Football Practice Report: Aug. 3
08/03/18 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The Ducks opened 2018 preseason camp on Friday morning, the first look at a number of impressive newcomers along with the team's established veterans.
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Helmets and shorts
Upon descending the stairs outside the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex weight room, down to the facility's outdoor practice fields, the first position group one encounters is the offensive line. So it's hard to miss those guys any time the Ducks are practicing – but that was particularly the case Friday.
Oregon opened preseason camp Friday morning, and nothing stood out as much as the sheer size of the freshmen along the offensive line. First-year UO coach Mario Cristobal paid respect to the experience of the team's veterans when setting the initial depth chart for the start of camp, so the freshmen made up the third-string offensive line. But the long-term future up front for the Ducks is mighty impressive.
Friday was the first chance to see up close and in practice gear new linemen such as (below, left to right) Steven Jones (6-7, 375), Justin Johnson (6-7, 382) and Penei Sewell (6-foot-6, 360 pounds). During the pre-practice walk-through, position coach Alex Mirabal asked his players to line up three-deep and walk through plays together; at the "snap," 15 players would take a step in unison, creating a thunderous din that no doubt caused a little quiver on the Richter scale.
For most of Friday's practice, Jones was at left tackle and Johnson was the left guard on the third team, while Sewell played right tackle. Dawson Jaramillo (6-5, 332) also got snaps at right tackle, and Chris Randazzo (6-6, 358) worked at right guard. After practice, Cristobal was asked about individual standouts from the workout, and along with a handful of veterans he mentioned Sewell, one of the crown jewels of the 2018 recruiting class.
Among the big questions as camp dawned was how Oregon's offense will balance all that added size up front with the team's recent history of up-tempo play. Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo made it clear the Ducks will stick with what's worked.
"That's really our deal; it's who we are," Arroyo said. "We're gonna play fast, we're gonna play physical, we're gonna run the football. Everything's gonna come off our play action. And our guys know we go fast. We don't want to overcomplicate that."
From the sound of it, the Ducks intend to blend their traditional use of tempo with even more monstrous size up front. That's a process that will be ongoing through the month of preseason camp that began Friday, and one that figures to yield prolific results for the UO offense, this season and beyond.
Other highlights: Maybe the play of the day came in Friday's final 11-on-11 period, when freshman Tyler Shough zipped a bullet of a pass between defenders in the flat, and tight end Kano Dillon leaped to make the catch at full extension. Dillon, a graduate transfer, hasn't been in Eugene long but has already made a big impression on his new teammates. … Later in that same period, Justin Herbert connected on a deep ball with Johnny Johnson III. The ball travelled about 65 yards in the air, and hit Johnson in stride. A few reps later Herbert tried to hit Johnson again, on an underneath route, but Thomas Graham Jr. arrived just as the ball did and broke up the pass. ….
In 7-on-7, Herbert rifled passes to Dillon Mitchell and Brenden Schooler along the sideline, and twice completed balls underneath to Jaylon Redd that required the receiver to adjust and make the catch – which he did both times. Shough had some success working the ball over the middle to tight end Hunter Kampmoyer a couple times, but also was picked off by Nick Pickett, in his return to action after missing spring drills to rehab injuries. … During a team run period, Gary Baker swallowed up CJ Verdell at the line, Darrian Felix broke through into the secondary for a long gain, and Shough successfully utilized play action to rollout and hit Bryan Addison over the middle.
Other observations: As Cristobal indicated Thursday would be the case, graduate transfer Tabari Hines was limited to work with athletic trainers and the strength staff as he continues recovering from a minor knee surgery. … Sophomore safety Billy Gibson will be a late arrival to camp after recently becoming a father. … Bryson Young, previously an outside linebacker, worked primarily at defensive end Friday. … The other individual standouts Cristobal mentioned following practice were OT George Moore, Brooks-James, Verdell, Mitchell, Ugochukwu Amadi and outside linebacker Justin Hollins (above). …
Safety Jevon Holland looks like another guy who could have an early impact. In 7-on-7, Herbert hit Tony Brooks-James with a swing pass, and Holland took a great angle toward the sideline to quickly close the distance between himself and the ballcarrier. Later, he came up from behind to break up a pass from Shough intended for Jack Vecchi. … Addison (below) wore a white practice jersey along with the rest of the offense, and did position drills at receiver, but Cristobal said he'll also get a look at safety this month. "He brings too much to the table to lock him into one side right now," Cristobal said. …
The only true freshmen who wasn't on hand for spring drills but was in the two-deep Friday was Adrian Jackson, who lined up at inside linebacker behind starter Troy Dye. …. The Ducks added a player to the roster Friday when JC transfer Sione Kava joined the team and participate in practice. The defensive lineman played at end, mostly with the third unit in a rotation with Young and freshman Andrew Faoliu. … That leaves only linebacker Andrew Johnson yet to enroll, but Cristobal said Friday he's been cleared academically and is making plans to get to Eugene. Johnson will sit out this season as a redshirt in order to rehab a knee injury suffered in high school, Cristobal said.
Post-practice video:
Head coach Mario Cristobal
Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo
