EUGENE -- Only two players touch the ball every play on offense: the quarterback and center. With Dillon Gabriel entering 2024 as the most experienced quarterback in college football and Iapani Laloulu entering his first year as a starter, the onus is on the sophomore to deliver the ball consistently to the sixth-year senior.

Laloulu, who started in the Fiesta Bowl, is taking over for Rimington Trophy winner Jackson Powers-Johnson. A year ago there was focus on Powers-Johnson's snaps as well, given his relative lack of experience, and Laloulu has even less game reps to his credit and has shown more struggles at times.

"There's some technique into it, especially for me not playing center at all my whole high school career and then coming into my freshman year here they throw me in at center," Laloulu said. "It was kind of new for me, but I think having that one point like you got stay consistent. ... Being consistent with my snaps, having that connection with Dillon as well. I feel like we've built, that connection has gotten stronger ever since he's been here, since January. Our connection and how we communicate on and off the field has built and became stronger."

Leading up to the bowl game and throughout the offseason Laloulu has been up front about his need to improve at snapping the ball. The bowl game against Liberty was a fine debut, but the opponent didn't make for much of a challenge to Laloulu.

"Leading up that whole time of practices we've been having for the Fiesta Bowl, I didn't really have that much bad snaps," Laloulu said. "Then kind of the week and the day before the game I was nervous. I'm really about to be the starting center for this game. The first game for me to start in is the Fiesta Bowl, which is very important. Being able to snap to Bo (Nix), I remember Bo telling me when I had a couple of bad snaps during the Fiesta Bowl practice he would look at me like, 'What are you nervous for? You was doing this the whole week; don't be nervous now just play your game and stay calm.'"

Spring practice showed he still had work to do this offseason, with multiple bad snaps in the spring game.

Offensive coordinator Will Stein referred to snapping the ball as "the simplest thing that we can do on offense," so the tolerance for inconsistency once the season arrives is not going to be very high, even with the perspective that experience matters.

"Looking into last year if you came into our practices you'd see Jackson Powers-Johnson went through a similar deal," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. "It takes reps. It takes repetition. I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to handle that."

Laloulu and Gabriel worked a lot on their exchanges through player-led practices and workouts over the summer.

"Every day we're taking snaps," Gabriel said in June. "I think that comes with time as well. It feels like a far issue away but yes, summer has helped those things."

Laloulu is also getting used to making the blocking calls for the offensive line -- "I was never the type of guy to talk a lot on the field," he said. "I was always the listener and whatever they tell me I pass it down the line."

He's trying to "create better habits" during fall camp and through the first week Laloulu's snaps were a nonissue to Gabriel and Stein.

"I haven't noticed it one bit," Gabriel said. "I think when you talk about it too much, then you make it an issue or make something simple harder. We over-complicate a lot of things in life in general. It's reps and experience of it.

"This is a guy who just played center on Jan. 1 for the bowl game, and he's a freshman. All this to say, he's had 7-8 months of it and 3-4 months from the spring game. The dude has evolved and he's gotten better and I think more than anything for Poncho, he's just stepped up in protections and being super decisive with his calls. I think that all helps and intertwines into being able to execute his job cold."