Football Practice Report: March 7
03/07/18 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The Ducks kicked off spring drills and their first camp under head coach Mario Cristobal on Wednesday, and the new head coach set the tone.
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Helmets and shorts
In his press conference Tuesday to preview the start of spring practice, first-year UO head coach Mario Cristobal said the Ducks were "chomping at the bit" to get going.
If the team needed any more prodding, Cristobal huddled up the players after pre-practice stretching Wednesday morning, and offered a reminder: "Culture takes no days off!" Cristobal hollered. "Consistency and performance take no days off!"
Thus was the tone set for an energetic first practice of Oregon's 2018 spring camp, and a new era in which the head coach is taking the lead to set the tone. Recent UO head coaches including Mike Bellotti, Mark Helfrich and even at times Willie Taggart could take more of a CEO approach to practices, overseeing drills led by assistants. Not since the Chip Kelly era have the Ducks had a head coach whose presence was always notable, as Cristobal's was Wednesday.
"Everywhere, all the time," Cristobal said afterward of his approach as head coach. "I know I sound like a broken record, but we must develop an intolerance for anyone or anything that does not uphold the standards of our culture.
"We gotta get better. Two years ago, four wins; last year, seven wins – we gotta keep climbing. There are painful steps that come with it. It's not an overnight process. But it is a daily process, and we're gaining ground towards that."
Cristobal moved up the start of practice for this year, prior to the usual opening week of spring term at the university. He wanted players to go right into practice from the "Fourth Quarter" winter conditioning program, to build on the energy established the last few weeks during morning workouts in the Moshofsky Center.
On Wednesday, Cristobal saw the fruits of that decision, he said.
"Without a doubt," he said. "It's a shame we didn't have pads on. But it's good we have to hold them back, rather than encourage them and push them and challenge them for more.
"The discipline of the Fourth Quarter program showed up today. A lot more discipline (offensively) with cadence, and lot more discipline (defensively) in terms of staying on our side of the ball. And we even stayed on track and finished practice a little early, which is a good sign in terms of our culture."
How strong is the culture the Ducks are fostering this offseason? One of the team's few fifth-year seniors, running back Tony Brooks-James, made an eye-opening comparison.
"It reminds me of the 2014 year," said Brooks-James, a redshirt on that UO team that played in the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game. "How we're getting back to basics, doing things the right way."
Practice highlights: The star of the show was sophomore receiver Johnny Johnson III. As a true freshman, Johnson demonstrated a fearless desire to go up and get the football on deep routes. That hasn't changed, but Johnson's body has – he lost 16 pounds in order to improve his agility – and it's paying off. In 7-on-7, Johnson was running a deep fade route, and was bumped by Ugochukwu Amadi. That sent Johnson tight-roping along the sideline, and he kept his balance long enough to make a diving, one-handed grab. "I don't know if he was in or out," Brooks-James said on the sideline. "But nice catch." Then, in a team period, Johnson got vertical again, turned toward the sideline to pick up the ball, saw it sailing toward the middle of the field and so turned back in that direction, in the process cutting off the route to make the catch inside the defender (above). The ball popped loose when Johnson hit the ground, but again, it was an amazing effort regardless. …
Receivers also stood out in 1-on-1 drills to open practice. Brenden Schooler got vertical to haul in a pass from Justin Herbert, and Tyler Shough bounced back from a wobbly throw on his first rep to fire a dart on the next snap to Malik Lovette in the end zone. But Amadi and Deommodore Lenoir broke up passes during that drill, and the defense picked up momentum as the day wore on. … In the final team period of the day, the defense bounced back from a long CJ Verdell run with a sack by Jordon Scott on the next rep. Later in the period, Thomas Graham Jr. picked off a pass, and Keith Simms came up to drop Cyrus Habibi-Likio after a short gain on a pass play. The defense was playing with a ton of juice at that point, which Cristobal lauded in the post-practice huddle.
Other observations: When the team was walking out for the start of practice, it was hard not to notice the guy in a green No. 14 jersey. That's junior college transfer Haki Woods, who at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds provides length at corner the likes of which we haven't seen often around here. Woods must be picking things up reasonably well; when the defense lined up in nickel, he was at corner, with Lenoir moving inside to the slot. … It looks like freshman corner Verone McKinley Jr. also is learning the nickel spot. … During punt drills, Hunter Kampmoyer worked at long snapper, and punts were fielded by Dillon Mitchell, Travis Dye, Darrian McNeal and Amadi. The senior safety Amadi has the potential to be an electric returner, based on today. …
With Jake Hanson out for the start of spring, Calvin Throckmorton is the first-team center. He practiced there a little near the end of last season, and got comfortable enough that Cristobal wanted to get him some mop-up reps late in one game, Throckmorton said, but time ran out before the offense got the ball back. … Alex Forsyth, Charlie Landgraf and Ryan Walk also snapped during position drills. … Demetri Burch, who practiced at both quarterback and receiver last season, was in a standard white offensive jersey, and not a red non-contact quarterback jersey. … New cornerbacks coach Donte Williams prefers to wear cleats at practice, as did his predecessor, Charles Clark.
Pre-practice interviews:
Junior quarterback Justin Herbert
