Football Practice Report: April 12
04/12/18 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
While young, the new additions to Oregon's coaching staff under new head coach Mario Cristobal have roots that have grown deep and intertwined over the years.
Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Full pads
In the fall of 2011, Cort Dennison was Washington's defensive MVP as a senior linebacker, and Donté Williams was a first-year graduate assistant with the Huskies. A year later, Dennison had graduated but Williams was joined on the UW staff by Keith Heyward.
This year, the three are reunited in Eugene, as assistants for the Oregon football team. Heyward joined the staff a year ago as safeties coach, and was reunited this offseason with Williams (cornerbacks) and Dennison (outside linebackers).
"The brotherhood, the fellowship we have among the coaches, it's a tight-knit group," Dennison said. "It's a 'team, we' attitude. It's a culture I love being a part of."
Dennison came to Eugene from Louisville. So too did Heyward, a year earlier; in 2016, Heyward coached cornerbacks for the Cardinals and Dennison coached safeties. Heyward now shares coaching duties in the secondary with Williams, as they did in 2012 at UW.
Williams said the deep bonds among the new coaches will pay dividends with the Ducks. The staff forms a united front, which isn't lost on the team.
"Players nowadays, they know how well coaches get along on and off the field," Williams said. "That was key for me coming here."
Both Williams and Dennison said working for new UO head coach Mario Cristobal was a big draw. Both Williams and Cristobal compared the hiring process with recruiting – a skill at which each is considered elite.
In 2015, Williams was named one of the top 10 recruiters in the country by Sports Illustrated. Dennison was considered one of the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference while at Louisville. With his youthful visage, Dennison could be mistaken for a current player, which he says is of benefit in recruiting.
"Ten years ago, I was a high school recruit," Dennison said. "I've been in their shoes. … I can really relate to these kids, because I know exactly what they were going through."
Williams and Dennison took on different challenges with the Ducks. Dennison has a veteran group of outside linebackers, headlined by Justin Hollins and La'Mar Winston Jr. Williams is looking to mold a young group of corners, featuring returning starter Thomas Graham Jr. and his fellow sophomore, Deommodore Lenoir. But they're both excited about the potential at their positions.
"One thing I love here is the effort," Williams said. "You can see the want-to is there. When the want-to is there, they're going to put the extra work in to get better."
Practice highlights: There were a few minutes in 11-on-11 drills Thursday morning that featured as much "juice" as the Ducks have demonstrated all spring. The period opened with a completion of about 55 yards from Justin Herbert to Brenden Schooler, which hyped up the offense and ticked off the defense. It was on after that. … Hunter Kampmoyer caught a short pass and rumbled upfield, trucking a cornerback before the play was blown dead. Johnny Johnson III caught a pass on a slant route despite a big hit from Thomas Graham Jr., but the offense tried to go back to the same play again, and Isaac Slade-Matautia sniffed it out and slapped the ball away. …
Demetri Burch caught a short pass and used a couple moves straight out of a video game to turn it into a long gain, and later Graham picked off a long pass in the end zone, although an official threw a flag for pass interference. It was a boisterous few minutes featuring big plays from both sides. … Matt Mariota had a block in a perimeter passing drill to spring Dillon Mitchell for a gain, and Mariota later had a couple long receptions of his own. Watching his development this spring has been very fun. … Steve Stephens had an interception in 7-on-7 when Schooler couldn't secure a pass and it caromed away. Later in the same period, Ugochukwu Amadi anticipated a short Tyler Shough pass and picked it off.
Other observations: The Ducks spent a few minutes after practice visiting with a "Band of Brothers" group from Bend. The Central Oregon residents are primarily World War II veterans. … With Taj Griffin back at running back this spring, he's getting reacquainted with all the assignments of the position. Jim Mastro put those guys through a blitz pick-up drill during position drills early Thursday, and Griffin got pushed back on his first rep. Mastro encouraged him to set his feet wider, "like a power clean," and on the next rep Griffin held his ground. …
Keith Simms is working both inside and outside at linebacker at this point. He drove Cyrus Habibi-Likio out of bounds during a team situation, with both players continuing to fight for ground all the way to the whistle. After practice, Cristobal lauded that sort of effort, telling the Ducks of the day overall, "what stood out to me more than anything is the amount of physicality. … I love the fact guys are trying to get after each other, knocking each other back." …. Cristobal wants to see more of the same Saturday afternoon, when the Ducks scrimmage in Autzen Stadium.
Pre-practice interviews:
DennisonCortOutside linebackers coach
