Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Football Practice Report: March 16
03/16/23 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon opened spring practice with a workout Thursday on the Ducks' outdoor practice fields.
Format: Helmets
Location: Outdoor practice fields
Less than three months after wrapping up the first season of the Dan Lanning era with a Holiday Bowl victory, the Oregon football team kicked off its second spring camp under Lanning with practice Thursday morning.
The same week a dozen members of the 2022 team auditioned for NFL scouts at the program's pro day, the Ducks began spring practice still led by some established veterans, including quarterback Bo Nix, offensive lineman Steven Jones, receiver Troy Franklin and defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus. But the roster for Thursday's practice also included some 30 newcomers, who went through their first official workout with their new team.
Not surprisingly, Lanning said the Ducks were fired up to begin spring drills Thursday.
"I haven't been around a lot of spring practices that weren't good day one — everybody has juice and energy, a lot of enthusiasm," Lanning said. "I thought practice was well organized — guys were running to the right locations, and with a lot of new bodies you hope that's the expectation. But we don't really have pads on either, so this isn't real football yet in mind mind. But guys are definitely trending in the right direction."
Not only did the roster have a new look, but the coaching staff has seen some changes since the end of the 2022 season. Notably, Will Stein is coaching his first camp as the Ducks' offensive coordinator.
Lanning has also made some adjustments to his practice format as he transitions into his second year as head coach.
"The one thing you'll notice about practice this year that's different than practice last year is, we have a lot more two-spot drills," Lanning said. "So rather than getting 11 better, or 22 better, we're able to get 44 better or 88 better, because you're doing it on two fields. We're getting a lot of guys that can get a lot of reps."
Given all the newcomers on hand, the more reps, the better. The Ducks added several veterans as transfers, on the offensive line, at receiver, up front defensively and in the secondary. But over a dozen of the new faces Thursday were true freshmen, early enrollees looking to speed up their adjustment to college via all the reps they get this spring.
"It's extremely critical," Lanning said. "Every rep is a game rep; it doesn't matter if it's a walkthrough rep, it's a game rep. It's an opportunity to learn, make mistakes, learn from somebody else's mistakes. So we're gonna get as many reps as we can, for newcomers and everybody else."
Thursday's practice was the first of 15 this spring. The 14th will be Oregon's spring game, after which Lanning scheduled one more practice to clean up details before the summer. There's one more practice this week, on Saturday, before the Ducks pause for final exams and spring break.
The goal Saturday?
"I expect us to be consistent, right?" Lanning said. "We don't want to be one-hit wonders. We talked about that today. We're trying to be consistent. So in our approach, we're not coming out here trying to have one hit song, we're trying to make sure we put two, and stack days one day on top of the other."
Notable: The Ducks are exploring some players' position versatility this spring, including reps for defensive back Jamal Hill at linebacker. … The program had a large contingent of recruits and their families in attendance Thursday. "Our best pitch in recruiting is when people come and watch practice and they see the way we work," Lanning said. … Defensive lineman Maceal Afaese, who missed all of last season, has medically retired.
Quotable:
UO head coach Dan Lanning on emerging leaders as practice begins
"It'd be hard to mention one or two but a guy that really stands out to me going into year two is Josh Conerly. This guy's working his tail off in everything that he absolutely does. The way he stretches, just the way he approaches everything, his mentality in the classroom as well. Jamal Hill, that's a guy on defense that's really stepped up and has shifted and been in different locations, but really showed some maturity there. Jeff Bassa, Bo (Nix) — I think there's several guys, and I'm probably remiss is not naming some of those."
Lanning on the addition of analysts Mike Cavanaugh, Brian Michalowski and Antonio Parks
"You talk about a guy like Mike Cavanaugh and his experience in this league, his experience overall as a coach, that's invaluable to us. Chemistry right now as a staff is really, really important; Brian is obviously a guy that I've worked with at a lot of different stops — this is our fourth stop together. I'm very familiar with him and the way he operates, understands it. And Antonio I think is an up-and-coming riser that Will (Stein) obviously had a lot of familiarity with."
