Serena Morones photo

By Tyson Alger, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The first round of spring practices under new Oregon Ducks head football coach Mario Cristobal and complete.

As the Ducks head into the summer, The Oregonian/OregonLive will take a look back at the spring, position by position, to gauge where the Ducks are.

Today, we start with the offensive line.

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AP photo

Departures:

Tyrell Crosby

Jake Pisarcik

Evan Voeller

Doug Brenner

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Newcomers:

Penei Sewell (Coming this fall)

Dawson Jaramillo (Coming this fall)

Chris Randazzo (Coming this fall)

Steven Jones (Coming this fall)

Justin Johnson (Coming this fall)

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Sean Meagher photo

Returners:

Jake Hanson, redshirt junior

Calvin Throckmorton, redshirt junior,

Brady Aiello, redshirt junior

Shane Lemieux, redshirt junior

Jacob Capra, redshirt sophomore

Sam Poutasi, redshirt sophomore

George Moore, junior

Alex Forsyth, redshirt freshman

Ryan Walk, redshirt freshman

Logan Bathke, redshirt sophomore

Charlie Landgraf, redshirt junior

Cody Shear, redshirt freshman

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Pre-spring depth chart:

Left tackle: Aiello, Bathke

Left guard: Lemieux, Poutasi

Center: Throckmorton, Walk

Right guard: Capra, Landgraf

Right tackle: Moore, Forsyth

*Center Jake Hanson was injured.

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Serena Morones photo

Story coming into spring:

Even with the loss of Tyrell Crosby, Oregon returned one of the most experienced units in the Pac-12 this spring. Jake Hanson is a two-year starter. Calvin Throckmorton is a two-year starter. Shane Lemieux is a two-year starter. And behind them, players like Brady Aiello have more than 10 starts under their belts. With not a ton up for grabs, the spring was expected to present a time to work on technique and develop depth.

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Story coming out of spring:

In short, the offensive line had issues this spring. Not in play, but in actually being able to play. Injuries hobbled players like Jake Hanson, which led to Throckmorton getting extensive work at center. Hanson is expected to be healthy and back at center this fall, which will likely push Throckmorton back to right tackle, but head coach Mario Cristobal was happy with being able to expand Throckmorton’s duties this spring.

“Calvin Throckmorton has shown his versatility by jumping in there at center and has given us a lot,” Cristobal said. “A tremendous option in the absence of Jake Hanson.”

Cristobal was also very pleased with Shane Lemieux’s spring. The Yakima, Washington native has made 25 straight starts at left guard and looks primed for a big fall.

“(He) continues to be the physical force up front and with another year in the weight room, you can tell his body’s continuing to change,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “His threshold for work is mind-boggling.

“He’s a really impressive offensive lineman.”

As for the two starting positions opened up by Crosby and Pisarcik’s departures, Aiello and his 12 career starts will likely take Crosby’s left tackle position, though he could be challenged this fall by George Moore. Sophomore Jacob Capra played with the first-team this spring and is the front-runner for the right guard position.

Redshirt freshman Alex Forsyth had a strong spring and his versatility will put him in a place to push Oregon’s current first-team throughout the fall.

“I think Alex Forsyth gets lost in the shuffle,” he said. “Alex is a five-position guy. Alex is very well in the mix to be a starter here on the offensive line.”

What we didn’t get to evaluate this spring was Oregon’s incoming linemen. None of the five signees enrolled this spring, meaning we’ll have to wait until fall to see how highly-touted prospects like Penei Sewell stack up.

Oregon also added a 10th assistant coach this spring, with long-time Cristobal friend Alex Mirabal joining the staff to work with Oregon’s interior linemen.

"I'm very particular about the offensive line and I don't trust offensive line work with just anyone," Cristobal said. "To me, you have to know someone more than 30 years in order to trust them with the offensive line."

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Serena Morones for OregonLive

Spring offensive line stories:

Loaded with talent, Oregon's offensive line trying to set the tone this spring.

Oregon assistant offensive line coach Alex Mirabal has been pushing Mario Cristobal for 30-plus years.

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Projected depth chart:

Left tackle: Aiello, Moore

Left guard: Lemieux, Poutasi

Center: Hanson, Forsyth

Right guard: Capra, Sewell

Right tackle: Throckmorton, Bathke

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-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger

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