Oregon starting center Jackson Powers-Johnson leaves USC game with apparent injury
Update — 9:39 p.m. PT: Jackson Powers-Johnson is in at center on Oregon’s opening drive of the second half.
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It appears that the No. 6 Oregon Ducks might be without one of their most important players during the second half of their showdown with USC.
Late in the second quarter, Oregon starting center Jackson Powers-Johnson went down with an apparent injury and headed to the medical tent. As soon as he emerged, he went straight back to the locker room.
It’s unclear at this point what the nature of Powers-Johnson’s injury is.
Oregon received the ball with six seconds left in the half on its ensuing drive and true freshman Iapani Laloulu lined up at center on the drive alongside the Ducks’ usual starting offensive linemen.
Bo Nix took a knee on the play to send the game to halftime.
Through nine games this season, Powers-Johnson has been one of the top offensive linemen in the nation. He landed on ESPN’s midseason All-American team.
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According to Pro Football Focus, Powers-Johnson owns an overall season grade of 81.6. That ranks seventh nationally among interior offensive linemen.
His 90.8 PFF pass-blocking grade is the fifth-best in the nation among all offensive linemen who paly regularly.
If Powers-Johnson is unable to play the remainder of the game, Laloulu will likely take his place at center. A 4-star signee in the 2023 class, Laloulu has been one of Oregon’s top true freshmen this season and has played 244 offensive snaps — sixth-most among the Ducks’ offensive linemen.
Marcus Harper II, who starts at left guard, also repped at center during fall camp.
