New Season Dawns Saturday
08/27/18 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The Mario Cristobal era formally begins when Oregon hosts Bowling Green on Saturday (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network), and Cristobal on Monday met with media to discuss the matchup and his depth chart.
The Oregon football team entered preseason camp at the start of August knowing it was deep and talented at the running back and tight end positions. The Ducks knew they had signed a freshman class laden with potential first-year contributors, including offensive lineman Penei Sewell. And for the first time since Marcus Mariota was a junior in 2014, the UO football team had no question about its starting quarterback for the upcoming season.
Through three weeks of preseason camp, all of those assumptions were backed up on the practice field. And they were reflected, too, in the first game-week organizational chart released by first-year head coach Mario Cristobal on Monday, five days before Oregon opens the 2018 regular season in Autzen Stadium against Bowling Green on Saturday (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
"We feel like there's a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm surrounding our program, and our players," Cristobal said. "… They certainly are eager to get things rolling."
The Ducks will open the season with junior Justin Herbert at quarterback, and senior running back Tony Brooks-James with him in the backfield. Dillon Mitchell and Johnny Johnson III are returning starters at receiver, as are Jake Hanson, Shane Lemieux and Calvin Throckmorton on the offensive line.
The defense returns familiar faces as well, particularly in a front seven manned by linemen Jalen Jelks, Jordon Scott and Austin Faoliu, and linebackers Troy Dye, Justin Hollins, La'Mar Winston Jr. and Kaulana Apelu. Senior senior Ugochukwu Amadi and sophomore cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. are returning starters in the secondary.
But there remain some unknowns on the organizational chart released Monday. Among the biggest is the running back situation behind Brooks-James; backups Taj Griffin, Darrian Felix, Travis Dye, Cyrus Habibi-Likio and CJ Verdell all are listed as potential options, and could be used situationally, Cristobal said.
"They all deserve to play," he said. "The way we run the offense, as fast and as high tempo as we are – we expect to get a lot of plays, 80, 85, 90 plays a game – so they're all going to get their touches."
It's a similar situation at tight end, where Cam McCormick, Jacob Breeland, Kano Dillon and Ryan Bay all have looked like contributors at various times in August. To take advantage of that depth, Cristobal has said the Ducks could play multiple tight ends often this season.
The Ducks have two important practice days left this week, Tuesday and Wednesday, to set their lineup prior to Thursday's walk-through. That remaining time will help sort out the depth at the safety position next to Amadi, where Nick Pickett, Brady Breeze and Mattrell McGraw are in the mix.
The depth chart in the secondary also includes potential backups Jevon Holland at safety and Kahlef Hailassie at cornerback. They're two of 11 true freshmen listed on the opening week organizational chart, the most prominent being Sewell, a potential starter at one of the tackle spots.
"Penei is that rare combination of power and speed," Cristobal said. "He's an intelligent guy; he has a 'care' factor; he's very detailed. …. His DNA is the right kind of stuff you want, not only for your offensive line but your entire football team."
Oregon's practice schedule under Cristobal will be similar to those the last few seasons, he said in outlining the Ducks' weekly routine for this season.
Each week will begin on Sunday or Monday – influenced in part by whether Oregon had a road game the previous Saturday, and with the other day serving as the weekly off day. That practice will be heavy on special teams drills, and light on hitting.
The Ducks will be in full pads each Tuesday and Wednesday, going heavy on standard down work Tuesday and skewing more toward situations like third-down and red-zone work Wednesday. Cristobal also intends to mix in practice periods frequently that match the offensive starters against their defensive counterparts, rather than solely against the scout teams.
"We do not want to lose the speed and power aspect of playing against each other," he said. "Often times teams will make the mistake of not going ones against the ones."
Each Thursday will feature the Ducks' slow pregame walk-through, followed by a more up-tempo version on "Fast Friday." Those practices, Cristobal has said, will also feature a scrimmage period between scout-team players, for the sake of their development.
Monday's practice was Oregon's first devoted solely to preparing for Saturday's opponent, Bowling Green, a Mid-American Conference team that went 2-10 last season.
The Falcons have a veteran defense coached by new coordinator Carl Pelini, who has seven returning starters led by senior linebacker Brandon Harris and the senior safety tandem of Fred Garth and Marcus Milton. Sophomore quarterback Jarret Doege started six times as a freshman, and he returns five of his top six receivers from 2017.
"Where they pose a problem for you is, they get the ball down the field in a hurry," Cristobal said. "They have a little of the Air Raid mentality, and their receivers can stretch the field."
Mike Jinks is in his third season as Bowling Green head coach. The Falcons are no stranger to opening the season on the road against a Power 5 team; the played Ohio State to open the 2016 campaign, and Michigan State in their 2017 opener.
"A lot of those guys have been in those venues, been in that atmosphere," Jinks said Monday. "I think they're excited about the challenge; they know what's ahead of us."
The Falcons lost 77-10 at Ohio State in 2016, but just 35-10 at Michigan State last season. Those experiences taught Jinks that Bowling Green has "got to be productive on offense," he said. "We've got to keep them off the field, and we've got to capitalize on our opportunities."
Defensively, Jinks said the Falcons will look to "bend but don't break" under Pelini. "We're going to give up our share of yards," he said, "but once that field shrinks and we get down in that 'score' zone, they're multiple, to say the least, and we need to be able to get some stops and get some timely turnovers."
Cristobal on Saturday will embark upon his second tenure as a college head coach, the first being a memorable debut with Florida International in 2007.
FIU lost 59-0 at Penn State to open that season. Cristobal coached that game wearing a suit and tie he sported the day before while traveling to the game; that was because the pants packed for the game by equipment staff were too small. But some saw it as a nod to former PSU coach Joe Paterno and his formal sideline attire, and Cristobal was lauded for dressing similarly.
"I was like, 'Wow, I'm stuck with this suit all year,' " Cristobal recalled Monday with a laugh.
It's better to be overdressed than underdressed, though, right?
"I tell you want, not that time," Cristobal said. "I was stuck in 99 degree weather wearing that coat and tie every single week, and that wasn't pleasant. And the dry cleaning bill was insane, week after week."
