EUGENE, Ore. - Oregon should have one of its more experienced pieces back in the mix when the Ducks kick off the season Saturday against Boise State.
Senior offensive lineman Dave Iuli is expected to be available, and head coach Dan Lanning sounded confident Monday that the fifth-year veteran is ready to go after being limited earlier in camp.
"He's been able to practice for us all week," Lanning said at his Monday evening press conference. "I feel comfortable that he can play."
Iuli missed all of spring after tearing his tricep during Oregon’s College Football Playoff run last season. At media day in July, he said he felt he was "ready to go", though Lanning later noted Iuli was still working through "some limitations" during fall camp. That now appears to be in the rearview.
The Ducks have reason to feel good about Iuli’s return. He started all 15 games in 2025 and has 19 career starts, splitting time almost evenly between left guard and right guard. He also earned third-team All-Big Ten honors a season ago.
Even with Iuli expected back, Oregon’s offensive line remains very much a work in progress. Lanning said the Ducks may not settle into a five-man unit right away, and that multiple players have earned opportunities to see the field.
"Do we have some guys we feel comfortable going into the game with? Yes.
Are there still multiple guys playing above-the-line ball at multiple spots? Yes.
Will you see one group? No, I think you'll probably see some different guys in the lineup throughout, and that's because they've earned that and worked through it," Lanning said on Monday.
That approach has been part of the plan for a while. In July, Lanning said Oregon could use six, seven or even eight players in this year’s O-line rotation.
The first few games will go a long way toward sorting out how that rotation takes shape.
"That will kind of help us shape 'OK, it's a little different in practice, what's it like in a game? Who's performing the best'?"
he explained. "Even if you go back to previous years, we've started with offensive lines we thought were the best going in, and then they changed over time.
That'll be the same with every position on our team, but we have some guys who are prepped and ready, and we're going to put them in position to be successful."
Oregon does at least bring back one key constant up front in center Iapani Laloulu, a Rimmington Trophy finalist last season. Iuli is back in that same group of full-time starters from a year ago, while the portal added only one more player. The rest of the emphasis came through internal development under A'lique Terry.
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