Oregon’s offensive line keeps changing faces, but the Ducks keep finding new answers.
That’s been the pattern under Dan Lanning since he took over before the 2022 season, and it’s already showing up again in 2025. The No. 6 Ducks lost most of last year’s starting front to the NFL Draft, yet the program is once more leaning on a group that looks capable of keeping Oregon in the national conversation up front.
One of the names making the strongest early push is Ziyare Addison. The offensive tackle turned heads in Week 1 and appears to be settling into a major role after barely seeing the field as a true freshman. Addison, a consensus four-star recruit out of Tampa, Florida, in the 2025 cycle, played only two games last season and logged just eight snaps, splitting them between non-conference matchups with Montana State and Oklahoma State.
Addison said he began working with the first unit when fall camp opened, and that eventually led to his first career start in the opener against Boise State.
Dan Lanning pointed to Addison’s athleticism, power and work ethic as the reasons he earned the left tackle job. He also said the key for Addison has been learning to slow things down and play with more control.
“I think what he did is he was able to calm down and play rather than trying to force things to happen,” Lanning said. “Just consistency, a level of consistency.”
Lanning said the bigger change for Addison this offseason wasn’t about effort. It was about how he approached growth and what he chose to focus on.
“I think what he really honed in on this year is focusing on the process, right? What are the things that are going to get me where I want to go, as opposed to these superficial goals of I have to start every game, I want to be a freshman All-American,” Lanning said.
“Like, those are goals. But they're outcome-based goals that you're not always in charge of.
What you are in charge of is your improvement,” he continued. “And Ziyare’s been infatuated with his improvement, improving, being good for the team, doing his job for the team, and he'll have to continue to do that for us.
We have, again, high expectations for him.”
Addison is part of a line that looks different from the one Oregon finished with a year ago. Center Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu is the main returner from the Joe Moore Award finalist unit, while guard Dave Iuli is also back after working his way back from injury.
Lanning said when camp began that the Ducks would probably rotate six to eight players along the line this fall, and that showed up in the 34-27 win over Boise State. Oregon used a heavy mix as it continued sorting out the best long-term combination before Big Ten play begins.
Laloulu started at center, Douglas Utu opened at left guard, Michael Bennett III was at right guard, Fox Crader at right tackle and Addison at left tackle. Trent Ferguson later rotated in at left guard, and Iuli came on at right guard.
Week 2 brings Oregon’s first road test, a trip to Oklahoma State, and the lineup will be worth watching again. Whether the Ducks stick with the same starters, and whether true freshmen Tommy Tofi and Immanuel Iheanacho make their debuts, could be one of the more interesting developments to track.
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