EUGENE — Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu knew he’d have to lose weight when he got to Oregon.
The junior college transfer offensive lineman arrived at around 380 pounds when he arrived in the winter, dropped to 332 by spring and is now at 313. Aumavae-Laulu said his body fat dropped from 36 to 26.2 percent.
“It’s all about dedication,” the Ducks backup right guard said. “Eating right and working with your brothers (in the weight room). ... Eating vegetables, eating a lot of proteins and cutting out a lot of sugary stuff.”
Aumavae-Laulu’s transformation is the most extreme on Oregon’s roster this offseason but he’s part of an offensive line unit that saw collective weight losses almost across the board, with the six returning starters losing a combined 37 pounds.
It’s all been a coordinated effort by the coaching staff and strength and conditioning staff to reshape a unit that, at its top, is considered the strength of the entire roster, but will be going through a lot of turnover after this season.
“It’s a tremendous tribute to the strength and conditioning program,” offensive line coach Alex Mirabal said. "Getting rid of some of those body fat percentages. Getting rid of some of those pounds and turning it around. You look at the NFL everybody says 330 pounds, 340 pounds. There are not a lot of 330-340 pound offensive tackles anymore in the NFL. The NFL has gone the other way and you see a lot of these guys in the NFL as they get older they try to lose more weight to get longevity and build a better life after football. …
“They continue to challenge themselves, try to get faster, try to get a little quicker. That’s why you see their bodies change. They might’ve lost some weight, but they’ve gained power, they’ve gained strength and they’ve gained explosion. That’s a tribute to coach (Aaron) Feld and his staff in (the weight room).”
Right guard Dallas Warmack dropped from a listed 328 last season to 310, but said it was closer to 30 pounds and 10 percent body fat lost.
“The coaches felt like that was prudent to me, that I needed to lose that weight,” said Warmack, who is competing for a starting job. “I feel like it’s helped my play tremendously and I’m excited about this season coming up. Getting into my grown man body, I had a little baby fat before but now I’m growing, ready for everything.”
On the other end of the spectrum is backup left guard Alex Forsyth, who has gone from 286 pounds last season to 303. He said the weight gain was responsible for his progress in the spring to where he’s now the No. 4 guard overall and likely to take over as a starter in 2020.
“I think steadily gaining that weight, taking to the weight room,” Forsyth said, “getting the extra work in, doing whatever I could (led to progress).”