Oregon Ducks' A'lique Terry Addresses Offensive Line's Cohesiveness

EUGENE – Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning brought in big transfer portal additions over the offseason, especially when it came to the offensive line.

With key guys up front, such as Josh Conerly Jr., drafted to the NFL in April, and new faces set to step in, offensive line coach A’lique Terry spoke to the media about the changes this season.

What Terry Said During Week 3 Of Fall Camp:

Oregon Ducks A'lique Terry Big Ten Offensive Line Dan Lanning Alex Harkey Isaiah World Emmanuel Pregnon Iapani Poncho Laloulu — Oregon offensive line coach A'lique Terry leads a workout during spring practice with the Ducks in Eugene, Ore. Thursday, April, 13, 2023. Sports Oregon Spring Practice | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

What Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu Needs To Do To Become Nation’s Best Center:

“As cliche as it sounds, just continue to be himself. He's consistent, he's sterile, he's committed to a process. He's a leader on his team. I mean, selfishly, I don't want to go nowhere as a selfish coach, but we tell all our guys, man, if it ends up being an opportunity for you that presents itself, you got to do what's best for you.”

“But right now, he just is attacking August. Right now, obviously you ask the question, he's going to answer, but you can see that he's exactly where his feet are, be exactly where his feet is, and he's been attacking the process,” Terry continued.

“So, if it ends up happening as such, he's worked for and if it's not the situation, he's gonna continue to work for me, the same one, because the leader that he is on a consistent day in, day out basis. I know the Oregon Ducks appreciate it more than anybody,” Terry concluded.

How Much Further Isaiah World Developed:

“I think it was more so just COVID was bad timing when he came out so he kind of fell under the cracks a little bit, and then it's happened to end up at Nevada, and he had a tremendous career there,” Terry said.

“Obviously, you can see it on the film when he got in the portal. You watch this film. It was like this dude clearly moves like he's supposed to be on this level. So that's the same question we asked, too. Like, how did he slither through the cracks? But it was more COVID more than anything. But the strides he's made from spring to now, man, like, as Isaiah World’s gonna be special for us. Obviously, the internet hype is internet hype. We call it rat poison,” Terry continued.

“But the way he's attacked his process every single day, he deserves all the praise he's getting because he's just putting the work in, as simple as that. The skill set that he has is already rare but the way he's attacked learning our system, the way he's attacked learning our calls, learning our playbook. He deserves everything that's coming for him and he's a true, true, true worker.”

What He Learned From Matthew Bedford Last Season:

“He's one of the most consistent guys I've been around, because when he faced hardship last year, it didn't face him. I'm pretty sure it did, but he didn't show it. I mean, he became such a great leader. There was times he couldn't travel. Didn't matter up until the time we left, he was helping the young guys, whatever the install was that week, he was he was watching film,” Terry said.

“You never missed his presence, him being gone. I think that's why it pays dividends. It was happening now, him playing consistent ball, him starting to get back to his ways. I think it pays true dividends to how he can stay committed to that process, even when the injury happened, he didn't phase I know it probably hurt him a little bit for real, because he wanted to play so bad, but he didn't show it."

“And I know all our guys in our room are appreciative of it, because he's been the same person every single day, leader, vocal and bringing it. And I know he's having a fight camp so far.”

The Process Of Bringing The New Group Together Cohesively:

“I think more than anything, it's the blessing that they got here early in spring, so you got more than just a fall camp to get together and get that cohesiveness. These guys have been working together now going on almost six months, and you can see it now. And I think once again, as a credit to Poncho (Laloulu), as a credit to Charlie (Pickard), the older guys in our room, they've embodied those guys into our culture,” Terry said.

“You can feel that those guys are you couldn't tell they've only been here for six months. They feel like they've been here for about a year or two years. The conversations that happen off the field, the cohesiveness that they build off the field, you can start to see that already building right now,” Terry added.

“You really couldn’t tell those guys were transfers. Even with those guys, it's cool to see them lean on the younger guys help them develop their games. So, we're gonna have a ton of guys gonna be able to help us. And those guys being transfers don't blemish the culture at all. The culture is still the culture. Now I'm thankful for that.”

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How Transfers’ Combined Experience Has Helped The Room:

“I think that's the best part. I know we have a quote unquote like young room, as far as together. Like you said, they got a ton of football experience, so those guys having those conversations in the cafeteria, talking about how they want to handle a three tag, or how they see this and how they see that, and then putting it in our language,” Terry said.

