
For the second year in a row, the Oregon Ducks consulted the transfer portal to rebuild a majority of their offensive line for the 2025-2026 season and found Joe Moore Award finalist-worthy success.
One of the biggest personalities in last seasons' trenches, outgoing senior offensive tackle Alex Harkey, did not participate in any athletic tests at the NFL Combine, but he showed off his speed and athleticism in position drills.
Harkey played tackle at Oregon, but he is projected as a guard in the NFL. Still, he showed off his quickness and hand strength in his limited combine participation. The former Ducks offensive lineman dealt with an ankle injury throughout the season, but he looked quick and healthy during his positional drills.
Still, all eyes will be on Harkey at Oregon's Pro Day.
Alex Harkey of Oregon did not run a 40 but doing positional drills, great size, good frame, good athleticism, movement skills, short area quickness, & footwork ,good play strength, heavy hands, college OT that will kick inside to OG, depth in gap or zone scheme, Day 3 #NFLCombine
— Paul Perdichizzi (@paulie23ny) March 1, 2026
Height: 6-6
Weight: 308 pounds
Arms: 31 3/4 inches
Hands: 10 1/8 inches
As a dual sport high school athlete (football and basketball) from Buda, Texas, Harkey chose to enroll with Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas where he originally lined up as a tight end before transitioning to the line. During that time, he helped contribute to an average of 490.1 yards of offense per game and worked up to a transfer portal jump to the Colorado Buffaloes for the 2022 season.
With the Buffaloes, Harkey was used as a depth piece for the line and kick coverage, with appearances in 12 games to utilize a redshirt. Given the venture to Colorado did not result in a starting job, Harkey jumped in the portal again for Group Five Sun Belt Conference's Texas State.
Harkey used his two seasons at Texas State to continue to develop on the line and get reps at tight end, finishing the season with a 83.0 overall offensive grade from Pro Football Focus in 2024, plus All-Sun Belt Third Team Honors, and earning a four-star transfer portal rating from 247 Sports. He transferred to the Ducks shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Alex Harkey, like the Honey Badger, don't care. pic.twitter.com/H9DFySfFWh
— Ted Leroux (@TedontheDucks) September 28, 2025
In his single (and final eligibility) season with Oregon, Harkey was the go-to starter for right tackle for all 14 games, seeing some spotty action in the later half of the season due to an ankle injury sustained in practice prior to facing the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Harkey contributed to a Duck offensive line that finished the season ranked No. 6 in the nation for yards per play and No. 13 for points per game with 35.4, becoming a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, given to the nation's best offensive line.
Known as a bully with a big frame on the line while at Oregon, the 6-6, 327 pound offensive lineman racked up eight penalties costing 81 yards total for the season with five of those penalties being for behavioral calls (facemask, unsportsmanlike, personal foul).
Early on, Harkey rose to the top as a leader for the offensive line. Though his rough play and penalties did oftentimes stifle offensive momentum, coach Dan Lanning credited Harkey for his presence in the lockerroom and on the field multiple times this season.
"Yeah he’s a guy that has juice every single day in practice, and it shows up on game day. I didn’t get to see those particular blocks, but there were some big blocks, and they were doing a good job early on us, not getting hats on hats at the line of scrimmage. They were swimming some blocks for us. I think, you know, the coaches made some good adjustments, but guys like Alex and his physicality is going to show up in a game like that," Lanning said after Oregon took down Wisconsin 21-7.
Harkey himself, who was very forthcoming in media availabilities this season, often critiqued his own work.
“I need to be more consistent with my personality because there’s days where I’m not even down, just quiet. Then other days you can tell I’m on it," Harkey said prior to the start of the 2025-2026 season.
Harkey is expected to go either in the later day two selections or carry over into the third day of selections for round five through seven of the NFL Draft.
Though several teams throughout the league are hurting for more offensive linemen, Harkey could find a landing spot with the Dallas Cowboys or the Tennessee Titans, both of which have fifth round picks.
Tennessee needs to dig themselves out of a second-to-last total offense statistic from the 2025 season (259.6 yards a game) and that starts with finding the right guys to block for quarterback Cam Ward. Dallas, seeing plenty of injuries up and down the line the last season, with an emphasis on lack of production at offensive tackle. Harkey could bring his mean brand of football to potentially solve that gap.
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