Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
Football Practice Report: Aug. 5
08/05/18 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
First-year head coach Mario Cristobal continues to preach discipline to the Oregon football team, bringing officials in to work Sunday's practice and also sit in on meetings.
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Shells
It's becoming increasingly clear, as Oregon football's 2018 preseason camp progresses, that when first-year coach Mario Cristobal talks of the new culture he's been working to instill, a key tenet is discipline.
The 2017 Ducks lacked it in key ways, most notably penalties. No team in the country drew more flags on average (9.4), nor for more yards per game (88.3). For a program whose margin for error isn't yet back to where it was a few years ago, that's a killer.
As the Ducks have done in years past, Cristobal has invited an officiating crew to attend practice and throw flags when appropriate. They did so for the first time this preseason Sunday, the Ducks' first day in shells so far. But Cristobal is taking things a step further, inviting those officials into the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex to review film, and offer more feedback on the Ducks' discipline.
"You have to face that dead-on," Cristobal said Sunday afternoon, when Oregon hosted its annual preseason media day in The Club at Autzen Stadium. "You're either teaching it, or you're allowing it to happen. And we allowed it to happen."
The offensive line and secondary generally have been the most consistent offenders. On Sunday, 1-on-1 pass drills featured maybe a half-dozen flags for holding or pass interference; Cristobal said there were three total flags on the offensive line, two for illegal procedure and one for holding — and that was too many, he said.
Another way the staff is instilling discipline is through accountability for assignments. Anecdotally, the last three days seem to have featured more frequent instances of coaches subbing out a player mid-series in the event of a mental error — a center having an errant snap, or a receiver struggling to get lined up pre-snap.
In the post-practice huddle, Cristobal reassured the Ducks that's to their long-term benefit, which he re-stated shortly after at media day.
"We're not going to break you; that's not the point of fall camp," the coach said. "We're going to make you, and break bad habits."
There were some positive signs on the discipline front, too. Since taking over the program, Cristobal has preached a "practice like pros" mentality. That means playing with a physical style, without subjectign each other to the risk of injury but taking each other to the ground.
On Sunday, he told them, "we did a much better job of staying up, and that's good."
Other highlights: After a day Saturday when their timing seemed a little off, Justin Herbert, Dillon Mitchell and Johnny Johnson III were really sharp Sunday. In the final team period of the day, Dillon Mitchell got a step on Deommodore Lenoir down the sideline and was gone. Prior to that in 7-on-7, another receiver couldn't haul in a pass but tipped it into the air, and Johnson managed to haul it in while tapping both feet inbounds before falling to the sideline. … Lenoir and Johnson had a couple good battles in 1-on-1. First, Johnson tried to get physical off the line but Lenoir fought him off and broke up a pass. Later, the cornerback again had tight coverage but the pass somehow eluded his reach and Johnson hauled it in. … Walk-on safety Lucas Noland nearly had a great pass breakup in 1-on-1s, but unfortunately for him the ball hung up in the air, and Kano Dillon hauled it in. …
Mitchell and Johnson also set the tone in a perimeter blocking and tackling drills between the receivers and DBs. Reps between Haki Woods and Bryan Addison, and later Charles Sudduth and JJ Tucker, showed that the freshman receivers have a little to learn from the vets in terms of blocking. … In the 1-on-1 period, Woods got physical again, this time with Daewood Davis, and forced an incompletion. … During a team period, Braxton Burmeister had a nice completion followed by a rep on which he handled a high snap but still got the handoff to Darrian Felix in time for a long gain. …
Steve Stephens popped Sunday a few times. On three straight reps during one team period, he was the first defender to get to running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio, and in the ensuing 7on-7 drill he broke up a pass from Tyler Shough to Jack Vecchi. … Another true freshman safety, Jevon Holland, continues to impress as a playmaker. After interceptions each of the first two days, he ripped the ball out for a forced fumble today, though Demetri Burch bailed out a teammate by jumping on it for the offense. … Tony Brooks-James and CJ Verdell both broke free for long runs in the 7-on-7 run drill.
Other observations: With the team in shells, the first period of the day was a tackling drill, including for quarterbacks. Nothing full contact, just work on proper technique; "see what you hit" was the constant refrain from coaches. … At media day, Cristobal said Addison isn't the only potential two-way player this season. Sophomore receiver Jaylon Redd has potential as a nickel defender, he said, and a defensive lineman or two could factor into a goal-line package on offense. … Cristobal said he leaned heavily on his starting five offensive linemen last season under direction from the head coach; now that he's in charge, he plans to use a rotation closer to eight or nine guys, he said. …
Sophomore safety Billy Gibson reported for camp after missing a couple days following the birth of his child. … Freshman offensive lineman Dawson Jaramillo, who opened camp at right tackle, got some reps at left guard. … Special teams drills focused on the punt team for the third day in a row. The other units will get some attention the next couple days. … Former quarterback and Eugene native Taylor Alie attended practice.
Out-of-context-but-impossible-not-to-pass-along photo of the day: Tight end Jake Breeland (background) is 6-foot-5 and 248 pounds. Outside linebacker Isaiah Pitre (right) is 6-4, 217. And then there's true freshman offensive lineman Steven Jones …
Media Day Interviews:
Head coach Mario Cristobal
Junior linebacker Troy Dye
Junior quarterback Justin Herbert
Up Next: The Ducks are back in shells Monday morning, before donning full pads for the first time Tuesday.
