Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Monday With Mario: What We Learned
09/30/19 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon's head coach held his weekly press conference with local media to offer UO personnel updates and preview Saturday's game against Cal (5 p.m. PT, FOX).
A scheduled bye week provided the Oregon football team days off Friday and Saturday, before the Ducks returned to the practice fields Sunday evening.
The Ducks (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) take a No. 13 ranking by The Associated Press into this week. They're preparing to host California in Autzen Stadium on Saturday (5 p.m. PT, FOX), in what set up as a matchup of top-15 teams before the Golden Bears lost Friday to Arizona State.
UO coach Mario Cristobal met with local media late Monday morning to provide personnel updates on his team and preview the matchup with the Golden Bears. Some takeaways:
1. Oregon's depth could get a boost this week, as several injured receivers are close to returning to action.
True freshman Mycah Pittman (shoulder) returned to practice over the bye week, and will be cleared for contact when the Ducks return to practice in full pads Tuesday, Cristobal said. And senior Brenden Schooler (foot) "is right there as well," the coach added.
Neither player has suited up since being injured in preseason camp. But, Cristobal said, "as long as they continue to progress throughout the course of the week, we feel they have a really good chance of playing."
Graduate transfer Juwan Johnson continues to make progress back from his own preseason camp injury, but Pittman and Schooler "are a little bit ahead" in their rehab, Cristobal said.
2. The return to health of Pittman and Schooler could have a trickle-down effect elsewhere on the depth chart.
Tight end Spencer Webb and receiver-turned-cornerback Daewood Davis each moved to receiver in the wake of the August injuries. Cristobal said it was a "good question" whether either or both could move again now that depth at receiver is looking better.
"We're going to see how (Tuesday's practice) goes," Cristobal said, alluding to the hurdles Pittman and Schooler still must clear before being penciled into the mix for Saturday's game. "There's still some unknowns that come with the week."
While the receiver group does stand to get some injured players back, its depth still isn't where the Ducks had planned for it to be at this point. Not only is Johnson still uncertain, but redshirt freshman JJ Tucker is currently away from the team dealing with what Cristobal termed "personal issues," and there's no guarantee of his return.
3. There also is uncertainty surrounding Cal after its starting quarterback, Chase Garbers, didn't play in the second half Friday after suffering an apparent shoulder injury.
Garbers was coming off a game at Mississippi in which he threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns. He was replaced against ASU by Devon Modster, a transfer from UCLA. The Golden Bears relied heavily on their running game after the change.
"We have enough film on both of them to feel comfortable in preparing for them," Cristobal said.
Modster redshirted at UCLA in 2016 before playing in 2017, most notably off the bench in leading the Bruins to a comeback victory over — ironically enough — California. Modster announced his decision to transfer in September 2018, and was cleared to play for Cal as of the Mississippi game earlier this season.
4. While Cal may have to play Saturday without Garbers, the Golden Bears still will feature the most disruptive defensive player in the conference so far this season, linebacker Evan Weaver.
Through five weeks of the season, Weaver has 78 tackles — 31 more than anyone else in the Pac-12 to this point. Troy Dye leads the UO defense through four games with 25 tackles.
But, Cristobal cautioned, Cal's defense is more than Weaver. In particular, the UO coach is impressed with how often the Golden Bears vary the look of their defensive line, and also their mix of coverages in the secondary.
"They make it difficult on the quarterback, with the pictures they present," Cristobal said.
5. The Ducks practiced three times last week, but the bye week involved more than football for players.
On Sept. 23, groups of UO student-athletes traveled north for site visits with both Nike and Downstream, a design and technology firm. Locally, another delegation visited Papé Group.
Over the weekend, a group of freshman football players helped some fellow incoming UO students move into their dormitories; the university's fall quarter begins Tuesday.
"We take a lot of pride in studying how to take advantage of the bye week," Cristobal said. "Because we use it not only for football purposes."
The Ducks (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) take a No. 13 ranking by The Associated Press into this week. They're preparing to host California in Autzen Stadium on Saturday (5 p.m. PT, FOX), in what set up as a matchup of top-15 teams before the Golden Bears lost Friday to Arizona State.
UO coach Mario Cristobal met with local media late Monday morning to provide personnel updates on his team and preview the matchup with the Golden Bears. Some takeaways:
1. Oregon's depth could get a boost this week, as several injured receivers are close to returning to action.
True freshman Mycah Pittman (shoulder) returned to practice over the bye week, and will be cleared for contact when the Ducks return to practice in full pads Tuesday, Cristobal said. And senior Brenden Schooler (foot) "is right there as well," the coach added.
Neither player has suited up since being injured in preseason camp. But, Cristobal said, "as long as they continue to progress throughout the course of the week, we feel they have a really good chance of playing."
Graduate transfer Juwan Johnson continues to make progress back from his own preseason camp injury, but Pittman and Schooler "are a little bit ahead" in their rehab, Cristobal said.
2. The return to health of Pittman and Schooler could have a trickle-down effect elsewhere on the depth chart.
Tight end Spencer Webb and receiver-turned-cornerback Daewood Davis each moved to receiver in the wake of the August injuries. Cristobal said it was a "good question" whether either or both could move again now that depth at receiver is looking better.
"We're going to see how (Tuesday's practice) goes," Cristobal said, alluding to the hurdles Pittman and Schooler still must clear before being penciled into the mix for Saturday's game. "There's still some unknowns that come with the week."
While the receiver group does stand to get some injured players back, its depth still isn't where the Ducks had planned for it to be at this point. Not only is Johnson still uncertain, but redshirt freshman JJ Tucker is currently away from the team dealing with what Cristobal termed "personal issues," and there's no guarantee of his return.
3. There also is uncertainty surrounding Cal after its starting quarterback, Chase Garbers, didn't play in the second half Friday after suffering an apparent shoulder injury.
Garbers was coming off a game at Mississippi in which he threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns. He was replaced against ASU by Devon Modster, a transfer from UCLA. The Golden Bears relied heavily on their running game after the change.
"We have enough film on both of them to feel comfortable in preparing for them," Cristobal said.
Modster redshirted at UCLA in 2016 before playing in 2017, most notably off the bench in leading the Bruins to a comeback victory over — ironically enough — California. Modster announced his decision to transfer in September 2018, and was cleared to play for Cal as of the Mississippi game earlier this season.
4. While Cal may have to play Saturday without Garbers, the Golden Bears still will feature the most disruptive defensive player in the conference so far this season, linebacker Evan Weaver.
Through five weeks of the season, Weaver has 78 tackles — 31 more than anyone else in the Pac-12 to this point. Troy Dye leads the UO defense through four games with 25 tackles.
But, Cristobal cautioned, Cal's defense is more than Weaver. In particular, the UO coach is impressed with how often the Golden Bears vary the look of their defensive line, and also their mix of coverages in the secondary.
"They make it difficult on the quarterback, with the pictures they present," Cristobal said.
5. The Ducks practiced three times last week, but the bye week involved more than football for players.
On Sept. 23, groups of UO student-athletes traveled north for site visits with both Nike and Downstream, a design and technology firm. Locally, another delegation visited Papé Group.
Over the weekend, a group of freshman football players helped some fellow incoming UO students move into their dormitories; the university's fall quarter begins Tuesday.
"We take a lot of pride in studying how to take advantage of the bye week," Cristobal said. "Because we use it not only for football purposes."
Players Mentioned
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