Ryan Walk – Page 2 – Syndication Server

‘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.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f27mq9z7hjgk6vc6 player_id=none image=https://duckswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

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.

[lawrence-related id=11936]

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.

[lawrence-related id=11917]

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.

[listicle id=11630]

‘AB is our guy, he’s our leader:’ Oregon offense stands up for QB Anthony Brown while boos rain down from fans

“AB is our guy, we’re rolling with him regardless.”
Anthony Brown’s play elicited boos from the crowd on Friday night, but his teammates stood beside him.

If you were to wake up on Saturday morning and simply look at the box score from Oregon’s 24-17 win over the Cal Golden Bears, not much would shock you about QB Anthony Brown’s night.

In fact, the numbers he put up were actually pretty impressive — 20-for-28 with 244 yards and 1 TD, plus 59 yards and 1 TD on the ground. However, the reaction from the Ducks fanbase was less than welcoming, with a flurry of boos coming from the student section early in the game, and continuing throughout the night.

[lawrence-related id=10407]

The boos stemmed from frustration over the offense’s inability to be productive. Oregon is a school that is synonymous with putting up egregious numbers on the scoreboard, and making games against middling Pac-12 teams boring to watch in the second half. This Oregon team doesn’t fit under that category. They often put up enough points to win the game, but they don’t make it look easy.

So early in this game, when the Ducks were forced to settle for a field goal after entering the redzone, or when they turned the ball over on downs when Brown threw a three-yard pass on a 4th and 6 situation, the boos started. Later in the game, with Oregon trailing, loud chants of “We want Thompson” came from the crowd, with true freshman QB Ty Thompson eliciting loud cheers as he stayed loose during timeouts.

So what did Brown do in response? Eventually, he led a pair of 60-plus yard scoring drives that tied the game and gave Oregon a lead in the fourth quarter.

[lawrence-related id=10413]

“At the end of the day, it really motivated us,” said center Ryan Walk. “You want to say that you didn’t notice it, but I’m not going to lie to you, we all noticed it. You can’t sit there and be like ‘Oh well I didn’t notice it.’ Yea, you noticed it. It motivated us. The O-line went to AB and said ‘Hey, we’ve got your back, have our back.’ And that’s what we showed on those last two drives. We’ve got each other’s backs. AB is our guy, he’s our leader, and we’re rolling with him regardless.”

Results aside, having your offense booed in front of a home crowd is never a good thing. Fans may think it will encourage change, but it will more quickly have a negative impact with confidence often soaring out the window. Luckily, Brown is a sixth-year senior who is familiar with blocking out the noise and getting back to business on the field.

“I thought he did a good job of handling it,” said safety Verone McKinley III. “Not everybody understands football; not everyone understands what’s going on in the system, or the concepts that are being run and what they’re looking for. So for people to boo, it’s kind of disappointing. But at the same time, we’ve got to worry about us. We can’t let the crowd affect us, and I think Anthony did a good job of getting guys back rallied up and going down and leading that drive at the end to get us a score.”

Brown responded well to the overwhelming criticism on Friday night, but you have to wonder how much the coaching staff and players took note of the uneasiness of the crowd. They can say that AB is their guy, but will disapproval from a fanbase at least force them to look at the shortcomings from the quarterback?

That’s a question that we don’t have an answer to, but one that we’ve been encouraging Mario Cristobal to look at in-depth. For now, though, it’s pretty clear that there is no QB change on the horizon, and the Ducks are going to stick with their sixth-year senior, for better or for worse.

“AB is our guy,” Walk repeated on Friday night. “We’re going to roll with him. He’s our leader.”

[listicle id=10377]

Spring Position Preview: A young, but experienced offensive line ready to flex some muscle

Oregon’s offensive line was inexperienced in 2020, but now they’re ready to show valuable lessons were learned along the way.

Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert will be the first one to say that much of his success was due to his offensive line. The group literally grew with Herbert in the program.

But then when it was time to leave, they all left. What remained in 2020 was talented, but extremely young and inexperienced, which showed at times. Oregon’s run game wasn’t as explosive, and suddenly the Ducks quarterback, either Tyler Shough and Anthony Brown, was scrambling more than usual.

[lawrence-related id=712]

Now it’s a year later and the offensive line is still together, ready to show that some hard lessons were learned and those lessons are going to be put to use this coming season.

This young group has always had the necessary size to be successful, but in 2021, the offensive line has experience in the back pocket. No one will be happier to play with the new and improved line than Brown and the tailbacks.

CJ Verdell insists he has a chance to rush for 2,000 yards this season and that goal would be silly to have unless the correct offensive line was in place.

It all begins with the center, Alex Forsyth. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder from West Lynn, Ore. went from playing in just five games in 2019 to being a second-team all-conference selection by the Pac-12 coaches.

Manning the left side of the line will most likely be George Moore at tackle and TJ Bass at guard. Moore, a senior from Antioch, Calif. stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 325 pounds. Despite being named as the No. 1 junior college offensive lineman after the 2016 season, he hasn’t been able to find consistent playing time until last season.

Bass is another junior college transfer that didn’t see significant playing time until 2020. The 6-foot-5, 318-pound junior from Deming, Wash. made the most of his opportunity last season and was named as an honorable mention by the Pac-12 coaches.

On the right side of the center will be junior Ryan Walk and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu. Walk is a Eugene native from Sheldon High School and has seen firsthand how good the Herbert brothers are. He’s not so bad himself. At 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, the media named him as an all-conference selection in 2020. As for Aumavae-Laulu, the 6-foot-6, 325-pounder from Hilo, Hawaii was a second-team all-Pac-12 player last season after redshirting the 2019 season.

Not only is the offensive line group experienced, but it’s deep as well. The Ducks have several big men who will fight for playing time, beginning with Steven Jones and Dawson Jaramillo.

Jones is a mammoth human being at 6-foot-6 and 340 pounds. The Temecula, Calif. native was in the regular rotation of linemen last season and he should expect that not to change anytime soon.

The 6-foo5-5, 303-pounder Jaramillo, a Portland, Ore. native, should also expect to see some regular playing time in his sophomore season.

Someone who might be able to break through fairly quickly is true freshman Kingley Suamataia from Orum, Utah. At 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, Suamataia was a five-star recruit and rated as a top 25 player and one of the best offensive linemen in the country. He was also named to the second-team All-USA High School Football Preseason Team by USA Today.

[vertical-gallery id=819]