Oregon OL Marcus Harper II Expected to Miss Time

Marcus Harper is one of Oregon's top options at center following the departure of Alex Forsyth.

When Oregon held its second scrimmage of spring football on Saturday, the Ducks were without one of their top offensive linemen. 

After reportedly missing practice on Tuesday and Thursday of this week, Marcus Harper II did not participate on Saturday due to an unspecified injury. It also sounds like the coaching staff expects him to miss some time.

"He was not (able to scrimmage)," Dan Lanning said after Oregon's eleventh spring practice. "We're gonna be precautionary with Marcus and not put him back out there in the fire."

Harper's injury certainly isn't welcome news for a team that's working to replace veteran center Alex Forsyth. He was in a league of his own at the position, regularly calling audibles as the captain of Oregon's offensive line in 2022.

Harper was an integral part of the Ducks' offensive line in 2022, sliding in at left guard after Steven Jones got injured during the season opener against Georgia. While he hasn't logged many if any game snaps at center, he has practiced at center before, particularly during the Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal years along the offensive line.

Both Harper, as well as Jackson Powers-Johnson are viewed as the team's top options at center heading into the 2023 season. 

Fortunately for the Ducks, both players have familiarity with the position.

"Center's a lot harder than people think. I played center a couple times last year, just in practice, here and there. It's a different feel," Harper said earlier this spring. "You're the second quarterback of the offense. The O-line kind of runs through you. You also gotta assert your dominance while also getting the ball to the quarterback consistently. That's kind of been my biggest growing pain right now but you know I'm gonna get to it."

Oregon is already dealing with another injury to a starter this spring as tight end Terrance Ferguson is expected to miss the remainder of spring practice, leaving the team with just two healthy scholarship tight ends on the roster.

The Ducks will return to practice on Tuesday April 25.

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