Football Practice Report: Oct. 1

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads

The calendar flipped to October on Tuesday, a chance for Oregon's wide receiver group to move on from a month marked by impressive production from starters Johnny Johnson III, Jaylon Redd and Bryan Addison, but also a concering lack of depth behind them.

There was no bigger storyline entering this season than how the Ducks' receivers would bounce back from a 2018 season marked by repeated drops. That narrative was put to rest through Oregon's 3-1 start to this season, which wasn't necessarily a surprise based on how the receivers looked in fall camp – but which on the other hand was particularly encouraging given the players the Ducks lacked in September.

Senior Brenden Schooler, graduate transfer Juwan Johnson and true freshman Mycah Pittman all were among the UO football team's more impressive playmakers in August. None was able to play in September, due to various injuries. But as October dawns, all look poised to make their season debuts in the next week or two.

Johnson has been suiting up for practices the last several weeks, and on Tuesday he was joined in full pads by both Pittman and Schooler, as those two looked to make the case for playing time when the Ducks host California on Saturday (5 p.m. PT, FOX).

"It brings good energy as much as anything," UO offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. "Schooler and his leadership, and Mycah being young and having the impact he did in fall camp, it was good. There will be some rust as we all know, but obviously good to have those guys back."

The return of an established veteran like Schooler and a freshman in Pittman who practiced with the two-deep most of August should pay dividends on multiple fronts.

For the other receivers, added depth means a rotation in games that should keep the group playing faster, longer. Redd wasn't available in the third quarter of Oregon's lone loss to Auburn – his absence was felt acutely as the Ducks tried to hold off a comeback bid – but now should have more quality depth alongside him.

"The more bodies that you can have, you can stay fresher," Redd said Tuesday. "However the rotation goes, you can evenly distribute it. It's just going to help everybody."

For Arroyo, the return of Schooler and Pittman means a deeper playbook. Arroyo said the staff "talked endlessly" during September about how to manage practice and game reps for the sake of the healthy receivers. After the injuries, the Ducks moved players to receiver who had to learn the playbook there on the fly, further limiting the scope of the game plan.

With Schooler and Pittman nearing a return, "you don't need to be limited in certain packages because guys haven't done it," Arroyo said, while cautioning that he doesn't expect the returning players to be ready for a full load of game reps right off the bat.

And a third benefit could be to the run game, which has struggled to find traction at times so far this season. With more weapons available, defenses may have to pay more attention to the passing game – opening things up at the line of scrimmage.

"I'm excited for our offense, and we'll see what we can do with them," quarterback Justin Herbert said.

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Practice highlights: In a tempo period to start Tuesday's practice, Isaac Slade-Matautia bottled up CJ Verdell on the first rep, but Herbert responded with a dart to Johnny Johnson. With the twos on the field, Sampson Niu stripped a running back for a forced fumble and Ge'mon Eaford ended the short drill by bottling up a back right at the line. … The next time the travel squad went head to head, Verone McKinley III came up to tackle a receiver right after the catch, and Jevon Holland jumped a route for an interception that ended up being a pick-six. The No. 1 offense took the field on the next rep and Verdell busted off a long run on that group's first play. …

In field-goal drills, both Camden Lewis and Henry Katleman went 3-for-3. Lewis made kicks of 32 and 44 yards from the right hash, then moved over to the left side and made a 42-yard attempt. Katleman was good from 25 and 34 yards out on the left hash, then converted a 49-yard attempt from the right hash. … The linemen had a really competitive period of pass-rush drills. Jake Hanson and Jordon Scott each won a rep against the other, and Sam Poutasi and Kristian Williams similarly each got the better of the other once. Andrew Faoliu got the defensive linemen juiced up with a pretty move to beat a guard, and Ryan Walk locked up a nose guard to the approval of his fellow offensive linemen.

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Other observations: Along with Holland's pick-six, there were also defensive touchdowns scored by Mykael Wright, Nick Pickett and La'Mar Winston Jr. … Tuesday was the first day of the fall quarter on campus, so practice began a little earlier than it had been. And although up to know players generally left the field at a pretty leisurely pace, it was easy Tuesday to pick out the guys who had noon classes, as they hustled to the locker room to get changed and get over to campus. … Along with taking reps at receiver, both Schooler and Pittman were in the group of players fielding punts.

Post-practice interviews:

Senior quarterback Justin Herbert