WATCH: Oregon's Ajani Cornelius Wins 'Pancake Block of the Week' in Win Over Texas Tech

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Football has always been a sport that's been dominated by flashy play from quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. So it's fun when the big guys can get some love for their battles in the trenches.
Oregon junior offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius has played in just two games for the Ducks since transferring from Rhode Island, but he's already generating some buzz for his play on the field.
Following a 38-30 win over Texas Tech in week 2, Cornelius won the 'Pancake block of the week' from the Joe Moore Award, which recognizes the best offensive line in college football every year.
You can check out the video of the block below.
After 5,000+ votes we have a winner!@oregonfootball RT @AJCornelius65
— Joe Moore Award (@JoeMooreAward) September 13, 2023
👏👏👏#Effort #Finish https://t.co/ywpBzsikbc pic.twitter.com/2j0sgDxoS0
While the play may not have been overly impressive--running back Bucky Irving gained just a few yards-- it's hard to miss Cornelius. After kicking out wide for a block, he pile drives his defender off the field, throwing him down into the turf on the sideline.
Cornelius helped the Ducks put up 472 yards of total offense on the road in Texas Tech. Of those 472 yards, 113 came on the ground.
Oregon's offensive line coach A'lique Terry chimed in with his excitement after Cornelius was named the winner.
And that’s on CHOP CHEESE 😤 https://t.co/cGbSvMVxeB
— A'lique Terry (@105CoachTerry) September 13, 2023
Oregon's offensive line certainly has some big shoes to fill this season after the group was one of the best in college football a season ago, allowing just five sacks all year, a mark that led the country.
Quarterback Bo Nix was sacked once against the Red Raiders last week, and you can bet the combination of Josh Conerly Jr. (LT), Marcus Harper II (LG), Jackson Powers-Johnson (C), Steven Jones (RG) and Cornelius (RT) would love to keep him upright for the entirety of this week's contest against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
A'lique Terry's group may still be a work in progress just two weeks into the season, but it's certainly showing plenty of promise early on.
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Max Torres is the publisher and lead editor of Ducks Digest. He's covered the Oregon football and recruiting beats for four years. He's based out of Long Beach, CA and travels around Southern California and the country covering top high school football prospects.
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