Oregon spring football preview: Defensive line
Oregon is set to open spring practices on March 10. There is plenty of excitement surrounding Dan Lanning’s program, and there is no shortage of storylines related to the Ducks’ roster. In the coming days, ScoopDuck will have you covered with position-by-position previews that highlight a key returner, key newcomer, and a breakout candidate at each spot.
Next up: the defensive line.
Previously:
Scholarship players
- Maceal Afaese (R-Fr)
- Popo Aumavae (R-Senior)
- Brandon Dorlus (Junior)
- Sir Mells (Signee)
- Sua’ava Poti (R-Sophomore)
- Jordon Riley (Senior)
- Ben Roberts (Signee)
- Jaylen Smith (R-Fr)
- Taki Taimani (R-Junior)
- Keyon Ware-Hudson (R-Sophomore)
- Keanu Williams (Sophomore)
- Kristian Williams (R-Sophomore)
Key returner(s)
Brandon Dorlus & Popo Aumavae
Okay, yes we’re cheating here. But good luck picking between Duck stars Brandon Dorlus and Popo Aumavae for the team’s most important returner along the defensive line.
Kayvon Thibodeaux rightfully garnered a ton of attention last season. But when he was hampered by injuries, Dorlus and Aumavae stepped up in a major way and were the Ducks’ most consistent players up front. Both players were all-conference selections in 2021, respectively, after they turned in tremendous seasons.
Aumavae received a grade of 81.3 from Pro Football Focus, and Dorlus was issued a grade of 79.2. Those were the two best grades in the Pac-12 by a wide margin, and the duo also finished with the two best pass-rushing grades in the conference.
Oregon is incredibly fortunate to be bringing both players back for another season, as both of them had the opportunity to enter the NFL Draft. It will be fascinating to see how Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi go about getting the most out of Aumavae and Dorlus’ tremendous talents.
Key newcomer
Taki Taimani
As if Oregon didn’t already have an embarrassment of riches along the defensive line, in the offseason, it added former Washington Huskie Taki Taimani, a redshirt junior who was a very productive Pac-12 player in his own right last season.
Taimani was PFF’s fifth-best rated Pac-12 interior linemen with a grade of 72.0. He was one of the very best run defenders in the conference and graded out at 71.1 in that department.
With the departure of Jayson Jones to Auburn, Oregon really needed to add another quality player for depth along the interior. With Taimani, they’ve done exactly that.
Another player to keep an eye on will be Nebraska transfer Jordan Riley. The Ducks added him just two days after he entered the transfer portal, and he will be reunited with his former Nebraska position coach, Tony Tuioti.
Breakout candidate
Keyon Ware-Hudson
He flew under the radar a bit last season because of the talent that was surrounding him along Oregon’s defensive line, but Keyon Ware-Hudson quietly had a very good season for the Ducks in 2021.
The redshirt sophomore saw his role steadily increase as the year went on and played a season-high 59 snaps in Week 7. He dealt with multiple injuries late in the season and eventually was forced to shut it down for the year after the Washington State game.
But when he was healthy, Ware-Hudson graded out as the 10th-best run-stopper in the Pac-12, according to PFF, and was another steady, solid presence upfront. Once he returns to full health, there’s no reason Ware-Hudson can’t be even better in 2022.
Of note:
There are a few hybrid-ish players on Oregon’s roster who could probably be listed as defensive linemen OR edge rushers. That includes Bradyn Swinson, Treven Ma’ae, and Jake Shipley. For the time being, we’re referring to those players as edge rushers since that is where they were listed on Oregon’s final 2021 two-deep, and they will be included in that preview.
