Football Practice Report: Sept. 3

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads

When Spencer Webb was packing up to leave Oregon's locker room Saturday night following the team's season opener against Auburn, he gathered up his belongings, including his cell phone.

It was at that point Webb realized he needed a charger. Because his phone's battery was completely drained. That's right – Webb's phone had lit up with so many notifications of incoming calls, texts and social-media mentions following his first-half touchdown catch Saturday that his phone was dead.

With continued progress, Webb's career at Oregon will include many more receptions, and many more touchdowns. But nobody will soon forget his first, a 20-yard scoring play in the first quarter Saturday on which Webb won a 50-50 ball from Justin Herbert in the end zone, shrugging off a defender before being mobbed by jubilant teammates.

"A lot of them had been talking to me, like, 'Your time is coming, your time is coming,' " Webb recounted Tuesday, following practice. "I've been grinding away. To turn around (after making the TD catch) and see them all smiling and stuff was awesome."

Oregon entered last week's game knowing receivers Brenden Schooler and Mycah Pittman would miss the game with injuries. On top of that, receiver Juwan Johnson and Cam McCormick were questionable due to injuries; neither ended up playing. Somebody else needed to step up. Webb obliged.

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"Spencer's done a nice job since he got here of catching the ball and playing in space," UO offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. "With the bodies we needed, he's a guy we could take from the tight end room, who'd played the stand-up position out of high school and done some things even last year on the scout team, that we felt like at least he could go out there and manage playing in the open space."

Oh, Webb managed. He caught three passes for 28 yards, playing primarily out of the slot. When practice resumed Tuesday, he was again working with the receiver group, rather than at tight end, where he spent last season.

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Webb got a heavy workload while redshirting in 2018. During Oregon's weekly developmental-squad scrimmages, each Friday, he was usually the only tight end available. Other positions would substitute throughout the scrimmage period, but Webb never left the field. The grind paid off last week.

"That's when you get ahead," Webb said of his redshirt experience. "It's a jump start on all those other freshmen who are complaining. When you're catching up (to the veterans), they're stepping back."

Webb had bulked up to around 250 pounds to play tight end again this season. Since working more at receiver, he's lost about 10 pounds. He said he feels "light" and "natural," and that playing receiver – where he spent some time in high school – also feels "natural."

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About the only drawback to the move, if Webb keeps making plays like he did last week, is that he might need an extra battery pack for that cell phone.

"Honestly, the best part to me was talking to my family," Webb said. "I'm from a small town (outside Sacramento), so all my hometown blew up. Everyone was calling my family, calling me, and that was the coolest part for me. Coming from a small town where not that many people make it out, that was the best part."

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Practice highlights: Herbert was really sharp in the first 11-on-11 period of the day, with completions to Johnny Johnson III, Jake Breeland and Daewood Davis, while CJ Verdell followed a Dallas Warmack block for a big gain. … Defensively, Isaac Slade-Matautia and Ge'mon Eaford had run stops near the line in that period, Austin Faoliu hurried Tyler Shough into an incompletion and Deommodore Lenoir had a pass breakup. …

Verone McKinley III and Haki Woods Jr. intercepted passes in 7-on-7, and McKinley grabbed another in the last 11-on-11 period. … Steven Jones had a couple really good reps in 1-on-1 pass-rush drills, and Alex Forsyth and Andrew Faoliu traded wins over each other in a pair of reps. … In field-goal drills – an ongoing competition this week according to Mario Cristobal – Camden Lewis went 3-for-3 with the longest attempt from 41 yards, while Adam Stack was 2-of-3 with a conversion from 49 yards out.

Other observations: The Ducks spent all of August with the offense in white practice uniforms and the defense in green uniforms. As of Tuesday, they had swapped, and the reasoning behind that makes sense. Oregon is the home team this week, in dark jerseys, so it's helpful to have the quarterbacks look for receivers in solid colors this week, against a defense in white, which road teams wear. … Linebacker MJ Cunningham has switched from jersey No. 42 to No. 39, in order to allow him to play on the punt team with punter Blake Maimone, who also wore No. 42. … With Adrian Jackson declared out for the year due to injury, Mase Funa is listed as the backup to SAM linebacker La'Mar Winston Jr. But the Ducks feel like Matt Christman can provide quality reps there too, if necessary.

Post-practice interviews:

Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo