Dan Lanning commends Steven Jones for battling for offensive line spot

Steven Jones isn’t ending his time at Oregon on a quiet note. On Sunday, Ducks head coach Dan Lanning praised the sixth-year offensive lineman.

“He’s attacked it every single day,” Lanning said. “The good thing about Steven is he provides some position flexibility. He’s been at tackle, he’s been at guard, maybe as much not seen in games. But, we’ve been able to move him around to different spots in practice and he has great experience. But, he’s done a good job.”

Jones announced his decision to return for his sixth season in late December. Jones has appeared in 34 contests at Oregon but just five of those came during the 2022 season. Jones started in Oregon’s first two games last season before missing the next eight due to injury.

When Jones was healthy, he made a significant impact. Jones allowed just five total pressures in 135 pass-blocking opportunities last year. Additionally, he boosted the Oregon offensive line, which allowed just five sacks in 2022, the least in the nation.

Jones will be one of the few key contributors returning from last year’s front five. Alex Fosyth, Ryan Walk, T.J. Bass and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu all entered the NFL Draft. Nonetheless, Jones won’t be the only stellar blocker upfront.

A new leader for Steven Jones

Offensive line coach A’lique Terry recently provided an update on the unit.

“Great camp so far. Great energy. The guys are playing at an extremely high level,” Terry said. “We’ve got them playing a few different positions, so there’s still some challenges going on as far as competition go. The energy has been great and the juice has been great. As long as we bring the energy, everybody else will follow. That’s been a big mantra for us.”

Terry joined Oregon this offseason, replacing Adrian Klemm. Terry isn’t exactly an unknown at Oregon. After playing four seasons at Wake Forest, Terry spent 2019-20 as a graduate assistant at Oregon, working with the team’s offensive line.

Terry claims his group isn’t worried about trying to live up to the lofty standards set by last season’s group.

“I wouldn’t call it pressure, but there is a standard. We say to ourselves that other people are going to put pressure on us, but we’re going to hold a standard ourselves that we want to keep it at,” Terry said. “The pressure is really on me. But I let them let me have all the pressure. You all go out there and play ball and have fun doing so.”