Iapani 'Poncho' Laloulu Knows What Oregon Has in the Trenches: 'We know who we are'

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks are a finalist for the Joe Moore Award recognizing the best offensive line in college football for the third straight year. Center Iapani ‘Poncho’ Laloulu was Oregon’s only returning starter from last year’s offensive line and he’s been a tone-setter for the Ducks in the trenches.

After being a finalist for the Rimington Trophy awarded to the nation’s best center, he’s ready to put his best foot forward in the College Football Playoff. He met with the media on Monday to give his thoughts on Oregon’s growth this season and where the offensive line is at heading into Saturday’s clash with No. 12 James Madison.

Below are some of his key quotes as well as video from his media availability.

On having time off from program since end of regular season

Laloulu: “First and foremost, I thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ. But that off week that we had, that Dan gave us was crucial. I feel like just looking back, some things we can learn from last year and what we poured in this year. The off week really had us get prepared and take off all that toil off our body. So it’s pretty cool that Dan can—and that’s why I really love Coach Dan. He’s ready to adapt, execute some things.”

On how Indiana loss shapes importance of playoff elimination game

Lalolulu: “We handle it with great respect. Obviously Indiana’s great team. We took that as a lesson, and we’re gonna learn from that. And right now, our main thing is to win, obviously, but we’re just gonna be focused whatever we got to do to prepare for James Madison.”

On what he’s taken from extended break before last year’s playoff into this year

Lalolulu: “Just having that fire. Not letting off. Coming off, having that long break kind of, a lot of us probably, you can tell that there’s some complacency in it. But this year we kind of had that factor, yeah, we got this off week, but we got to make sure we still have that fire. We’re still doing things that we can get better off the field, while we’re not in the facility.”

On impressions of James Madison front seven

Lalolulu: “Obviously James Madison they’re a great team. Respect to them, they made it to the top, 12 best teams in college football. So just seeing how much they’re able to move. They’re not the biggest guys we’ve ever played, but you can tell that they play elite technique. So it’s up to us that we got to play great technique and fundamentals and being elite with what we have.”

On how Dante Moore has handled his growth this season

Lalolulu: “Me and Dante are in the same class, and seeing the mentality and the role and the leadership that he’s taken with Dillon (Gabriel) leaving this past year, and him coming and stepping in and being that quarterback for us, like it’s great. We can tell, last year he was just watching and learning from Dillon, and you can see how much he’s been pouring in and he’s been learning. And there’s things that he probably wishes he could get back, but he grows from it like you talked about.”

On what’s been key to finding offensive rhythm in face of injuries in November

Lalolulu: “At the end of the day it don’t matter who’s on the field. We trust anybody that goes on the field, especially for the offensive line room. Obviously like you talked about, there’s been a lot of injuries amongst the guys. So at the end of the day, we prepare everybody. YIt don’t matter who it is, whether you’re a one, twos or threes. Anybody that goes on the field from the Law Frm standpoint, they go in and do their job.”

On how he feels about offensive line this year, showcasing depth

Lalolulu: “You pointed it out. The debt that we have in the room, and like, I was just saying. Just being able to have guys be able to step up when guys go down speaks a lot of volume to what it means to be an offensive line. It’s not just us starting five, it’s everybody in that room plays a factor into that Joe Moore Award. So no matter what it is I love my guys, and we know who we are. We’re the Law Firm.”