EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon offensive lineman Dave Iuli relished his long-awaited return to the field, contributing to the Ducks’ victory over Maryland. Now 10-0 and ranked No. 1, Oregon prepares for a road matchup against Wisconsin, where Iuli and his teammates expect a more intense atmosphere.
“You know, just when the opportunity was here and, you know, a lot of guys in the room knew that there was an opportunity, I think I just wanted to go in there and, you know, take advantage of that opportunity,” Iuli said. “So when I saw not only that, I think it’s what the team needed, you know what I mean? So when the team needed someone, I feel like we got to, everybody got to be ready. Everybody got to be ready to go, but it’s been a great journey. Just got back in football, got back into it. I love it and just having fun out here, man.”
Iuli’s optimism over the summer was interrupted by a setback. “Oh, man, it was just, you know, a lot happened,” he explained. “I went home from my little break, and, you know, I was training for a little bit, started feeling my leg again, and that kind of set me back a little bit. And that was after having the interview with you guys. So, you know, it really brought me down a little bit, but I feel like I just attacked it a lot when I came back because the best thing you can do is just next thing, you know, just rehab, rehab, rehab until you’re back on the field.”
The process was demanding. “Oh, man. So the process was huge. I think I had to be here earlier on top of everybody because, you feel me, when you get in rehab, you got to stay in touch with Chief, Chief a lot, and Trav,” he said. “So I feel like attacking it and having great people inside the medical staff has been helping me a lot and just been keeping me on top of everything I needed to do. It’s usually like in the 5 and 6 a.m. hours. Probably like 5, 5, yeah, 5:30. You want to, especially if you know you’re an injury player, you want to get in here before other players come and get their rehab because other players kind of come at the same time.”
Making his first start of the season was emotional for Iuli, whose grandmother passed away this year. “Oh, man, it was a blessing. You know, I didn’t look at anything else. I think what really motivated me was how my grandma passed away this year. And, you know, I had to do something for it, you know. So I feel like it wasn’t just me on the journey. It was a lot of, I felt like I had, you know, a lot of people that were in my family that passed away with me as well. But also, you know, my teammates were helping me as well. It wasn’t just a me thing. It was a coach and a team thing, for sure.”
Reflecting on his recent games, Iuli shared, “Oh, man, you know, it was a great feel of the first game, you know. But I feel like, you know, I just went out there and executed what I need to do, doing my 111. But I feel like each game comes to you to get more confident and confident.”
Rotating with teammate Kawika Rogers has also been a positive experience. “Oh, man, it’s awesome because I know Kawika’s a baller himself. And, you know, when you have two guys rotating in that position, it just lets us know, like, you know, we can’t be selfish right now,” Iuli said. “We got to real deal, hold it down and be a team player because when I saw Kawika go in, I was like, hey, that’s his opportunity too. It’s just not my opportunity, but it was also a great chance to have Kawika go in there and get some of his opportunities as well.”
Looking forward to the Wisconsin game, Iuli noted, “It’s going to be probably a little bit louder, a little bit different than the offense on the field. You know, we talk about it all the time in our stop meeting. We talk about poise through the noise. We talk about any time we go to away games, we just want to have self-control. And like what Coach Dan says, we control the spectators, not the spectators control us.”
Iuli is eager to face Wisconsin’s defensive line, especially No. 94 - [Defensive lineman Elijah Hills]. “94, hey, 94 is a great player,” he said. “You know, I’m just excited to go out there and have fun, you know, just keep watching film. And I know 94 is going to be a dogfight. So I just can’t wait to go out there and just have fun.”
With an unbeaten record on the line, Oregon heads to Wisconsin determined to maintain their dominance march toward the number one seed int eh college footall playoffs.
