Football Practice Report: Oct. 25

Photo by: Andy McNamara/GoDucks.com

10/25/16 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley

Oregon is getting big-time production from young players on defense entering Saturday's home game with Arizona State (2 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

By: Rob Moseley

Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Full pads

Oregon's practice in full pads Tuesday was followed, as all full-pads workouts are for the Ducks, with a down-and-back tour through the cold tubs underneath the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex. Safety Brenden Schooler would have been excused for lingering a little longer in each of the two tubs, after his effort Friday at Cal.

On a night the Golden Bears set an FBS record by running 118 offensive plays, Schooler was on the field for 109 defensive snaps. He played 12 on special teams as well, leaving the true freshman on the field for 121 total reps Friday night.

"I definitely woke up more sore than usual the next morning," said Schooler, whose play count didn't quite match the 127 by DeForest Buckner in last season's triple-overtime win at Arizona State.

Those same Sun Devils are coming to town this week, for a rematch in Autzen Stadium on Saturday (2 p.m., Pac-12 Network). Entering the game, Schooler is second on the UO defense with 40 tackles, four behind team leader and fellow true freshman Troy Dye.

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Dye is one of just three true freshmen at the FBS level leading their teams in tackles as of this week. Collectively, Dye and Schooler are the only pair of freshmen — true or redshirt — ranking 1-2 on their team in tackles, out of all 128 FBS programs.

The good news is, they're making a lot of plays. The bad news is, that youth still can be exploited as they gain experience.

"They're going to face something new every single week, and some little nuance every single week," UO coach Mark Helfrich said. "And same with the (young offensive line) guys — there's going to be a pressure that's different, a front, a look. And so there's just that hesitation that takes place. And if you hesitate against some of the guys in their front, it's over. Or in space (in the cases of Dye and Schooler)."

Helfrich also acknowledged the "good news" side of things, that Schooler and Dye are making plays, and will only get better. In a season that, for fans, has increasingly become about showing signs of progress for the future, Schooler and Dye are two of many bright spots.

But internally the Ducks remain focused on the present, and fighting their way back into contention for a bowl berth. If they're going to get there, Schooler will continue to play a prominent role. Few would have predicted that a few months ago, when he arrived as a lightly recruited prospect who signed over the summer.

"I just came in with that mindset that I'm going to do everything I can do to get on the field," Schooler said. "Now that I'm in that role, I'm working hard to make the right reads, do all that stuff."

Schooler also plays regularly on the kickoff coverage team. At Cal, he took three reps with the punt team as well, and one on punt return.

"I love it; I wish I played offense too," he said. "I wish I played every snap out there. That's just who I am. I'm a competitor. I want to be out there all the time."

At California last Friday, he very nearly was.

Practice highlights: The two sides split a clutch scenario to open practice. Justin Herbert moved the chains for the ones with completions to Pharaoh Brown and Jalen Brown, but took too much time to do so, and the scenario ended with T.J. Daniel sacking Herbert as time expired. With the twos, Dakota Prukop completed a pass to Casey Eugenio that got the ball into the red zone. After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Prukop ran it in himself for a "game-winning" touchdown. …

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The win by the No. 1 defense in a clutch presaged a solid day overall for that unit. In 1-on-1 drills, Tyree Robinson had two nice pass breakups against Pharaoh Brown, once getting physical to disrupt an underneath route and later running downfield and tipping away a deep ball (above). In that same drill, Khalil Oliver got inside Evan Baylis to break up a pass, although later in the drill Baylis turned back and made a nice reception before completing a full 360 degree rotation and continuing upfield. … When the travel squad went 11-on-11, Kaulana Apelu, Wayne Tei-Kirby and Justin Hollins all had tackles for loss. The biggest gain offensively might have been a Herbert pass up the seam to Brown.

In 7-on-7, Jalen Brown had a pretty one-handed catch deep downfield, while on the defensive end of the field Jhet Janis came up with an interception. … In the final team period, Ben Thiel won a rep for the scouts with a great leaping grab at the sideline before getting his feet down inbounds. On the final offensive rep of the day, Eugenio turned on the jets to get under a deep ball from Prukop and haul it in.

Other observations: In his post-practice press conference, Helfrich said that Arizona State isn't blitzing quite as often as in years past, "but still substantially more than anybody we've played, by maybe double." … A year ago at ASU, the Ducks used big white sheets on the sidelines to block the Sun Devil staff from seeing their play signals. "We'll hopefully have something as effective this year," Helfrich said. … Helfrich was asked if the presence of a laminated play sheet in his hands at Cal indicated he had taken over play calling duties from offensive coordinator Matt Lubick. "We didn't do anything different in that game than we have in any other game," Helfrich said.

Other interviews:

Quarterbacks coach David Yost

Junior receiver Charles Nelson

Senior offensive guard Cameron Hunt