Preseason Camp Preview: DL

DEFENSIVE LINE

Who's back: Oregon's defensive front will be challenged to build on the unit's elite production in 2023 while working with a new-look personnel group following the graduation of mainstays Brandon Dorlus, Popo Aumavae, Taki Taimani and Casey Rogers. There are a couple of key veterans returning that the Ducks can build around, in Jordan Burch and Keyon Ware-Hudson. They helped the UO defense hold opponents to just 102.6 rushing yards per game last fell, while nearly doubling the team's sack total from the previous year by finishing 2023 with 34.

Also returning are some incredibly talented young players who got their feet wet a year ago. A'Mauri Washington made big strides in the spring, and both he and Terrance Green are space-eaters who can help replace the likes of Aumavae and Taimani. My'Keil Gardner and Ashton Porter are versatile athletes looking to step into bigger roles this season, and JuJuan Dickey has the chance to make an impression after really improving his conditioning over the past year.

Ware-Hudson_PSU_EE

Who's new: Those young Ducks will be looking to step up this preseason camp, but there won't be too much pressure on them after the coaching staff also added some veteran talent through the transfer portal. Jamaree Caldwell was on hand for spring practices, bringing with him 20 games of experience over the past two seasons at Houston. After the spring, Oregon added another interior lineman, Derrick Harmon, a 10-game starter as a sophomore at Michigan State last year.

The D line also had four freshmen on hand for spring drills, including Tionne Gray, who enrolled back in December and participated in some Fiesta Bowl practices. He was joined for the spring by classmates Aydin Breland, Jericho Johnson and Xadavien Sims. Oregon under head coach Dan Lanning and his staff has been recruiting at an elite level on the defensive line — and everywhere else, if we're being frank — and perhaps no position group is a bigger separator between teams with elite aspirations, and everybody else.

What to watch: Between the veterans — including the additions through the portal — and also the second-year D linemen and then the freshmen, the Ducks have three generations of talent ready to be deployed in waves this fall. Just how big of a rotation will the staff be able to employ in 2024? That's a question to be sorted out through the rigors of preseason camp. But there's talent aplenty along the defensive front, a big reason Oregon is drawing preseason projections as a contender both in the Big Ten and also for the College Football Playoff.