Oregon Ducks' Iapani Laloulu: Top Returning Lineman In College Football?

Fun fact: Chadwick mentions a former Oregon Duck offensive line icon, Las Vegas Raiders center Jackson Powers-Johnson, when reasoning why Slaughter should top the list.

"Slaughter’s 85.8 PFF overall grade since 2023 trails only Jackson Powers-Johnson among Power Four centers. He moves very well at 6-foot-4 and 308 pounds, allowing him to dominate in a zone blocking scheme" Chadwick wrote.

It's also worthy of note that earlier this month, Laloulu was also pinned as the No. 1 returning interior offensive lineman for the Big Ten Conference, which makes sense as Laloulu ended the 2024 campaign with a nomination for the Rimington Trophy watch list and the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year watch list as well as an All-Big Ten honorable mention.

Laloulu will hold a lot on his shoulders entering the 2025 season, as his entire offensive line corps (also dubbed "The Law Firm" by Laloulu) is revamped with transfers Emmanuel Pregnon of USC, Isasiah World of Nevada, and Alex Harkey of Texas State stepping up to take spots left by departing Ducks Josh Conerly Jr., Ajani Cornelius, Marcus Harper II, and Nishad Strother.

"To see the difference that Poncho is, like there's a confidence in his game that I think we've all known he was going to be a really good player, but to see him now match that maturity and match that confidence in his game because he knows he's a really good player," said Ducks offensive line coach A'lique Terry to reporters after a spring practice. "I think our whole team is feeling it. He's a clear leader. He helps us in every single aspect, as far as communication. You can see the player he's grown into."

As far as Laloulu's resume, he leads the Ducks with a team high of 970 offensive snaps in 2024. 854 of those reps were at his regular position of center with 110 at right guard. During those 498 pass-blocking opportunities, Laloulu allowed zero sacks and just ten total pressures. According to Pro Football Focus, Laloulu exited the 2024 season with a 72.6 offensive grade, 71.1 run-blocking grade, and a 80.6 pass-blocking grade.

For Laloulu, who's primed for a career-best season, the expectations have never been higher, including those of coach Dan Lanning.

“There’s been some standards that have been established with that group,” Lanning said in an interview with ESPN's Greg McElroy. “They expect to have a thousand-yard rusher. They expect to have a quarterback that throws for a lot of yards and be in contention for Heisman. They take a lot of pride in that.”