“You can see our younger guys being able to benefit from that kind of information. And when it's out there and things are changing on the fly, it may not be the language they know it as initially, but they have that experience going against it,” Terry added.

“And once we implement our language, or every case that maybe you can see this easy transition for these guys, the amount of football they played, it wasn’t just random football was good football, so we didn't have the benefit of that. Having those guys, especially when I got like so much, there's a lot of smart guys adults are going to benefit.”

How Alex Harkey’s Personality Fits The Room:

“He's just black and white. He's probably harder on himself than anybody, and I appreciate that of him. But that black and white is a little bit of, I won't say that’s his every day, because in the room, there's not a guy in our room that don't love Hark, like everybody loves Hark,” Terry said.

“But when it comes to like walking on the field, he has that bluntness of shame, but he also has that game day mentality I haven't seen since Penei (Sewell’s) been here, as far as like when its game day, he turns the switch on like, because he plays with a physical, physical mindset in practice,” Terry said.

"But when it comes to game day, he turns that switch on, too. I think that harshness, that bluntness, that he has a little bit him being hard on himself, because the player he's becoming, it's been great progress over the last six months. And I think he feels he can feel the confidence, but he's gonna be hard on himself than anybody, which I appreciate, because you always want to continue to be your hardest critic every single time.”

What He’s Seen From Dave Iuli In The Offseason:

“Dave fully committed to changing his body, a credit to coach (Wilson) Love, but a credit to him for doing it right. He committed to that process, and I think for him, he's now committed to the whole thing, not just his body, but learning the system, learning the scheme, because he's already known he plays some good quality ball for us, but knowing the why of everything,” Terry said.

“He's being committed to getting with myself, coach Cutter (Leftwich), dealing with Coach (Ryan) Walk. He's doing a good job of learning every single detail, right? And obviously, the physical part of this game is what makes him special. But now that he's changed, his body is a little bit more control now, so I think everybody's appreciative of that physicality, but it's coming with some more control and understanding of everything that's going on around him, not just his position.”

His Analysis On The Battle Of The Trenches After The First Scrimmage:

“It’s never-ending evaluation. Trying guys in new spots, trying guys with different mixtures after the first scrimmage. I mean, I think we did some good things, but we always got to go back to the drawing board and continue to see where we lacked, so we can continue to improve. We call it going to the doctor around here,” Terry said.

“So it was good, because a lot of guys, this might have been their first experience, true experience, as far as young guys, getting that going to the doctor and learning from our mistakes, but you learned that we got a physical group, and you learned that we have a group that's deep, so the competition is higher than it's ever been. I think everybody's striving in that mood right now. It's bringing the best out of everybody. So, you just continue to evaluate your process. Who helps us being the best and get those guys on the field.”

How Zac Stascausky’s Game Has Translated To The Field:

“Zac attack. Shout out to coach Charlie Landgraf man, because he did a great job with Zac, man. Zac’s got here, he hit the ground running. We jokingly call it, we call it the PNW boys. All our boys up here from the Pacific Northwest,” Terry said.

“He's done a tremendous job, like he's powerful, he's strong. He may not look like big and smooth, but he has extreme power, great athleticism, and he plays a physical brand of football that this place is going to be appreciative for. And obviously, being a local guy means more to him than anybody. So, it's been great. You would have assumed he's been there since the spring. He’s been phenomenal.”

What Makes Emmauel Pregnon Unique:

“It's a little bit of everything. Because he has legit unique strength, like he is a powerful human, he has unique length to be an interior guy, so he gets to play long on guys. He has great foot speed. He has great foot quickness,” Terry said.

“So, I mean in the sense of he’s unique in himself as a guard, because he has tricks that most guards may have, like, one of the two or two or three, not all the three. He presents. Literally, when you see him, you can see that he's a strong human, but he plays with the same physical strength as it looks,” Terry continued.

“He has really good feet and mirrors the best of the best, but he has length and pass pro that's like, he's never really stressed the majority of the time, as long as he trusts his length. I think right now, he's put himself at an optimal position. When people continue to see him, they'll see like, ‘Okay, this is a unique guard.’ Most guards usually are limited in length or they're extremely strong. So, for him to have that link in have that strength, you know that willpower and sheer power to be a very good player for us on again.”