Oregon Ducks Offensive Line Candidate For Joe Moore Award?

With three Joe Moore Award Finalist nominations since 2019, the Oregon Ducks are back again with a re-vamped "Law Firm" in the trenches. According to a new offensive line ranking, analysts have the Ducks as a top-10 unit in the country.

Fighting Ducks offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu celebrates as the Fighting Ducks face off against Mighty Oregon in the Oregon Ducks spring game on April 26, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks' offensive line, also known as the "Law Firm," has only one main-stay starter returning in center Iapani "Poncho" Laloulu. However, transfer portal moves in the off season has built back up Oregon's trenches, and analysts are taking notice.

In a recent offensive line ranking from Pro Football Focus, the Ducks made the No. 5 spot nationally. Reporter Max Chadwick put Alabama in the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row, with Utah, Texas A&M, and Florida superseding the Ducks on the list.

For Chadwick, and many observing Oregon's incoming 2025 offensive line, the potential starters of Laloulu, Nevada tackle transfer Isaiah World, USC guard transfer Emmanuel Pregnon, Texas State tackle transfer Alex Harkey, and returning guard Dave Iuli provide quite a bit of excitement when replacing the former years' Joe Moore finalist offensive line lineup.

Oregon offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu lines up to snap the ball as the Oregon State Beavers host the Oregon Ducks Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With a number of new faces, can the new members of Oregon's offensive line uphold the standard? The Ducks offensive line has been finalists for the Joe Moore Award for the past two consecutive seasons.

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"Oregon does a really nice job of developing interior offensive linemen," said PFF College Football Show host Dalton Wasserman. "Kind of like Clemson where sometimes they'll rotate them in and get them in some part time work so Iuli is not completely inexperienced back there, which is good. You mentioned Laloulu as the star of the show."

"And I think the biggest - I don't want to say question - but the biggest thing they need to develop is World and Harkey replacing Josh Conerly and Ajani Cornelius two NFL tackle out there and you're talking about protecting an inexperienced quarterback in Dante Moore but you have to love the way that Dan Lanning and Will Stein have prioritized this offensive line," Wasserman continued.

Alex Harkey celebrates at the end of the Oregon Spring game at Autzen in Eugene April 26, 2025 / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There's quite a bit of potential in the development of Harkey. According to Pro Football Focus, Harkey is the No. 2 highest graded returning tackle in the Big Ten with an 85.8 overall grade. The only other Big Ten athlete higher than Harkey is Iowa's Gennings Dunker with a 90.2 grade. Harkey is No. 9 in the nation based off his grade.

As for World, he was the No. 2 athlete in the NCAA Transfer Portal according to 247 Sports this year. ESPN also named World as the No. 6 transfer player to watch back in April, highlighting his three years as a starter for the Wolf Pack.

"I'm glad he's a Duck. I'm just be completely honest with you, he's one of those game changers, for real. Great athlete, great movement skills, great body control, and he loves the game. I think it's gonna be a really good benefit for all our young guys to see somebody who really loves the game. He's a junkie for football," Oregon offensive line coach A'lique Terry said of World.

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

ESPN's Jordan Reid listed Pregnon as his No. 5 for top offensive guards in the nation. Though lower on the veteran skill level than his peers, Pregnon is expected to develop well with Terry and crew before the season opens.

These three transfers paired with Laloulu and Iuli certainly warrant some excitement from analysts and fans alike.

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