Oregon Football Practice Recap: Sept. 17
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads
Four years of hard work could pay off for Matt Pierson this week, as the junior walk-on is a possible starter on the Oregon offensive line Saturday at Washington State (7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN).
Pierson played most of the game against Wyoming last week after Jake Fisher was carted off. Against the Cougars, the starter on Oregon’s pregame depth chart is listed as Fisher or Pierson, meaning the walk-on could be preparing for his first career start this week in practice.
“It’d be pretty cool; obviously that’s what everyone’s striving to do,” said Pierson, a West Linn native. “But I’m really just focusing on what I have to do from a technique standpoint, what I’ve got to do assignment-wise.”
Fisher left the field during the first quarter against Wyoming, and Pierson spent most of the rest of the game protecting Marcus Mariota’s blindside. At this point in his career, he’s proficient at both tackle spots, though he played against the Cowboys on the left side.
“I was pretty happy with how I played,” Pierson said. “But again, there’s a lot of things I could improve on. Coach (Steve Greatwood) was saying something along the lines of, I need to keep my shoulders square on the backside of blocks, so that’s definitely something I want to focus on.”
Pierson and the rest of the UO blockers are preparing to face a Washington State defensive front that returns six starters. The Cougars have allowed 174.0 rushing yards per game in their 1-2 start to the season, and have four sacks.
“They’ve got some talented pass rushers,” Pierson said. “They must practice pass rushing against their offense a lot, so we’ve got to focus on our assignments, making sure we keep our eyes on the right people.”
Regardless of whether he starts Saturday, Pierson has demonstrated impressive development and perseverance over his four years at Oregon. But he said recent playing time isn’t the most rewarding carrot for a walk-on with the Ducks.
“There’s so many extra things you get being a football player,” Pierson said. “Even if you are a walk-on you still gain so much, in terms of work ethic and the connections that you make. I‘d just say, enjoy every day, because I have a lot of fun.”
(Kudos, too, to Pierson for keeping a straight face nearly the entire way through a post-practice interview while three teammates stood in his line of sight goofing off and trying to crack him up. Dude’s a true veteran.)
Highlights: The most entertaining periods all took place in the red zone today, beginning with some 1-on-1 passing drills early in practice. Kenny Bassett and Charles Nelson each caught a couple touchdown passes, while Tyree Robinson, Issac Dixon and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu broke up passes. In a couple of “what if” moments, Zac Schuller caught a ball near the goal line with Dior Mathis there to make the hit, and Byron Marshall and Derrick Malone Jr. did likewise. At full speed, does the receiver score, or does the defender stop him short? …
During defensive team drills in the red zone, Erick Dargan broke up a ball in the end zone, and Stephen Amoako knocked down a pass near the goal line. Arik Armstead had a couple stops against the run, and Joe Walker added another. Receiver Jeff Bieber, who caught a ton of balls today, did manage a couple touchdown receptions for the scout team. … Offensively in the red zone, Marcus Mariota peppered balls around to Pharaoh Brown and Devon Allen, Royce Freeman ran for a couple scores and Mariota also ran for one. …
Troy Hill had an interception during one of the last periods of the day, and on the very last rep of practice, Dior Mathis leaped for a one-handed interception and headed up the sideline the other way. In the post-practice huddle, head coach Mark Helfrich joked that, while it was a good play, it might have drawn an illegal participation penalty because essentially the whole defensive sideline broke down the sideline to celebrate with Mathis.
Other observations: The coaching staff was really enthusiastic about work put in by the punt team today. At one point, with the drill beginning at midfield, Mathis raced down as a gunner and caught a kick on the fly inside the 10-yard line. “That’s a big play right there,” said receivers coach Matt Lubick, who coaches the gunners. “Big play.” … During the 1-on-1 drill in the red zone, among the techniques the Ducks practiced at the direction of Helfrich was handing the ball to an official after scoring. ….
The secondary has bolstered its numbers this week, with Amoako and Dixon practicing with the travel squad to prepare for the pass-heavy attack of Washington State. Thus, receivers B.J. Kelley and Casey Eugenio played DB with the scout team today. Kelley even broke up a deep ball in a team period. … Offensive lineman Jamal Prater also shed his scout-team jersey today. He can provide depth at every spot on the line with the exception of center.
