came to Oregon as offensive line coach in 2017, looking to change the program's reputation as one built on speed over power.Knowing that would require buy-in from his new players, Cristobal sat down with them after being hired. Among the most important conversations he had was with; the rising sophomore started all 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, and was already showing hints at a nasty streak on the field, plus a passion for getting bigger in the weight room.Those twin traits were music to Cristobal's ears."We need a physical dude," Cristobal told Lemieux prior to the 2017 season. "I think you're the one. Can you be that guy?"A little over a year later, Lemieux has answered Cristobal's call through his actions on the field. The Oregon offensive line is commanding new-found respect for its more physical style, never more than when the Ducks went toe-to-toe with Stanford last month and held their own with the most physical Pac-12 program of the last decade.Entering Oregon's bye last week, Lemieux was the No. 1-rated guard in the Pac-12 according to the analytics website Pro Football Focus, and the No. 2 guard in all of college football. In Cristobal, Lemieux has found the perfect coach to draw out and refine his considerable talents."One of the things he tells us is, assignment won't win a game," Lemieux said. "It's how you play, how physical you play, and how much emotion and passion you use when you play the game. …"I like to hit people. That's what I've always wanted to do, ever since high school. Coach Cristobal really likes seeing that, and encourages that."How effective has Lemieux been in embracing Cristobal's philosophy? Pro Football Focus graded him out as the best offensive player in the country — regardless of position — when Lemieux scored 95.4 out of a possible 100 for his play against Bowling Green in Oregon's season opener. Prior to the Ducks' September finale at Cal, the same website listed Lemieux among its 10 biggest breakout players so far in 2018."Lemieux makes the cut here not by playing a larger amount of snaps than previous seasons, but rather because he's off to the best start in his three years at Oregon," the Pro Football Focus analysts wrote. "Lemieux played 729 and 938 snaps in his first two seasons, respectively, never grading above a 66.3 overall for a season. This year (through four games), he currently holds an 83.7 overall grade across 287 snaps, good enough to rank fourth among guards this season."In the wake of that rave review, Lemieux kept up his elite play, helping the Ducks run for 260 yards in their victory at California. The raves kept coming, with ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic, a former guard at Auburn, telling The Associated Press that Lemieux merited monitoring for the AP's prestigious all-America team."Lemieux has been a surprising physical presence up front for the Ducks," Cubelic told AP. "He plays through the whistle and has nice power at the point of attack."Playing through the whistle is a key to Oregon's new style. By battling a defender from snap to whistle, Lemieux looks to wear him down, both mentally and physically. The UO offensive linemen have a competition among themselves to see who can break an opponent down to the point a defender takes a cheap shot at them, drawing a personal foul."That's a big thing," Lemieux says with a wide smile. "That's an accomplishment."Oregon's style of play is conducive to creating such frustration for the opposing defense. Lemieux calls it "bully ball" — UO linemen are graded on whether the player they're assigned to block gets to the ballcarrier. Whatever it takes to prevent that, within the rules of the game, they'll employ.That style suits Lemieux to a T."He's always been a physical guy," Cristobal said. "He chases you up and down the field. I'm sure people don't like to play against him, because he's on you all day. He's not gonna stop."That's not just hyperbole from Lemieux's coach. Oregon players wear GPS systems during practice to measure their effort. Lemieux really doesn't stop."This guy's threshold for work is insane," Cristobal said.But Oregon's first-year head coach has shown Lemieux the benefits of the mental side of the game as well. During preseason camp, Cristobal invited a number of speakers to meet with the team, and several spoke of the value of visualization prior to a game. Lemieux has embraced that practice, imaging himself dominating opponents the night before he takes the field.And Cristobal promotes the use of "action words" among his players, to reinforce qualities they want to embody. Thus do the Ducks try to speak into existence actions like dominating an opponent, pushing him back, knocking him down."He's a big believer in that," Lemieux said. "And we've become big believers too — how we walk, how we talk."The next test for Lemieux and the UO offensive line comes Saturday against Washington. While Stanford has been the Pac-12's flag bearer for physicality the last decade, the Huskies have challenged for the title in recent seasons, developing a string of NFL-quality linemen.On Saturday, the Ducks get their chance to knock off another contender for that throne."We pride ourselves on finishing, and beating our opponents up to the very end — and they do too," Lemieux said. "We're very similar teams. It's our culture against their culture, and I think this is the first year we've been as confident in ourselves on the offensive and defensive lines."