Oregon opened Saturday's game with UCLA with just a single minor alteration from its previous starting offensive line.

With Jake Pisarcik dinged up, the Ducks elected to start Jacob Capra at right guard in his place. But, by the second half Oregon co-offenisve coordinator and offensive line coach Mario Cristobal shook things up further, moving starting right tackle Calvin Throckmorton inside to right guard to make way for last year's starting left tackle Brady Aiello at right tackle.

The move provided the Ducks with more size and experience on the field, and drew strong reviews from Cristobal during Tuesday's media availability.

"I thought Brady Aiello went in there and did a great job," Cristobal said. "Throckmorton played some right guard and gave us some pretty good movement inside and a bigger body.

Throckmorton, a redshirt sophomore, has now made 20 starts in his Oregon career, but none of those starts came on the inside. In fact, all 20 of those starting nods came at right tackle.

“It’s not too big of a difference, obviously you see the field a little bit differently," he said of shifting inside. "The same technique you use at tackle you use at guard, it’s just a little bit different. It’s not completely foreign to me."

While Throckmorton has now seen time at guard and tackle, don't rule out a third position.

"He's a versatile player," Cristobal said. "He can hop in at center if we really needed to. He's a very valauable guy."

“I’m definitely open to it," Throckmorton said of playing center. "I work at it. Wherever he needs me, I’ll play there for him."

The Ducks had spent time over the past two weeks working on different groupings to maximize output.

“We’ve been ready all year, just in case something went down," said Aiello, who was one of the move's beneficiaries. "It’s like trying different equations and just see which ones work best."

Aiello started 10 games a year ago at left tackle, but had been relegated to reserve snaps during his sophomore year with the reemergence of Tyrell Crosby. Saturday's game against the Bruins the first time this year he'd seen significant run.

“It felt great," he said. "I had to step in to help out the troops. I couldn’t be more excited to do that."

Cristobal says they're still evaluating what lineups they'll play this Saturday versus Utah. They'll consider playing Throckmorton, Capra or possibly even Pisarcik at right guard. Whether Aiello figures into the lineup will be determined by Throckmorton's status.

"It's only fair to them to let them have a shot," Cristobal said. "Capra did some really good things for a young guy and at the same time Thorck gave us an added bonus of a big body. we are going to let it play out during the week and let them compete, and then by THursday we should have a good idea of how we are going to go."

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