean his career trajectory needs to be compared to the Oregon legend’s every step of the way.

“Everybody is their own unique player,” Forsyth said. “They do things better than some and some not as good as others but that’s what makes players special and unique to themselves.”

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Travis Dye undecided on if he will return to Oregon Ducks in 2022

Travis Dye said this week that he is still undecided on if he will return to the Ducks in 2022 or not.

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As the Oregon Ducks football season winds to a close and we prepare for Senior Night, we are looking to the players who could potentially participate in the ceremonies.

While the university is yet to tell us which players will be honored, fans are left a bit in the dark, especially this year with so many players given an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic-shortened season. For example, starting center Alex Forsyth announced earlier this week that he will be returning in 2022 despite already playing four seasons with the Ducks.

So what does starting RB Travis Dye plan to do next year? According to the 4th-year junior, he isn’t quite sure just yet. However, he did say that he won’t be participating in the senior night activities on Saturday.

“I haven’t decided no, but I’m leaning on I’m probably not going to,” Dye said this week. “It’s Senior Day; it’s important for the seniors to get their shine and their recognition and I don’t want to take anything away from them.”

If Dye were to return next season, it would be a boost for the Oregon backfield, but also has the potential to give them a “too many cooks in the kitchen” scenario, with Byron Cardwell, Trey Benson, Sean Dollars, and Seven McGee all looking for reps. There is also the possibility that CJ Verdell returns again next year after missing much of this season with a foot injury.

Players who have competed in four years of college football are being entered into the 2022 NFL Draft, per an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA, and have until Feb. 4 to opt-out and return to college.

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Report: Alex Forsyth says he is returning to the Ducks next season

Oregon’s starting center Alex Forsyth says that he plans to return to the Ducks for the 2022 season as a fifth-year senior.

The Oregon Ducks are among the youngest teams in the country this season, but one of their veteran players announced that he plans to return next year, rather than trying his hand in the NFL draft.

According to The Oregonian’s James Crepea, Forsyth said that he is coming back for 2022.

Forsyth has played for the Ducks for four seasons and has been the starting center for the past two. Forsyth was granted an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic-shortened season last year, and he will return to the roster as one of the oldest and most experienced players on the roster.

Around him, the Ducks are expected to have a deep talent pool to fill out the front-five, including Ryan Walk, Jackson Powers-Johnson, T.J. Bass, Dawson Jaramillo, and Steven Jones, among others.

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Injury Update: Ryan Walk avoids season-ending injury; expected to miss 3-4 weeks

Ryan Walk is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a left knee injury, but should be okay to go for the bowl season.

The Oregon Ducks offensive line has been hammered with injuries almost from Day 1 of the 2021 season. The group has had to mix and match throughout with the most significant injury being center Alex Forsyth.

So when lineman Ryan Walk went down with a left knee injury in the middle of the Washington Huskies game, a collective holding of the breath occurred on the Duck sideline.

As it turns out, according to Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal, the injury wasn’t as bad as first feared. The Ducks thought that maybe Walk would be out for the rest of the season.

Fortunately for everyone involved, especially Walk himself, the big 6-foot-3, 293-pound junior will only miss three or four weeks. That timetable might take him out for the remainder of the regular season, but he should be available for the bowl season or maybe the college football playoff.

Lineman Steven Jones also went down during the game as he was rolled up on and he’s questionable to play this Saturday against Washington State. Jackson Powers-Johnson, who has missed time, will be available for the Cougar game.

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‘He’s practiced full-throttle;’ Ducks expect C Alex Forsyth to return at full strength vs. Washington

We’ve heard multiple times that Alex Forsyth was clear to play, but setbacks have held him out. This time around, Mario Cristobal hopes it’s different.

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Because of the events of the day, Oregon’s loss to the Stanford Cardinal early in October overshadowed how significant the injury to starting center Alex Forsyth would end up being.

In the four weeks since then, Forsyth has been dealing with back spasms and working hard to get back onto the field. Multiple times he has been cleared to play, and head coach Mario Cristobal stated confidently that he was “good to go” for that weekend’s game. Yet, setbacks have kept him out for a month and counting.

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So this week, when Cristobal stated on Sunday that Forsyth was set to play against Washington, it’s hard to blame anyone for wanting to see it before they completely believe it.

“We’ve had this conversation four weeks in a row,” said Cristobal. “We say one thing and then, but I feel great about it. Because it’s been unpredictable, so to speak, I’ll just say that’s where he’s at right now. We’ve done everything possible with him, and he’s practiced full throttle, every rep. So, we’re good.”

Again, we can be cautiously optimistic heading forward.

