Football Practice Report: Oct. 31

Venue: Moshofsky Center/Outdoor Practice Fields
Format: Full pads

Exhale, Oregon football fans.

One day after missing practice while in concussion protocol, junior quarterback Justin Herbert returned to action Wednesday for the Ducks. Though receiver Dillon Mitchell remained sidelined, also stemming from concussion symptoms, Herbert was in full pads and going through drills as usual.

Braxton Burmeister and Tyler Shough handled the quarterback position for the travel squad offense Tuesday, and they were 1-2 in the practice order for the first team period Wednesday. But as the day wore on Herbert shared reps with his backups, including in the two-minute drill to close practice.

"He has cleared his stuff," UO coach Mario Cristobal said. "(Now we're) making sure he feels good in everything he's doing, and see how he feels throughout the rest of the week to make a decision who's going to start the game. … All three guys looked good."

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Herbert was in concussion protocol following Oregon's game last week at Arizona. He watched portions of practice Tuesday, but by Wednesday he was cleared to participate. Quarterbacks are always shielded from contact in UO practices anyway, but Herbert was cleared full-go.

Still, the coaching staff has yet to finalize a decision on who will quarterback the Oregon offense against UCLA on Saturday (4:30, FOX).

"It was a good day (for Herbert on Wednesday)," Cristobal said. "But we still evaluate every single piece of it. Always the medical part first; we're gonna do it the right way. You gotta do it like it's your own son."

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It didn't appear Wednesday that Herbert had missed a beat. In his first 11-on-11 action, he fired a pass just high enough for tight end Jacob Breeland to haul in – but too high for a safety to get to it – and Breeland ran for a gain of about 25 yards. Moments later, Herbert launched a bomb to Johnny Johnson III, who had a step on a defensive back that forced the DB to commit pass interference rather than risk a long gain.

All three quarterbacks got a chance to operate the offense in the two-minute drill, and Burmeister led the unit to a successful field-goal attempt. He completed three straight balls to open the drill, and the fourth play should have been a long touchdown pass, but the intended receiver short-armed it and had the ball go off his fingertips. Burmeister recovered to move the chains on third down with a pass to Daewood Davis on the next rep, then centered the ball and took a knee to set up Adam Stack's 33-yard field goal.

Herbert got the ball across midfield with a pass to Brenden Schooler, and completed another ball to Jaylon Redd that gave the offense second-and-short just outside of field-goal range. After second down yielded no gain, Thomas Graham Jr. broke up the third-down play and the defense got off the field with a stop on fourth down.

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Shough then got a chance to cap the drill, and completed a pass to Justin Collins that got the ball past midfield. But on the second play of the drive, Kahlef Hailassie jumped a short route and intercepted a pass to notch another win for the defense.

After practice, offensive lineman Shane Lemieux expressed confidence in both young signal-callers. He compared Shough with fellow freshman standouts Penei Sewell and Jevon Holland for being "almost coach-like, where he has the details down so well." As for Burmeister, Lemieux said, "he's a lot different than last year. When he walks into a room now, people respect him."

Still, everybody was relieved to see Herbert back in action Wednesday. With fingers crossed and breath held, the Ducks will continue holding out hope he remains symptom-free and will be good to go Saturday.

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Other highlights: The defense had a really strong period of one-on-one reps in the red zone. Graham, Deommodore Lenoir and Haki Woods Jr. all had pass breakups in the end zone. … With the defense's depth sapped by injuries, some other guys are taking advantage of chances to show out for coaches. In a "good on good" period, Nate Heaukulani, Popo Aumavae and Sione Kava all had stops in the run game against the No. 1 offense. … Shough completed his first four attempts of the day in the first "good on good" period, in which he was facing the No. 1 defense.

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Other observations: Brady Breeze made his debut at outside linebacker at Arizona after being moved there from safety last Thursday. He continues to take reps there this week, plugging a hole in the two-deep created when Keith Simms moved to inside linebacker following Isaac Slade-Matautia's shoulder injury. "Wherever I can get on the field, I'll play," Breeze said. "I don't want to be on the sideline." … Steven Jones continues to get reps here and there at left tackle with the No. 1 offense. …

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Cristobal said Mitchell was in line to complete concussion protocol some time Wednesday afternoon. ... The Ducks began practice in the Mo for the second day in a row. But they spent the last full 11-on-11 period, the two-minute drill and the final special teams period outside on a drizzly Eugene morning. "Just to kind of practice in the elements, which could be something that we're gonna be playing in Saturday," Cristobal said.