It's never easy to move into a season without having an idea of who the big five up front will be on offense. The Oregon Ducks
are never short on talent along the offensive line, but talent will only take a team so far in a ferocious Big Ten.
As the Ducks come down the stretch of their spring season, there are still some questions they will need to answer up front. Oregon lost three offensive linemen to the NFL Draft this offseason, including starting tackles Isaiah World
and Alex Harkey
.
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Although both World and Harkey struggled at times last season, the Ducks knew how to play to their strengths and get the most out of them. However, they were portal additions. Now, Oregon offensive line coach A'lique Terry gets to work with the young depth the Ducks have stockpiled along the line.
"It's about time for those guys; it's their chance now," Terry said. "We've had a great group of tackles the last few years that we've taken in these classes — the Fox Crader's
, the Ziyarre Addison's, the Zac Stascausky's. We have a ton of guys. We evaluated really well. But the last two years, they were a little young. So we're like, 'Let's take some portal guys who are one-year guys.' That gives them still another 9-12 months to develop. And now that's starting to pay dividends."
Oregon had "The Law Firm"
protecting Moore last season. Although some key members of that group are gone to another firm, the Ducks have been developing some associates to take their place and potentially become partners this season.
Crader, Addison and Stascausky, all former four-star recruits, have waited their turn. Crader joined in the 2024 class, while Addision and Stascausky came along a year later. While the latter two took a redshirt for the Ducks last season, Crader proved to be a piece the Ducks have some faith in moving forward.
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Crader stepped in for Harkey at right tackle and made his first career start against USC and impressed, keeping Dante Moore
clean as the Ducks' offense rolled to a big win. In the College Football Playoff, Crader entered again, this time at left tackle after Isaiah World
went down with an injury. It became clear very quickly that he would be a top candidate to replace the departing tackles in 2026.
The Ducks also signed five-star Immanuel Iheancaho
in the latest cycle. Although Iheanacho won't enroll until June, the 6-foot-6, 345-pound lineman is expected to be able to contribute at guard or tackle as a freshman, giving the Ducks even more depth.
"There's a lot of trust in these guys. Obviously, Fox got an opportunity last year vs USC. When these guys show up for the opportunity, they make the most of it. So it's just true confidence in these guys. The last few offseasons, working with (Oregon strength coach) Wilson Love and getting bigger, faster, stronger. Working with 'The Law Firm,' obviously getting better in their skill set. But now there's a true confidence, not only from the coaching staff, but their teammates as well, that they can get the job done."
The spring game will go a long way to show how far the Oregon tackles have come, and who might be in line for a starting spot next season.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire:
Oregon OL coach A'lique Terry all-in on Ducks young tackles
