Three Takeaways From First Spring Scrimmage

HILLSBORO, Ore. – Oregon hit the midway point of its allotted 15 spring practices on Saturday when it held an open scrimmage in front of a couple thousand fans at Hillsboro Stadium.

The first half of the practice featured a walkthrough and positional work before the team broke into a scrimmage that lasted around 90 plays. Head coach Mario Cristobal worked the first team offense against the first team defense for half of the scrimmage, which included a two-minute drill to close the day.

The scrimmage featured 11-on-11 work, 7-on-7 at the break and live tackling during 11-on-11 to end the practice.

1. EDGE RUSHERS HAD A DAY
The graduation of Jalen Jelks and Justin Hollins, both who are expected to hear their name called during this month's NFL Draft, leaves the Oregon defense with two big voids to fill on the outside. On Saturday, there seemed like plenty of candidates for those positions, as the new-look defense under the direction of first-year defensive coordinator Andy Avalos looked tough to handle of the edge whether it was from the defensive end spot, outside backer or the STUD position.

The defense had four sacks on the day with another that could have been called. Playing in front of a good amount of family and friends, senior La'Mar Winston Jr. was a menace off the edge from his outside backer spot. Winston probably would have gotten to Justin Herbert on his long pass play with Darrian Felix early in the scrimmage.
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Sophomore Adrian Jackson, who played primarily outside backer as a true freshman in 2018, has occupied the same position this spring, but with another year in the Fourth Quarter program has bulked up and added even more explosiveness. Jackson was a problem for the offensive tackles and was able to get by Freshman All-American Penei Sewell for a would-be sack in one of the final possessions of the scrimmage.

One of 10 early enrollees, Kayvon Thibodeaux displayed not only the pass rush skills that helped him finish as ESPN's No. 1 recruit in the 2019 class, but also the football-savvy that head coach Mario Cristobal raved about following the scrimmage. Thibodeaux was a regular in the backfield with the second team defense and closed out the scrimmage with an interception on a short pass. Thibodeux started the play as a defensive end, but appeared to read the quarterback's quick drop and drifted back off the line of scrimmage to make the play. Earlier in the scrimmage, Thibodeux batted down a pass on fourth down.

The other newcomer that showed off some pass rush skills was sophomore-to-be D.J. Johnson. A transfer from Miami, Johnson sat out the 2018 season and entered this spring at 270 pounds. Johnson has worked almost exclusively at the STUD positon, allowing him to stand up and get off the line of scrimmage fast.

2. WIDE RECEIVER COMPETITION HEATING UP
Wrapping up their first week in the program, wide receivers Juwan Johnson and Mycah Pittman worked primarily with the second team offense before working in with the ones over the final few drives.

Johnson, a graduate transfer from Penn State, hauled in one of the offense's two TDs during 11-on-11 work on a seven-yard slant from QB Tyler Shough on third down. In the first half of the scrimmage, Shough and Johnson connected on a 17-yard completion along the left sideline where Johnson used his 6-foot-4 frame to haul in the catch. Pittman's two receptions during 11-on-11 came with the second unit, but it was impressive to see him out with the first team by the end of the scrimmage. Pittman did have the lone TD grab in 7-on-7 and he joined Travis Dye as one of the punt returners during the special teams' breaks.

Junior Jaylon Redd, who is the team's top returning receiver with 38 receptions for 433 yards in 2018, probably had the most productive day among the receiver group with four catches for 47 yards on the day. During the two-minute drill, Redd was able to find a seem in the defense for Herbert to deliver a strike and then used some nifty running to pick up the first down to extend the drive on third and long

3. SHOUGH SHOWING BIG STRIDES IN SECOND SPRING
There is a noticeable difference in redshirt freshman quarterback Tyler Shough's passes this spring. An early enrollee in January of 2018, Shough's improvement was evident in practices toward the end of last season and bowl prep, but he has taken another big step this spring. Shough's ball comes out with a lot more zip and consistency, which has been a point of emphasis with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo. In his first drive of the second half of the scrimmage, Shough directed the second-team offense on a nine-play TD drive that saw him complete 5-of-6 passes for 66 yards capped by the seven-yard score to Johnson. Shough found four different receivers during the drive and overcame two penalties by the offense.

OTHER NOTABLES
The offense rotated four different running backs with both the first and second team … Sophomore Cyrus Habibi-Likio took a perfectly-timed screen pass 26 yards on the second-team offense's TD drive and followed it up with an eight-yard run … Sophomore Darrian Felix, who is returning from a season-ending injury, hauled in a deep pass from Justin Herbert in the first half of the scrimmage and may have broken it for a 49-yard TD if there was live tackling in that portion of the day … Junior cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. had at least two pass breakups and was a big part of the first-defense's success against the pass ... Oregon's first team offensive line of Penei Sewell (LT), Shane Lemieux (LG), Jake Hanson (C), Dallas Warmack (RG) and Brady Aiello (RT) remained the same all day.