Football Practice Report: Sept. 14

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads

A glance at the stat sheet for Oregon's running backs shows four with at least 11 carries through two games, and two more with seven carries each. None has surpassed 100 yards entering Saturday's game against Brigham Young.

Those are some of the details. When sophomore Noah Whittington looks at the stat sheet, he sees the bigger picture.

"That's winning football," Whittington said. "That's what we're trying to do. It's not about personal goals."

There have been years in the recent history of Oregon football in which one running back handled the bulk of the carries. So far, this is not shaping up to be one of those years.

Sean Dollars and Bucky Irving lead the Ducks with 13 carries each, while Byron Cardwell and Whittington have 11 carries each. Freshman Jordan James ran it seven times in Georgia, and Kilohana Haasenritter had seven carries against Eastern Washington.

Will that sharing of the load continue this week and beyond? If so, it's fine by the players involved.

"I love our running back room," Irving said. "We all trust each other, that when our number is called we'll go out there and perform."

Bucky Irving Practice

The versatility of the backs helps Oregon's offensive staff take advantage of their skill sets. Dollars and Cardwell each has four receptions; Irving said he's been working hard to improve his reliability in the passing game as well.

That depth pays dividends for the UO defense, too – in practice, the running backs will help out on the scout-team offense as well. Then, come Saturday, they're all contributing in games.

"If it's four or five guys that can ball, then all four or five guys are going to touch the rock," Whittington said. "It's that simple. …

"It feels good to practice with my boys, and then we get in the game and see them all eatin' "

Jackson LaDuke Practice

Notable: Though the Ducks showed improvement in both areas from game one to game two, execution in the red area and on third down continue to be a focus on practice. Oregon scored touchdowns in all nine trips to the red area last week, and the Ducks were 10-of-14 on third down. … After missing the Eastern Washington game with a minor injury, kicker Andrew Boyle could be available this week, Lanning said. Boyle handled kickoffs in the season opener.

Quotable:

Head coach Dan Lanning
On how the staff will consider the possibility of redshirting players eligible to do so
"That conversation continues to change throughout the year based on your health as a team, based on people's performance; to think that any of the guys that just got here for us are going to be the same players 10 games from now is a complete disservice to them and to our program from a development standpoint. I've been around programs a long time where a guy that wasn't necessarily involved in game one was super involved in game 10. … To make decisions about redshirting (or) not redshirting based on today, comparative to what's going on in November and December, I think it's really premature."

Casey Rogers Practice

Senior offensive lineman Alex Forsyth
On the benefit of a raucous crowd filling Autzen Stadium this Saturday
"The crowd noise is huge. The best thing I can say is, when we're playing on the road, that makes it pretty difficult. So when we have the defense out on the field, we gotta get Autzen rocking. That's gonna make it hard for any offense that comes in here. We gotta keep that place loud."

Senior quarterback Bo Nix
On the protection he's received from the offensive line through two games
"As a quarterback that's the best thing, when the offensive line is really good. I think for the most part it's how experienced they are. They do a really good job of communicating. They watch film a lot together. They're a very close-knit group that's seen a lot of football and communicate well. Then they play really hard up front, and that's all you can ask for as a quarterback."

Post-practice interviews:

Head coach Dan Lanning