Preseason Camp Preview: DL

Assessing where things stand for the Oregon football team entering the start of preseason camp July 31.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Who's back: If karma is real, this will be a season of stability and good health for the Oregon defensive line — because the last 12 months have seen unbelievable turnover. Injuries, medical retirements, transfers and some disciplinary issues have hit this group hard, and now they enter 2017 playing for their third different coordinator in their third different scheme in the last three years. The good news is, there are some experienced veterans on which to lean, namely ends Henry Mondeaux and Jalen Jelks. Mondeaux has always been a workout warrior, and even after being the Ducks' most statistically productive defensive lineman in 2016, he attacked his weight-room work with vigor this winter:

Biggest Squat of the day goes to SR D-Lineman @HMondeaux92 635 #DuckStrength #Trenches pic.twitter.com/ee4NYxAXA8
— Joey Carnes (@CoachCarnes45) July 19, 2017

The Ducks also return Elijah George, a converted offensive lineman who made a big impression during spring practice. Gary Baker now has game experience after being pressed into duty midway through his redshirt freshman season, and Hunter Kampmoyer will look to earn playing time after being named defensive scout-team player of the year while redshirting. Drayton Carlberg spent spring rehabbing an injury, making it tough to project where things stand heading into August. Jordan Kurahara is an experienced practice player on the line, and Riley Greene is another big body for the scout team.

Who's new: After bursting onto the scene as an early enrollee in April, true freshman Jordon Scott will look to carry over that momentum into another camp this preseason. He's a big body who put up a 600-pound squat this summer, but also is deceptively nimble. Scott was joined this summer by classmates Austin Faoliu and Popo Aumavae, two more big bodies for the rotation. The biggest potential impact newcomer is graduate transfer Scott Pagano from Clemson, but he spent summer rehabbing a pre-existing injury, slowing his transition into Willie Taggart's program at Oregon.

ROB'S TAKE

Projected depth chart
DE: Henry Mondeaux, Sr.; Scott Pagano, Gr.; Popo Aumavae, Fr.
NT: Jordon Scott, Fr.; Gary Baker, So.; Austin Faoliu, Fr.; Riley Greene, RFr.
DE: Jalen Jelks, Jr.; Drayton Carlberg, So.; Hunter Kampmoyer, RFr.; Jordan Kurahara, Jr.

What to watch: Things are looking up in the trenches defensively, partly because the Ducks had to endure such a tumultuous 2016, but also because there are some intriguing new additions to the veteran core that returns in 2017. The big question in August might be how well Scott, Baker and company can stabilize the nose guard spot. If they and others can provide a reliable rotation there, veterans like Mondeaux, Jelks and the others should be able to produce at the ends. No doubt, this group has a lot to prove to the rest of the Pac-12 after last season, but it has the bodies to help stabilize things defensively and support what figures to be a more typically prolific Oregon offense.

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