Format: Shells
It's becoming increasingly clear, as Oregon football's 2018 preseason camp progresses, that when first-year coach Mario Cristobal talks of the new culture he's been working to instill, a key tenet is discipline.
The 2017 Ducks lacked it in key ways, most notably penalties. No team in the country drew more flags on average (9.4), nor for more yards per game (88.3). For a program whose margin for error isn't yet back to where it was a few years ago, that's a killer.
As the Ducks have done in years past, Cristobal has invited an officiating crew to attend practice and throw flags when appropriate. They did so for the first time this preseason Sunday, the Ducks' first day in shells so far. But Cristobal is taking things a step further, inviting those officials into the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex to review film, and offer more feedback on the Ducks' discipline.
"You have to face that dead-on," Cristobal said Sunday afternoon, when Oregon hosted its annual preseason media day in The Club at Autzen Stadium. "You're either teaching it, or you're allowing it to happen. And we allowed it to happen."
The offensive line and secondary generally have been the most consistent offenders. On Sunday, 1-on-1 pass drills featured maybe a half-dozen flags for holding or pass interference; Cristobal said there were three total flags on the offensive line, two for illegal procedure and one for holding — and that was too many, he said.
Another way the staff is instilling discipline is through accountability for assignments. Anecdotally, the last three days seem to have featured more frequent instances of coaches subbing out a player mid-series in the event of a mental error — a center having an errant snap, or a receiver struggling to get lined up pre-snap.
In the post-practice huddle, Cristobal reassured the Ducks that's to their long-term benefit, which he re-stated shortly after at media day.
"We're not going to break you; that's not the point of fall camp," the coach said. "We're going to make you, and break bad habits."
There were some positive signs on the discipline front, too. Since taking over the program, Cristobal has preached a "practice like pros" mentality. That means playing with a physical style, without subjectign each other to the risk of injury but taking each other to the ground.
On Sunday, he told them, "we did a much better job of staying up, and that's good."
Other highlights: After a day Saturday when their timing seemed a little off, Justin Herbert, Dillon Mitchell and Johnny Johnson III were really sharp Sunday. In the final team period of the day, Dillon Mitchell got a step on Deommodore Lenoir down the sideline and was gone. Prior to that in 7-on-7, another receiver couldn't haul in a pass but tipped it into the air, and Johnson managed to haul it in while tapping both feet inbounds before falling to the sideline. … Lenoir and Johnson had a couple good battles in 1-on-1. First, Johnson tried to get physical off the line but Lenoir fought him off and broke up a pass. Later, the cornerback again had tight coverage but the pass somehow eluded his reach and Johnson hauled it in. … Walk-on safety Lucas Noland nearly had a great pass breakup in 1-on-1s, but unfortunately for him the ball hung up in the air, and Kano Dillon hauled it in. …
Mitchell and Johnson also set the tone in a perimeter blocking and tackling drills between the receivers and DBs. Reps between Haki Woods and Bryan Addison, and later Charles Sudduth and JJ Tucker, showed that the freshman receivers have a little to learn from the vets in terms of blocking. … In the 1-on-1 period, Woods got physical again, this time with Daewood Davis, and forced an incompletion. … During a team period, Braxton Burmeister had a nice completion followed by a rep on which he handled a high snap but still got the handoff to Darrian Felix in time for a long gain. …
Steve Stephens popped Sunday a few times. On three straight reps during one team period, he was the first defender to get to running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio, and in the ensuing 7on-7 drill he broke up a pass from Tyler Shough to Jack Vecchi. … Another true freshman safety, Jevon Holland, continues to impress as a playmaker. After interceptions each of the first two days, he ripped the ball out for a forced fumble today, though Demetri Burch bailed out a teammate by jumping on it for the offense. … Tony Brooks-James and CJ Verdell both broke free for long runs in the 7-on-7 run drill.
Other observations: With the team in shells, the first period of the day was a tackling drill, including for quarterbacks. Nothing full contact, just work on proper technique; "see what you hit" was the constant refrain from coaches. … At media day, Cristobal said Addison isn't the only potential two-way player this season. Sophomore receiver Jaylon Redd has potential as a nickel defender, he said, and a defensive lineman or two could factor into a goal-line package on offense. … Cristobal said he leaned heavily on his starting five offensive linemen last season under direction from the head coach; now that he's in charge, he plans to use a rotation closer to eight or nine guys, he said. …
Sophomore safety Billy Gibson reported for camp after missing a couple days following the birth of his child. … Freshman offensive lineman Dawson Jaramillo, who opened camp at right tackle, got some reps at left guard. … Special teams drills focused on the punt team for the third day in a row. The other units will get some attention the next couple days. … Former quarterback and Eugene native Taylor Alie attended practice.
Out-of-context-but-impossible-not-to-pass-along photo of the day: Tight end Jake Breeland (background) is 6-foot-5 and 248 pounds. Outside linebacker Isaiah Pitre (right) is 6-4, 217. And then there's true freshman offensive lineman Steven Jones …
Media Day Interviews:
Head coach Mario Cristobal
Junior linebacker Troy Dye
Junior quarterback Justin Herbert
Up Next: The Ducks are back in shells Monday morning, before donning full pads for the first time Tuesday.
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