Football Practice Report: April 17

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads

Now this was scrimmage film an offensive line coach could appreciate.

A week ago, UO head coach Mario Cristobal met with media prior to a Tuesday practice, and gave an overview of his impressions from film of the Ducks' April 7 scrimmage in Portland. He listed a handful of players who jumped out, all of them from the defensive front seven.

Seven days later, Cristobal was back in front of the cameras prior to another Tuesday practice, giving another overview of his impressions from a Saturday scrimmage. This time, the former offensive lineman and longtime position coach had a chance to laud the guys in the trenches on the other side of the ball.

"The biggest (improvement) was the efficiency of the passing game," Cristobal said of a scrimmage this past Saturday in Autzen Stadium in which Justin Herbert completed 18-of-26 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns. "The ball was out quick, the protections improved tremendously and we fixed some of the issues from the first scrimmage."

The improved offensive line play came despite the unit being thinned by injuries. Junior center Jake Hanson has been limited all spring as he rehabs an injury, and his replacement this month, Calvin Throckmorton, also has been held out of some drills in recent days.

Those situations and some others meant the Ducks played Saturday with just eight available linemen. Redshirt freshman Ryan Walk, a walk-on and former teammate of Herbert's at Eugene's Sheldon High, spent the scrimmage at center with the first-team offense, and was a bright spot, Cristobal said.

That said, the front seven regained momentum during a "clutch" scenario that capped Tuesday's practice. The No. 1 and No. 2 offenses each were given the chance to drive the field to a "game-winning" touchdown, with 1:09 of clock time to use. Neither was able to convert.

With the ones on the field, the front seven absolutely overwhelmed the offensive line. On second-and-10, Herbert was sacked, and third down saw him swarmed by La'Mar Winston Jr., Jalen Jelks, Justin Hollins and Gus Cumberlander. Facing fourth-and-the-game, Herbert rolled out to buy time and lofted a desperation heave deep downfield, where safety Mattrell McGraw won a battle for position and picked off the pass.

Tyler Shough got the chance to run the No. 2 offense, and moved the chains a couple times with completions to Jacob Breeland and Jaylon Redd. But the drive was also marred by a penalty on each side of the ball, and time ran out on the offense.

Practice highlights: Tuesday's practice began under gray, drizzly skies, and the Ducks' energy level matched the climate. But it didn't take long for the blood to get flowing. In perimeter blocking and tackling drills, Johnny Johnson III locked up Thomas Graham Jr. on the first rep, and tossed him out of bounds at the whistle. Graham didn't take lightly to that treatment; his next two reps, the sophomore returning starter blew through attempts blocks and made tackles in the backfield. The period also featured a pancake block by Daewood Davis, as the receivers generally got the better of the defensive backs physically — and both sides provided a jolt of energy that carried over through the rest of practice. …

The next competitive period was 11-on-11; it began with Tony Brooks-James attempting to get to the edge on a run, and Graham bringing him down for a loss. On the next rep, Johnson got vertical over the middle and hauled in a long pass from Herbert. That period also featured a precision strike by Herbert thrown on the run to Davis, and a nifty pass breakup by Gibson when Braxton Burmeister tried to throw to Redd. … In 7-on-7, Burmeister threaded a ball between two defenders to Demetri Burch, but Verone McKinley III reached in and slapped it away. And Burmeister had maybe the throw of the day in a team period during which the offense had a chance to drive the field, capping his possession with a beautiful fade to the back of the end zone, where receiver Jack Vecchi made an acrobatic catch for the touchdown.

Other observations: Despite recent surges by Keith Simms and Kaulana Apelu, redshirt freshman Isaac Slade-Matautia continues to get the lion's share of inside linebacker reps alongside Troy Dye with the No. 1 defense. The guy everybody calls "Slade" dominated a team run period, with at least four tackles for loss, three on run plays and another on a screen pass. … With Sampson Niu and Apelu working their way back into the mix on the inside, Simms did position drills with the outside linebackers Tuesday. … Not many players have come as far as McKinley this spring. His body language has improved dramatically over the course of 11 spring practices, and he's carrying himself with renewed confidence after his pick-six in Saturday's scrimmage. …

Along with Walk, Cristobal also noted contributions Saturday from Davis and Redd, second-year players who had receiving touchdowns in the scrimmage. Starting corners Graham and Deommodore Lenoir also stood out, as did nose tackles Jordon Scott and Popo Aumavae, backup quarterbacks Burmeister and Shough, safety Billy Gibson and Simms. … The Ducks were in full pads Tuesday, and practice twice more leading up to the Spring Game in Autzen on Saturday (2 p.m., Pac-12 Network). The availability of players on the offensive line could impact the format of the Spring Game — whether it's a split-squad scrimmage, or situational work between the offense and defense — but that didn't stop the UO football team from having a productive scrimmage Saturday, nor will it deny fans at the Spring Game a chance to gauge how far the Ducks came in their first spring under Cristobal.

Pre-practice interviews:

Head coach Mario Cristobal

Running backs coach Jim Mastro

Senior running back Tony Brooks-James

Junior quarterback Justin Herbert