Oregon offensive lineman returning for 2022 season

Fourth-year sophomore offensive lineman Steven Jones announced that he will return to Oregon in 2022, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. Jones made 12 starts in 2021 with four at right guard and eight at right tackle, ranking second on the team with 706 snaps on the offensive line this season.

“As of right now I’m ready to come back for one more season and get after it with my O-line brothers,” Jones told Crepea during preparation for the Alamo Bowl. “I’m excited.”

Oregon has also received public commitments from starting center Alex Forsyth and fellow right tackle Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu to return in 2022. Aumavae-Laulu made previous comments suggested that the Alamo Bowl could mark his final game with the Ducks but revealed a conversation with new head coach Dan Lanning convinced him to stay for another year.

After the departure of former head coach Mario Cristobal, the team also lost a commitment from five-star offensive tackle Kelvin Banks, who promised to help fill the gap left by departing super senior George Moore IV.

Among the seven players who signed their letter of intent at Oregon, only one offensive lineman did so. Four-star offensive tackle Michael Wooten, a California native chose to sign early while four-star interior offensive lineman Dave Iuli remains committed but did not sign.

More on the Oregon offense

With three key members of the offensive line already set to return, the attention has been turned toward the remaining players who could make up a veteran offensive line in front of Auburn transfer quarterback Bo Nix moving forward.

In addition to Alex Forsyth, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu and Steven Jones, Oregon hopes to retain starting guards TJ Bass and Ryan Walk, who are both juniors. As the starting center, Forsyth has taken the lead while recruiting his teammates to remain in Eugene.

“We’re really excited to have all the guys back,” Forsyth told The Oregonian. “I’m going to give my best recruiting pitch to Ryan and T.J. to come back, but now that we got Steve, me and Sala back we got a good core group of guys. I’m excited to get after it again next year after we take care of business this week.”

The 2022 Oregon offense promises to provide a new-look systems with Nix and the new coaching staff set to take over from Cristobal, offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead and quarterback Anthony Brown who all depart this offseason.