Spring Game: Five Takeaways
04/20/19 | Football
Impressions from Oregon football's spring game Saturday, which featured promising moments from the backup QB, the receivers and the freshman class.
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon football program concluded its 2019 spring practices on Saturday afternoon, a brilliant Willamette Valley day that served as a marquee recruiting weekend for the Ducks, a homecoming for dozens of alumni and, not to be completely overlooked, setting for the annual Spring Game.
The two-hour scrimmage went into the books as a 20-13 victory for the "Mighty Oregon" team clad in green jerseys, over the yellow-clad "Fighting Ducks." Here are some key takeaways from the day:
1. The buzz surrounding Tyler Shough was real. All spring, the coaching staff and players spoke highly of Shough's development from last fall to this spring, and he backed that up Saturday. The redshirt freshman capably quarterbacked the Fighting Ducks, completing 18-of-31 passes for 178 yards, and an interception on a deep heave down the field on the final play of the day.
It turned out in 2016 that the Ducks went into the season with a pretty good backup at quarterback, but nobody knew when that season began just how good Justin Herbert was. You might have to go back to 2012, when Bryan Bennett was backup to Marcus Mariota, to find a season that began with Oregon fans feeling so confident in the backup QB.
"It definitely felt good – it definitely felt more real than practice," Shough said. "I love playing football, and being out there with the guys was super fun. Obviously there's some things you want back, but overall I felt like the offense did pretty well."
Shough arrived at Oregon with the confident, charismatic air of a potential star at quarterback. Now he's putting together the skills to back that up, having grown bigger and faster in the weight room, with a greater command of the playbook.
"He just seems confident out there, and he's ripping it," running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio said. "… He's stepped outside of that shadow from Justin, and he's adding his own flavor to the offense."
2. The receivers needed to take a big step, and look like they have. The Ducks had 52 drops over the course of the 2018 season, each one of them robbing the offense of momentum, taking yards and even points off the board, and hamstringing the offensive staff's playcalling.
The addition of new receivers coach Jovon Bouknight brought to the staff a cerebral, thoughtful teacher for the position group in practices. The meeting room also was bolstered this spring by the addition of true freshman Josh Delgado in January, then graduate transfer Juwan Johnson and freshman Mycah Pittman in April. That trio combined for 12 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown Saturday.
"They're really special guys," Herbert said. "They're guys that go and make plays. It's a good problem to have, having so many options."
Competition from the newcomers and new teaching points from Bouknight have had a positive impact on the veterans, as well. Not only did the Ducks get a touchdown Saturday from Jaylon Redd, the top returning veteran, but Johnny Johnson III made a clutch third-down catch and Brenden Schooler made an acrobatic play for a 26-yard gain on a sideline fade.
Both Johnson and Schooler were up and down in 2018, but appear to have turned a corner under Bouknight's guidance. "Our players were hungry for that," UO coach Mario Cristobal said. "I think it showed in the play of Johnny Johnson and Brenden Schooler, first and foremost. Those guys really improved."
3. Cyrus Habibi-Likio is on a mission. After a season in which he contributed as Oregon's goal-line threat, the bruising back is motivated to prove he's more than that.
Injuries to some other backs this spring opened the door for Habibi-Likio to get more touches, and he barged through that opening. On Saturday, Habibi-Likio led all rushers with 45 yards on the ground, on 12 carries with one touchdown. He also caught three passes, for 24 yards.
"I feel like I showed some versatility out there, and that was a goal of this spring ball," Habibi-Likio said.
The Ducks have a couple other proven veterans in CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, and Darrian Felix had a strong opening to this spring before being sidelined by illness. There are also a couple talented recruit on the way over the summer. But Habibi-Likio showed he belongs in the conversation as well.
4. The highly regarded freshman class is as advertised. Not only did Delgado and Pittman show out Saturday, Camden Lewis was perfect on two placekicks, and Kayvon Thibodeaux was credited with a sack – and would have had at least one more had action Saturday been truly game-like, with the quarterbacks not in red no-contact jerseys.
Maybe the biggest impact from a true freshman was from cornerback Mykael Wright. Like Pittman and Lewis, he only enrolled earlier this month. But Wright had four tackles in the spring game, one off the team lead, broke up three passes – half the combined total for both teams Saturday – and had the interception off Shough to close the day.
When those freshmen and their classmates signed over the offseason, they made up the most highly rated recruiting class in UO history. On Saturday they showed signs of following through on all that promise.
5. The program wanted a spectacle, and got one. The coaching staff had dozens of recruits on campus, and invited dozens of alumni to attend, creating a gameday atmosphere that hopefully proved enticing for all those potential future Ducks.
Among the alumni in town were Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, and CFL star Jeremiah Masoli. "We want the spring game to be a big deal," Cristobal said. "We want it to be a spring homecoming."
No amount of alumni, however, could have made for an enticing atmosphere had the fans not shown up. But they did, to the tune of 35,110 strong.
"I want to first and foremost thank the 35,000-plus that were out there," Cristobal said to open his postgame press conference. "They made it feel like even more than that. … We all felt it, and we love it."
