Football Practice Report: Aug. 21
08/21/18 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The preseason camp phase of August is about to transition into game prep for Oregon's season opener, but a couple of valuable evaluation days remain.
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads
The transition from preseason camp to game-planning specifically for Oregon's opener, Sept. 1 against Bowling Green (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network) is almost upon us. But not quite yet.
Following Saturday's scrimmage, the UO football team had two days off from practice before returning to the field Tuesday. And the Ducks did so in camp mode, which will be the case for at least a couple more days.
"We're still in fall camp, we are," head coach Mario Cristobal said following practice. "We won't go into game prep until into the weekend. We still have some things we want to work out, and need to work out."
A couple of significant evaluation days remain, beginning with a practice Wednesday that will conclude with some scrimmage periods mostly involving second-team and third-team players, Cristobal said. But some starting jobs remain up for grabs, too.
"There's several positions you can't close out right now," Cristobal said. "There's several positions where there's a co-starter situation, where some guy's gotta prove just a little more than the other to take the first snap. Several guys have proven the fact they can play, and will play. But we still have some positions that require a little bit more."
Position battles that have appeared to be extremely close based on practice reps include right guard, between Jacob Capra and Dallas Warmack; inside linebacker, between Kaulana Apelu and Isaac Slade-Matautia; and safety, where the starter next to Ugochukwu Amadi could be Nick Pickett, Brady Breeze or even true freshman Jevon Holland.
One position where the Ducks like what they've seen this month is defensive line. Depth up front defensively was one of Cristobal's biggest priorities for this camp, he said on media day. Sophomores Jordon Scott and Austin Faoliu returned with starting experience, and Jalen Jelks is an all-America candidate, but he could be used at outside linebacker at times this season.
Those guys have been complemented this preseason by juniors Gary Baker and Drayton Carlberg, who along with backup nose guard Popo Aumavae have looked like solid members of the two-deep. Cristobal said Baker and Carlberg "have done an exceptional job becoming part of the mix there. They're going to make a tremendous difference."
Practice highlights: The main scrimmage portion Tuesday was an end-of-game scenario, with the offense given 15 seconds to score a "game-winning" touchdown from 15 yards out. A pass breakup by Thomas Graham Jr. on first down set the stage for the first-team defense to hold the offense scoreless. Likewise, Charles Sudduth broke up two passes for the No. 2 defense, which also got itself off the field. The only offensive unit to score was the threes, on a touchdown pass from Tyler Shough to Bryan Addison. ... Addison also had a touchdown in a red-zone period that preceded the end-of-game scenario. The big freshman had maybe his best practice of this camp, making effective use of his long frame and large wingspan. ...
Shough and Addison also connected in 7-on-7, with the quarterback throwing from the right hash to the far sideline. It was a big-time throw by the true freshman. Shough added a touchdown pass to Jacob Breeland in 7-on. ... The other team periods were made up of first-and-10 and second-and-medium plays. Justin Herbert and Dillon Mitchell hooked up a couple times, and Braxton Burmeister hit Brenden Schooler on a deep ball. ... Travis Dye ran really well in those periods, too, in his first full-go action in more than a week. ... In the red-zone period, Herbert threw a missile through the heart of the defense to Mitchell for a touchdown.
Other observations: One thing that jumped out Tuesday was the energy — indicated primarily by on-field chatter — from the Ducks. Typically when a team returns to practice from a day off, it can take some time to get back into it. And that's been the case at times in this camp. But it wasn't so Tuesday; after two days off, Oregon was raring to go. ... First-team cornerback Deommodore Lenoir spent some time Tuesday with the athletic training staff, during which his spot on the No. 1 defense was taken by true freshman Kahlef Hailassie. ... True freshman Adrian Jackson continues to cross-train at outside linebacker along with inside linebacker. ...
Along with Dye, running back Darrian Felix returned for some drills, although not contact situations. ... Following practice, junior Calvin Throckmorton worked one-on-one with true freshman Dawson Jaramillo on his pass sets. ... Several number changes were made between Saturday's scrimmage and Tuesday's practice. Most notably, the freshman safety Holland is now sporting No. 8, no small thing given the reverence for that number around these parts. Dye switched from 21 to 26, Hailassie from 22 to 37, Addison from 18 to 80, linebacker Sampson Niu from 12 to 55 and running back CJ Verdell from 25 to 34.
Post-practice interviews:
Sophomore defensive lineman Jordon Scott
Up Next: The Ducks' practice Wednesday will include some scrimmage periods.
