Eleven days away from the season opener, the Oregon Ducks are getting more and more into game shape and depth chart decisions are close to being finalized. Head coach Mark Helfrich spoke about the progress of the offensive line and line backers after practice on Tuesday.
“Hroniss [Grasu] is awesome,” said Helfrich of his junior center. “His mentality, his toughness, his instincts, his awareness. All the positives that you want in a center, he has.”
Grasu is entering his third season as starting center and will have some familiar faces around him, but some new ones as well. Last year’s starters Carson York, Kyle Long and Nick Cody all graduated, which means a few new starters will be lined up beside Grasu this season.
“Karrintgon [Armstrong’s] been a stud, too,” Helfrich said. “Really done some things throughout fall camp. He’s a guy that’s had some nagging career-long injuries, and he’s just battled his whole career here.” Armstrong is a senior who has been used primarily as a reserve center, appearing in nine games last season.
The issue of who will start at linebacker has been a focal point of fall camp, and Helfrich addressed it Tuesday.
“All the linebackers I think have practiced really well, at times,” Helfrich said. “Now they just need to put it all together. But I really like how those guys are practicing in general. All those guys are kind of unsung and have some big shoes to fill.”
With the strength of Oregon’s running game, high profile running backs and one-sided games, many wide-outs have been kept from making themselves known. According to first year wide receivers coach Matt Lubick, nearly every receiver on the roster has starter potential.
“We’ve built a lot of depth,” Lubick said. “We’ve got a unique blend of guys that have a lot of experience and then a lot of guys who have been in the program and just haven’t had the game reps. Those guys are getting better, and the deeper we are the better we’re going to be. We have six guys that could end up being starters and it’s still up for grabs. Guys are competing every day.”