EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon Ducks have many holes to fill on their roster after losing offensive stars Bo Nix, Bucky Irving, and Troy Franklin to the NFL Draft. But luckily for the Ducks, one position that they don't have to worry about is offensive tackle. Starters Josh Conerly Jr. and Ajani Cornelius are set to return in 2024 for their junior and senior seasons, respectively.
"It's a blessing," A'lique Terry said of what it means to have both his starting tackles back. "It means to be in the same situation last year, and you know who was going to be the guys, and to have that continuity now. Everybody's competing still, but having guys that you know, like high-quality football."
Last season, Conerly and Cornelius were two of the best tackles in the nation and were a huge part of why Nix was sacked just five times while seeing the lowest pressure rate of any Power Five starter.
"JC and Ajani are some of the best in the nation," Terry said during Tuesday's post-practice media availability. "They put that on film. So to have them back again this year, as an O-Line coach, we are ecstatic."
Conerly was a highly-touted prospect coming out of Seattle's Rainier Beach High School. A consensus five-star recruit, he was ranked as the No. 8 overall player in the 2022 high school class, the No. 1 offensive tackle, and the top player in the state of Washington.
As a freshman in 2022, Conerly waited for his time behind starter, T.J. Bass. He appeared in 11 of the Ducks' 13 games, playing a total of 118 snaps. While he still hadn't quite gotten his opportunity yet, his potential showed in his limited playing time as he didn't allow a single pressure in his 30 pass-blocking snaps.
Following Bass' departure for the NFL, it was Conerly's time to shine, and he took full advantage of his new opportunity last fall. He allowed just one sack in 540 pass-blocking snaps, and of the 166 Power Five tackles who played at least 300 snaps last season, he was tied for 24th in pass-blocking efficiency and ranked 31st in PFF's pass-blocking grade.
"All I got is going to be continued growth," Terry said of Conerly's next steps. "I think the next level for JC, and he's starting to do it already, is to turn that A-hole up. Finish nasty. Because you can see from an athleticism standpoint, he's going to be where he's supposed to be and how he's supposed to be there. And for him, we challenged him to turn that a-hole up."
With another strong season in 2024 — although no longer on the blindside with lefty, Dillon Gabriel set to start at QB — Conerly could easily find himself at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Cornelius comes from almost the exact opposite background as that of Conerly. Unranked in the 2020 recruiting class, he committed to Rhode Island where he excelled for the Rams after winning the starting job in 2021. He dominated FCS competition in 2022 and elected to hit the transfer portal where he was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 3 offensive tackle.
Cornelius committed to Oregon where he immediately slotted into the starting right tackle role. He continued his excellent play in 2023 where he didn't allow a single sack in over 540 pass-blocking snaps. Cornelius was nothing short of one of the nation's best tackles, with his 98.9 pass-blocking efficiency tying him with Michigan's Trente Jones and Houston's Patrick Paul for the third-best mark among Power Five starters.
Cornelius — who was listed at 308 pounds last year — has continued to put in work in the weight room this off-season, trying to put on more muscle for his final season of college football.
"For Ajani, he's starting to look awesome," Terry said of Cornelius. "He attacked the weight room, he's probably about 12 or 13 pounds heavier and you can see that he put on the right weight because it wasn't bad weight. He put it on the right way and he is still as efficient and explosive as last year. But you can see by his credit that he is a much larger human than he was last year."
Having the veteran presence of Conerly and Cornelius will be massive for the Ducks in 2024, and Terry is excited to have them as leaders this season.
"It's also the leadership group that they have now," Terry said. "They're so much more vocal this year than they were last year."