Where Oregon's starting center position battle stands ahead of fall camp

For the first time since 2019, the Oregon Ducks are going to begin a season without Alex Forsyth as their starting center. A three-time all-conference selection for the Ducks, Forsyth started 29 career games at UO and was a second-team All-American in 2022. But he was selected by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and now Oregon is in the midst of identifying his successor. Fourth-year junior Marcus Harper II and junior Jackson Powers-Johnson, both of whom have spent the majority of their careers at guard, will open fall camp on Wednesday in direct competition to become the program's next starting center. Both players spent the spring repping at all three interior offensive line positions. That will likely continue to be the case in August.