Ducks' Offense Bounces Back With Big Plays in Second Scrimmage
EUGENE -- Offensive persistence and some missed tackles on defense resulted in the Oregon offense regaining some of its leverage against teammates on the other side of the football as the Ducks concluded their second week of spring workouts with a 52-play scrimmage Saturday afternoon in Autzen Stadium.
Oregon tallied seven plays of 15 yards or more, with defensive miscues leading to touchdown runs of 13 yards by Chris Vincent and 25 yards by Portland walk-on tailback Andiel Brown. Brown also plunged into the end zone from the 6- yard line while senior kicker Jered Siegel added a 46-yard field goal to cap the conventional scoring avenues.
Despite the improved offensive productivity over last weekend’s first major scrimmage of the spring, it wasn’t a day where Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti could take much comfort in the fact that his team only has six of its allotted 15 spring practices remaining prior to the Spring Game Saturday, May 1, in Autzen Stadium.
“Today the offense dominated somewhat and I don’t think the defense quite responded to that challenge,” Bellotti said. “I’m not very happy when one side really dominates, I want it to be a fighting, scratching, clawing kind of battle where we fight very hard and compete every play. I just think that we didn’t make as many (defensive) plays when we had opportunities, we didn’t finish tackles.”
Vincent, who finished the day with 17 yards on five carries, broke several tackles and refused to be denied as he bulled his way into the end zone from 13 yards out for the first touchdown of the day. The same could be said for Brown as the Cleveland High School graduate swept left end and looked to be stopped on several occasions before finally finding his way into the end zone 25 yards later. Brown finished the day leading all ball carriers with 34 yards on five carries.
“Chris Vincent certainly stepped up and made a couple of plays, I want to see more consistency from him,” Bellotti added. “Andiel Brown had some plays, Sol Rexius had some plays and I was pleased they all found ways to contribute.”
Vincent also picked up an additional 37 yards on two receptions while Brown added a 22-yard catch and Rexius snagged one pass for a 19-yard gain.
Returning starting quarterback Kellen Clemens looked sharp in brief stints although redshirt freshman Johnny DuRocher drew the majority of time under center. Clemens connected on three of four passes for 46 yards and added 21 yards on the ground, including a 30-yard scramble. DuRocher completed six of 10 passes for 95 yards.
“Kellen worked very hard during the off-season and is the acknowledged leader of this football team,” Bellotti proclaimed. “He is his own worst critic and he has high standards. I’m appreciative of that, I want him to have that because I believe he can be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Again I think he can continue to improve through the course of the spring. Johnny DuRocher also showed he’s becoming more comfortable in the pocket.”
Reserve tight end Eddie Whitaker led all receivers with three catches for 51 yards.
“We always talk about the fact that with a JC (transfer) we hope to get one-and-a-half good years out of them and it’s Eddie’s opportunity to shine,” Bellotti said. “It’s a nice thing to see his comfort zone with the offense that one, he can line up and operate the offense, and two, we’re finding ways to get the ball to him, he’s making the catches and he’s making some runs after catches.”
Whitaker played sparingly in only three games last fall in his first year at Oregon without a reception.
“Defensively, it was hard to find a lot of people but I know Robby Valenzuela made a lot of plays early, Jerry Matson and Marley Tucker also did some things,” Bellotti said. “We just need to be more aggressive and a better tackling team. The aggression comes from confidence and that’s why we’re only halfway through spring ball.”
STATISTICS
Rushing -- Brown 5-34, 2 TD; Clemens 2-21; Vincent 5-17, 1 TD; S. Rexius 4-15; Dixon 1-11; T. Smith 3-7; Hazel 1-5; Mittasch 4-5; Leaf 1-3; Rosario 1-0; DuRocher 2- -1.
Passing -- DuRocher 6-10-0, 95 yds; Clemens 3-4-0, 46 yds; Leaf 2-2-0, 9 yds; Dixon 1-2-1, 8 yds.
Receiving -- Whitaker 3-51; Vincent 2-37; Strong 2-11; Brown 1-22; S. Rexius 1-19; Major 1-6; Kause 1-4; T. Smith 1-3.
