If Oregon is going to make good on its 2026 national championship hopes, the Ducks will need more than the obvious headliners. They’ll need the steady, low-drama players who keep everything on track when the script gets messy. On a roster loaded with talent, these are three of Oregon’s most dependable pieces.
Dave Iuli fits that mold perfectly. The 6-3, 332-pound right guard from Puyallup, Washington has already started 19 games for Oregon and is heading into his senior season after anchoring three straight offensive lines that were Joe Moore Award finalists. Last year, he posted a 78.9 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, part of the reason Dante Moore had time to keep launching touchdown passes.
“I love Dave,” Lanning said last fall. “He comes out to work every day, always has a smile on his face. He's always asking, 'What can I do to be better for the team?'”
Moore sees the same thing every day. “Dave is a vet,” Moore said.”He knows how to communicate, he knows how to sacrifice for the team, and I'm glad to have him.”
That kind of presence matters even more now, with Oregon replacing three starters on the offensive line this season, including Emmanuel Pregnon, the road grader at left guard who was drafted in the third round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. A'Lique Terry will lean on veterans like Iuli and Poncho Laloulu to steady the group and help set the tone in the run game.
On defense, Teitum Tuioti keeps doing the dirty work and somehow still doesn’t get talked about enough. The Sheldon High School product led Oregon with 9.5 sacks last season, good for fifth in the Big Ten, and added 68 tackles, which ranked fourth on the team and first among defensive linemen. He also finished with 16 tackles for loss, the only Duck in double figures, and has now started 29 straight games over the last two seasons after appearing in 13 as a freshman.
Tuioti’s production is impossible to ignore once you look at the numbers. He logged 705 snaps on defense last year, third-most on the team behind Aaron Flowers and Matayo Uiagalelei, and he’s also the highest-rated tackling defensive lineman in EA Sports College Football at 93. He’s the kind of edge player who keeps showing up, keeps finishing plays and keeps offenses uncomfortable.
Then there’s Jeremiah McClellan, who just plain catches everything. The 6-0, 195-pound receiver from Christian Brothers College Prep in St.
Louis, Missouri has a knack for making impossible grabs look routine, whether he’s fighting through contact, toeing the sideline or hanging on after taking a shot in the end zone. He even came down with a ball through De'Angelo Ponds in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
McClellan doesn’t always get the first mention when Oregon’s receivers come up, with Evan Stewart and Dakorien Moore drawing plenty of attention as the electric 10.4 sprinters in the room. But McClellan was on the field for all 15 games last season and finished with 38 catches for 557 yards and three touchdowns.
More often than not, he’s the one making the grab that leaves everyone asking the same thing: “How did he catch that?” Sometimes, even the officials seem stunned.
In Other News...
Where Oregon Lands In The Big Ten Debate Will Surprise Fans
Oregons place in the early Big Ten conversation is a little higher than some fans might have expected, but it fits the broader sense that Dana Altman has another rebuild taking shape in Eugene. CBS Sports Jon Rothstein slotted the Ducks 12th in his conference power rankings, a spot that leaves them in the middle of the league picture but still within the range of teams that could make noise if the new pieces come together quickly.
The appeal here is less about where Oregon sits today and more about where it could be by the time 2026-27 arrives. The Ducks are aiming to move on from last seasons 5-15 conference finish and 16th-place showing, and the hope is that a revamped roster built through the transfer portal can push them back into the NCAA Tournament conversation. For a program that has already shown it can reload, this is the kind of preseason placement that feels more like a challenge than a ceiling. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lannings 2028 Quarterback Board Just Became A Must-Watch For Oregon
Oregons 2028 recruiting board is still in its early stages, and the quarterback spot is already shaping up as the one to watch. The Ducks do not have a commit in the class yet, but they are tracking three signal-callers with very different paths to prominence: Christopher Vargas, Graham Simpson and Ace Amina. Each brings a different kind of appeal, whether it is high-end upside, family pedigree or a built-in connection to the Oregon pipeline.
What makes this group interesting is how much of the work is still ahead. Vargas has already put himself on the national radar, Simpson has shown he can handle big-game pressure, and Amina fits the kind of long-term evaluation Oregon has leaned on in recent cycles. None of that guarantees a decision, and the Ducks are still fighting to turn interest into traction, but Dan Lannings staff has clearly made the quarterback board a priority worth following closely. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Raiolas Value Is Being Debated Again After Leaving Nebraska
Dylan Raiolas move to Oregon has kept him in the conversation even after the buzz that followed him out of Nebraska. The former five-star recruit arrives in Eugene with real pedigree and a rsum that still matters, which is part of why ESPN has him slotted No. 28 among college football transfers. For a Ducks program that has spent the last few seasons trying to stack talent at every level, adding a quarterback with Raiolas profile is less about immediate headlines and more about keeping the pipeline stocked.
Dan Lanning has already pointed to Raiolas growth and intelligence as reasons Oregon believes there is more here than just another transfer addition. Raiola also sounds comfortable with the idea that his next step is about learning and preparing rather than grabbing the spotlight right away, which fits a roster that has Dante Moore back in the fold. The bigger question for Oregon is how quickly Raiola can turn that promise into something more tangible, because the Ducks did not bring him in just to be a name on the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]