Football Practice Report: April 13

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Shells

Years ago in Florida, A'lique Terry was one of those kids who grew up watching the Ducks dominate the Pac-12 Conference, and look good doing it. Oregon became his dream school.

Terry ultimately played in college at Wake Forest, but he made it to his dream school in 2019, joining the UO football staff as a graduate assistant. After two seasons with the Ducks, he took a full-time position at Hawaii, then joined the Minnesota Vikings staff in 2022.

It was during his tenure there that he had a conversation about his long-term goals, and how they included a return to Eugene.

"I said in five years the plan was to be back," Terry said Thursday, following Oregon's seventh practice of this spring. "Less than 12 months later it happened. God is great, for real."

Terry won two Pac-12 Championship rings in his previous two seasons at Oregon. He also helped groom a generation of offensive linemen from current pros like Shane Lemieux, Jake Hanson, Penei Sewell and Calvin Throckmorton, to 2023 NFL Draft prospects such as Alex Forsyth, to returning UO veterans Steven Jones and Marcus Harper II.

Now, Terry's duties include recruiting future generations of UO offensive linemen. With his passion for the program, he's well-equipped to do so.

"No doubt, because I feel like I'm not lying," Terry said. "I feel like a lot of people recruit and lie; there's nothing (for me) to lie about. You literally come to this place and you can see how special it is, and then actually experiencing it first-hand ... you get to see the behind the scenes of how this place runs and what makes it so successful. It's so much easier to recruit. It's your dream school, and when you get here I'm going to show you even more reasons why it will be your dream school."

For the 2023 season, Terry is melding a group including established vets such as Jones, Harper and Jackson Powers-Johnson, budding future standouts like Josh Conerly Jr., Faaope Laloulu and Dave Iuli, plus newcomers Ajani Cornelius, Junior Angilau and George Silva. It's a diverse, versatile group, important to someone like Terry who doesn't value one particular trait over another – physical traits, that is.

Attitude? That's a prerequisite.

"One guy may be more athletic than the next; one guy may be more powerful than the next," Terry said. "But you look for some of the things (that are) non-negotiables: finishers, guys who strain, guys who want to be extra."

Recently, former UO offensive line coach Neal Zoumboukos dropped by one of Oregon's spring practices. Zoumboukos coached in the trenches at Oregon for decades, part of a continuum that now includes Terry, who worked under Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal during his first UO tenure.

"There's a standard of offensive line play that's here, and we've got to exceed that standard," Terry said. "We're going to try to reach it obviously, but we're trying to exceed it every day. That's been set way before coach Cristobal and coach Mirabal. There's been a ton of offensive linemen who've come through here. We're trying to continue to elevate that standard."

Notable: The Ducks were in shells rather than full pads Thursday, for the first time since practice resumed following a two-week break last week. They'll hold a scrimmage on Saturday. … Former UO linebacker and later long-time defensive assistant Don Pellum attended practice, along with fellow former UO staff members Nick Aliotti and John Ramsdell. … Members of the Oregon Pit Crew student fan group attended practice and mingled with staff and players afterward.

Quotable:
Junior linebacker Keith Brown on the value of playing extensively in the Holiday Bowl
"It fueled me a lot. It gave me a big confidence boost going into the offseason. It made me realize it takes time to earn spots. It fueled me to stay flexible, get stronger, get faster, work on football stuff, yeah."

Junior defensive back Trikweze Bridges on the defense entering year two with this staff
"It's a lot of growth in our defense. A lot more talent in our defense as well. A lot of guys moving around, a lot of guys able to play more than one position. If something happens, we'll have a next guy to step up. But yeah, second year in the defense we've got a lot of guys that can coach the defense now, a lot of vets on the team that can help the transfers and newcomers."

Post-practice interviews:

Offensive line coach A'lique Terry

Junior linebacker Keith Brown

Junior defensive back Trikweze Bridges

Sophomore offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr.