Football Practice Report: March 10
03/10/20 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The Ducks kicked off their second week of spring practice Tuesday with a workout in shells inside the Moshofsky Center.
Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Shells
To new Oregon cornerbacks coach Rod Chance, relationships matter.
The relationships he formed while coaching cornerbacks at Minnesota last season made it tough to leave the Gophers after just one year. The relationships he had previously formed with players and staff at Oregon, including as an analyst in 2018, made that decision a little easier.
"Having the opportunity to compete for a Pac-12 Championship and to compete for a spot in the playoff was intriguing to me," Chance said Tuesday. "But more than anything, it was the relationships."
Chance attended college at Rhode Island, and has connections to UO head coach Mario Cristobal going back to their days on the East Coast. Chance worked on Cristobal's first staff at Oregon in 2018, and though he didn't overlap then with current UO defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, they got to know each other while coaching in the same region a few years ago, when Chance was at Southern Utah and Avalos was at Boise State, each as defensive coordinator.
"They knew me," Chance said, "and I knew them. So I think it was a perfect fit."
Chance's efforts to form long-lasting relationships helped him transition into his new job with the Ducks' players as a well. While recruiting for Southern Utah, he reached out to returning UO starters Thomas Graham Jr. and Deommodore Lenoir; though they were probably out of his reach at that point, Chance could rekindle those relationships when he came to Oregon in 2018, and again this winter.
Chance was on the UO staff when the Ducks were recruiting sophomores Mykael Wright and DJ James. Now, he's their position coach.
On Tuesday, Chance put those players and the rest of Oregon's cornerbacks through their third practice of this spring. It's the mix of a personnel group that was second in the nation with 20 interceptions last season, and a coach who helped Minnesota allow just 184.2 passing yards per game, ninth-fewest in the FBS.
As of this spring, though, all of that is in the past. Chance is building something new in Oregon's secondary for 2020, although on a foundation of relationships he's spent his career forging.
"We've got to go right back to the beginning, right back to basics," Chance said. "Stay humble and hungry."
Practice highlights: Get used to this, but Jevon Holland was all over the place Tuesday. In an early perimeter drill, Mycah Pittman reached back and over his head for a pass that was a little off-target, tipped it to himself and tried to haul it in -- but that extra second gave Holland time to swoop in and break up the pass. Holland broke on an underneath route for a nifty pass breakup in 1-on-1 drills, and in an 11-on-11 drill Holland defeated the block of a slot receiver and tackled Hunter Kampmoyer for a minimal gain. …
Tyler Shough hadthe best ball of the day, a deep pass to Tevin Jeannis from midfield for a touchdown. Jeannis was blanketed by Wright on a sideline route, but Shough put the ball over Jeannis' outside shoulder where only he could get to it, and dropped it right into the receiver's hands from maybe 50 yards out. … Otherwise Shough tended to be a little long on his deep balls Tuesday, but he consistently put them out of reach of the defenders where only his guys had a chance at the play. … CJ Verdell was running through arm tackles as usual, and he was joined by Sean Dollars, who seems to be running with an extra gear this spring and looks very powerful between the tackles. …
Bennett Williams leapt and nearly picked off a pass while getting reps with the No. 1 defense in an early 11-on-11 period. … Josh Delgado was a consistent presence in the pass game, and did a great job of making a catch in traffic after Shough split two defenders on an intermediate route. … Cam McCormick was getting it done in the trenches on back-to-back reps at one point, first as the lead blocker for Cyrus Habibi-Likio on a run play and then coming across the line to pick up Mase Funa on the back side of a pass play.
Other observations: Jamal Hill and Ryan Walk joined practice after missing the first two, but Kristian Williams and Brandon Dorlus remained sidelined by illness. With Williams and Dorlus out there's the chance for more reps by other young guys, and a couple who seem to be taking advantage are Sua'ava Poti and freshman Jake Shipley. Usually in pass-rush drills, a guy will get two reps in a row and then sit out for a bit while other guys go; at one point today, Shipley took two, sat out while a teammate took two and then jumped right back in to take two more. …
During the first 11-on-11 period, Cale Millen completed a pass to Daewood Davis, the odd instance of a guy in jersey No. 17 completing a pass to another guy in No. 17. That would have to be rectified in order for them to connect during the season, obviously. … Calvin Throckmorton and Dallas Warmack watched practice from the sideline. They'll participate in Oregon's Pro Day workout for scouts Thursday afternoon.
Post-practice interviews:
Linebackers coach Ken Wilson