In the meantime, the Ducks should feel confident that even without Forsyth on the field, they are covered at the center position. In his stead, home-grown fan-favorite Ryan Walk has stepped up and done a tremendous job in the middle of the offensive line.

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Despite his success, the “will-he, won’t-he” for Forsyth has been difficult to manage for the team, especially for QB Anthony Brown.

“It’s very tough, but Ryan has done a hell of a job,” Brown said. “Either way, Alex or Ryan, I have full confidence in either one of them, so it doesn’t matter to me, at least.”

It’s been a while since Forsyth was on the field for the Ducks, but you have to believe that he is doing everything he can to play in what could be his last career game against the Washington Huskies. All signs point towards him giving it a go right now, so we just have to hope things stay that way.

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Injury Update: Alex Forsyth, Dontae Manning “full go,” Steve Stephens “has a chance” vs. Washington

Alex Forsyth is said to be a “full go” for game vs. Washington, as is Dontae Manning. Steve Stephens “has a chance” according to Cristobal.

Back injuries are always tough to get through and they can also be unpredictable.

That’s what starting center Alex Forsyth has been dealing with over the past few weeks. But according to head coach Mario Cristobal, the senior practiced “full go” on Sunday and the Ducks are optimistic he could very well return.

It would be perfect timing for Oregon to get its starting center back as the Ducks go to Seattle to face Washington. The coaching and training staffs were hopeful Forsyth would return for the UCLA game, but that unpredictability of a lower back injury showed itself at the last minute and Forsyth could not participate.

In his place, Jackson Powers-Johnson and Ryan Walk have filled in admirably, but getting Forsyth back to snap the ball will allow the other offensive linemen to slide back into their natural positions.

Oregon and Washington are scheduled to kick off at 4:30 p.m. televised on ABC.

Injury Update: Oregon Ducks without several starters vs. Stanford Cardinal

Both starting safety Bennett Williams and starting center Alex Forsyth ware not with the team in pregame warmups ahead of Stanford game.

We didn’t have much word of new injuries for the Oregon Ducks coming into this game against the Stanford Cardinal, but pregame warmups were revealing, with a noted absence from C Alex Forsyth and S Bennett Williams.

In Forsyth’s stead, Ryan Walk was taking snaps with the first-team offense. At the safety position, it was LB Jefferey Bassa who was working with the secondary. Bassa was originally a safety for the Ducks that moved to the LB position to fill a need left by injuries.

On top of the player absence, it appears that offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead is absent from the game as well. There were rumors circulating online that he did not make the trip with the team, and that appears to be accurate at this time. We will update if new information arises.

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Phil Steele honors 15 Oregon Ducks on his preseason all-Pac-12 list

A total of 15 Oregon Ducks made Phil Steele’s all-Pac-12 selections, with four Ducks making the first team.

It’s that time of year where pre-season lists are being published in the world of college football and there’s no more prestigious pre-season publisher than Phil Steele.

He has selected 15 Oregon Ducks as all-conference players with four of those Ducks on his First Team All-Pac-12 list.

It should come as no surprise that defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux would lead this particular list off. Thibodeaux has a chance to be a First-Team All-American and a very high draft choice when the NFL draft rolls around next April.

Joining Thibodeaux on the first team is offensive linemen TJ Bass and Alex Forsyth to go with cornerback Mykael Wright. Bass and Forsyth will be second-year starters for Oregon along that huge O-line and Wright was an all-Pac-12 player last season as a sophomore.

On Steele’s second-team all-conference is safety Verone McKinley III, linebacker Noah Sewell, receiver Devon Williams, offensive lineman Steven Jones, and tailback CJ Verdell.

McKinley was a freshman All-American in 2019 and Sewell was also one in 2020. Because of the pandemic, those players are still a sophomore and freshman, respectively, and look to be the core of the Oregon defense in 2021.

The 6-foot-5 Williams should be a go-to target for quarterback Anthony Brown this season as he has Jones, Bass and Forsyth to protect him. Brown is listed on Steele’s fourth-team all-conference list.

Verdell is looking to become of of the great Oregon tailbacks of all time with 68 more yards to crack the Oregon Top 10 list. He’s less than 1,000 yards away from 3,500 career yards.

Safety Jamal Hill leads Oregon on Steele’s third team along with offensive lineman Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, long snapper Karsten Battles and punter Tom Snee.

Hill played in all 14 games in 2019 and another six in 2020 where he managed to grab two interceptions. Aumavae-Laulu, at 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds will be yet another massive body on that line and Battles is a very reliable long snapper that is key to the Ducks’ special teams. Snee’s punting ability has improved each season as he averaged nearly 44 yards per punt in 2020.

Along with Brown, defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus made Steele’s fourth-team all-Pac-12 list.

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