Post-practice interview:
Head coach Dan Lanning
Location: Outdoor practice fields
Less than three months after wrapping up the first season of the Dan Lanning era with a Holiday Bowl victory, the Oregon football team kicked off its second spring camp under Lanning with practice Thursday morning.
The same week a dozen members of the 2022 team auditioned for NFL scouts at the program's pro day, the Ducks began spring practice still led by some established veterans, including quarterback Bo Nix, offensive lineman Steven Jones, receiver Troy Franklin and defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus. But the roster for Thursday's practice also included some 30 newcomers, who went through their first official workout with their new team.
Not surprisingly, Lanning said the Ducks were fired up to begin spring drills Thursday.
"I haven't been around a lot of spring practices that weren't good day one — everybody has juice and energy, a lot of enthusiasm," Lanning said. "I thought practice was well organized — guys were running to the right locations, and with a lot of new bodies you hope that's the expectation. But we don't really have pads on either, so this isn't real football yet in mind mind. But guys are definitely trending in the right direction."
Not only did the roster have a new look, but the coaching staff has seen some changes since the end of the 2022 season. Notably, Will Stein is coaching his first camp as the Ducks' offensive coordinator.
Lanning has also made some adjustments to his practice format as he transitions into his second year as head coach.
"The one thing you'll notice about practice this year that's different than practice last year is, we have a lot more two-spot drills," Lanning said. "So rather than getting 11 better, or 22 better, we're able to get 44 better or 88 better, because you're doing it on two fields. We're getting a lot of guys that can get a lot of reps."
Given all the newcomers on hand, the more reps, the better. The Ducks added several veterans as transfers, on the offensive line, at receiver, up front defensively and in the secondary. But over a dozen of the new faces Thursday were true freshmen, early enrollees looking to speed up their adjustment to college via all the reps they get this spring.
"It's extremely critical," Lanning said. "Every rep is a game rep; it doesn't matter if it's a walkthrough rep, it's a game rep. It's an opportunity to learn, make mistakes, learn from somebody else's mistakes. So we're gonna get as many reps as we can, for newcomers and everybody else."
Thursday's practice was the first of 15 this spring. The 14th will be Oregon's spring game, after which Lanning scheduled one more practice to clean up details before the summer. There's one more practice this week, on Saturday, before the Ducks pause for final exams and spring break.
The goal Saturday?
"I expect us to be consistent, right?" Lanning said. "We don't want to be one-hit wonders. We talked about that today. We're trying to be consistent. So in our approach, we're not coming out here trying to have one hit song, we're trying to make sure we put two, and stack days one day on top of the other."
Notable: The Ducks are exploring some players' position versatility this spring, including reps for defensive back Jamal Hill at linebacker. … The program had a large contingent of recruits and their families in attendance Thursday. "Our best pitch in recruiting is when people come and watch practice and they see the way we work," Lanning said. … Defensive lineman Maceal Afaese, who missed all of last season, has medically retired.
Quotable:
UO head coach Dan Lanning on emerging leaders as practice begins
"It'd be hard to mention one or two but a guy that really stands out to me going into year two is Josh Conerly. This guy's working his tail off in everything that he absolutely does. The way he stretches, just the way he approaches everything, his mentality in the classroom as well. Jamal Hill, that's a guy on defense that's really stepped up and has shifted and been in different locations, but really showed some maturity there. Jeff Bassa, Bo (Nix) — I think there's several guys, and I'm probably remiss is not naming some of those."
Lanning on the addition of analysts Mike Cavanaugh, Brian Michalowski and Antonio Parks
"You talk about a guy like Mike Cavanaugh and his experience in this league, his experience overall as a coach, that's invaluable to us. Chemistry right now as a staff is really, really important; Brian is obviously a guy that I've worked with at a lot of different stops — this is our fourth stop together. I'm very familiar with him and the way he operates, understands it. And Antonio I think is an up-and-coming riser that Will (Stein) obviously had a lot of familiarity with."
Post-practice interview:
Head coach Dan Lanning
Players Mentioned
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