Dan Lanning defines Oregon's offensive line competition as 'extremely competitive'

An offensive line is the foundation of every offense. Oregon‘s offensive linemen are fighting to be a brick in the Ducks’ foundation this year. In an interview with ESPN’s Greg McElroy, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning described the intense competition unfolding inside the team’s offensive line unit this offseason.

“It’s extremely competitive right now,” Lanning said. “The guys have worked really hard. What I love about our offensive line here is they they work really well together… The O-line group is always a really tight-knit group. And we have a group that’s really a tight-knit group.”

Oregon’s togetherness on the offensive line is impressive considering the unit is only returning one starter from last season, center Iapani Laloulu. Instead, the Ducks will rely heavily on their transfer additions in the upcoming season.

The Ducks picked up Isaiah World, the No. 11 offensive tackle in On3’s 2025 Transfer Portal Player Rankings, this offseason. Additionally, the team added former Texas State OT Alex Harkey and former USC interior offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon.

Although some of the players who will star on Oregon’s offensive line this fall weren’t around the program last season, they’re still looking to the standards set by previous Ducks. Lanning believes this desire to match or outperform former offensive line units will be key to Oregon’s success this year.

“Last year we had a lot of transition on that offensive line, and we were Joe Moore Award finalists last year, were Joe Moore were finalists the year before,” Lanning said. “We’ve done a really good job of protecting the quarterback. So again, there’s been some standards that have been established with that group.

“They expect to have 1000-yard rusher, they expect to have a quarterback that throws for a lot of yards and being in contention for Heisman at the end of the year — they take a lot of pride in that. They’ve been working really hard this off season, but there’s still a lot of work to do before we get to Game 1.”

It won’t be easy for Oregon’s 2025 offensive linemen to keep up with their predecessors. Last season, the Ducks only allowed 1.5 sacks per game, ranking in the top 50 in the country. Moreover, they often bulldozed the Ducks’ opposition, allowing Jordan James to rack up 1,267 rushing yards in the 2024 campaign.

With a new starting running back and QB in the backfield this year, Oregon’s offensive line will have plenty of incentive to perform. The Ducks will kick off their upcoming season with a showdown against Montana State on Aug. 30.