Oregon Football Practice Report: Nov. 5
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Full pads
Today was a fun day to watch the great Marcus Mariota at work.
For as much as it seems to be the case, Oregon’s junior quarterback isn’t perfect. But he and the UO offense find a way to make plays when it counts, and we saw some of that today as the Ducks continued preparing for Saturday’s game at Utah (7 p.m. PT, ESPN).
Today’s practice began with a clutch drill, and the offense needing to drive to a go-ahead field goal. The No. 1 defense came out on fire, as Tony Washington got to Mariota for a “sack” and Erick Dargan broke up a pass. The offense’s backs were against the wall, and Mariota responded with a beautiful ball to Dwayne Stanford that set up a “game-winning” field goal of 34 yards by Aidan Schneider.
Later, in the middle of practice, there was an 11-on-11 period that, despite a couple of nice completions to Byron Marshall and Evan Baylis, was a little inconsistent overall. Again, Mariota responded. A 7-on-7 period followed a few minutes later, and it was impressive.
Mariota to Marshall, complete.
Mariota to Marshall, complete.
Mariota to Devon Allen, complete.
Mariota to Pharaoh Brown, complete.
Sometimes it can be taken for granted how easy Mariota makes the game look. That happens on Saturdays because of the work he and the rest of the Ducks put in during the week. They iron out the kinks in practice so that, more often than not, minor blips don’t turn into major hurdles.
Today was a good example.
Highlights: The No. 2 offense also scored in clutch, thanks to a nice connection between Jeff Lockie and Darren Carrington. The two hooked up three times over the course of the scoring drive, including for a touchdown pass. ... The skill guys did 1-on-1 drills in the red zone with some entertaining highlights. Marshall got turned around in the end zone and was backpedaling as a pass arrived; he reached behind the DB, bobbled the ball and managed to bring it down. Tony James had a rep on which he made a really nice catch and then reached the ball across the goal line for the “touchdown.” Defensively, Tyree Robinson kept a receiver out of the end zone with a nice hit just after the catch, and Troy Hill broke up a pass. ...
When the travel squad went head to head, Mariota and Thomas Tyner had impressive runs, while Dargan had a nice open-field tackle on James and Justin Hollins hurried a quarterback into an incompletion. ... A defensive red-zone drill against scouts included tackles for loss by DeForest Buckner and Danny Mattingly, a sack by Joe Walker and a rushed exchange in the backfield thanks to Mattingly’s pressure, which forced a fumble recovered by Hollins.
Other observations: Like last week, this Wednesday featured a tight competition involving Schneider and Matt Wogan in field-goal drills. ... Dargan excelled in the 1-on-1 red-zone period, a drill that doesn’t always perfectly suit the safety’s skills. He neatly broke up a pass on his first rep, then stepped in front of a receiver for an interception next time up. He also broke up a pass in 11-on-11 on the very last play of practice, one play after Hill had done so. ... Due to the distance between Eugene and Salt Lake City, Oregon’s equipment truck was scheduled to hit the road later Wednesday, a day earlier than most road trips to Pac-12 games.
