Football Practice Report: Oct. 25
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Full pads
Tyree Robinson’s education at cornerback continued Sunday, as the Ducks transitioned into full pads in their preparations for Thursday’s game at Arizona State (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
Robinson, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound sophomore who has played primarily safety at Oregon, moved to corner late in the Ducks’ loss to Washington State and started there a week later at Washington. He led the Ducks with 11 tackles against the Huskies, and seemed to hold up well in the pass game after being targeted a couple of times on UW’s opening possession.
“Tyree did a nice job,” defensive coordinator Don Pellum said following Sunday’s practice, the first of two for the Ducks this week in pads. “He did a great job of getting off blocks; having a bigger corner, he was able to shed some blocks and make some tackles. I think he did a pretty good job of re-routing – overall, he had a good performance.”
The Ducks played Robinson primarily to the boundary – the short side of the field, when the ball is snapped from one of the hash marks – making re-routing receivers a necessity. With less room to maneuver, receivers are prone to attack with vertical routes, which a physical defensive back can disrupt, or re-route.
On Sunday, the Ducks did 1-on-1 drills in which Robinson went head-to-head a few times with Dwayne Stanford – and demonstrated the benefits of re-routing. On the first rep, Robinson didn’t do so, and Stanford got behind him for a long reception from Vernon Adams Jr. Later, Robinson got his hands on Stanford off the line, forcing Stanford to settle for a short route underneath.
“Getting physical, re-routing, that’s my main focus,” said Robinson, who played cornerback in high school. “Coach Neal preaches that a lot at safety, and technically (boundary) corner should be a little easier because you’re on the small side of the field.”
With Robinson to the boundary, the Ducks entrusted sophomore Arrion Springs with playing to the field, a test of his coverage skills given all the space for receivers to run over there. Springs was barely targeted by the Huskies, as illustrated by his three tackles on the night.
Robinson’s move to corner resulted in the sixth consecutive new look for the UO secondary, which hasn’t started the same group together since the first two games of the season. For the second game in a row, the Ducks had a lot to feel good about until the final four minutes – both Washington State and Washington cut into double-digit Oregon leads with less than four minutes to play, with the Cougars coming all the way back to win in overtime.
“I think we’re starting to understand it and really get it late in the season,” Robinson said. “Everyone wants to say we’re young, but we’re kind of tired of hearing that. We’ve just got to roll with it. We can play with anybody. We just have to finish games and not let up.”
The opponent this week, Arizona State, has a pass efficiency rating of 128.19 for the season, 10th in the Pac-12 and 74th nationally. Quarterback Mike Bercovici, like Oregon’s passers, has had consistency issues; he had a 181.75 rating in ASU’s win over Colorado on Oct. 10, then a 93.48 rating in a loss to Utah the next week. His three lowest ratings of the season have perhaps not coincidentally come in the three losses for the Sun Devils (4-3, 2-2).
Just as Arizona State would benefit from consistency, so to would the Ducks. Six different starting lineups in the secondary over six games isn’t optimal, but it’s the situation the Ducks find themselves in as the staff tries to push the right buttons during what for Oregon also has been a 4-3 season thus far.
“With consistency we could probably do a little more; if we can continue to build and get better, we may be able to add a couple more wrinkles,” Pellum said. “But as of today we’re not there yet. The bye week was good to get a lot of guys reps, and now we’re into game-plan mode and we’re going to keep evaluating with the goal of getting the best group out there.”
Other highlights: The morning began with a clutch situation. Adams and Stanford hooked up in that period, too, but the drive didn’t amount to anything. The twos had more success; Jeff Lockie finished it off with a touchdown pass to Johnny Mundt. … Like Robinson, new starting safety Juwaan Williams had an up-and-down session in 1-on-1s. Tony Brooks-James exploded off the line past Williams early on, gaining enough separation that, even though Taylor Alie’s pass was a little underthrown, Brooks-James still had enough space to haul it in. Later, Kirk Merritt was lined up against Williams and ran a short route, with Williams reaching out to bat the pass into the air, then intercepting it. …
Johnny Ragin III had three tackles in the last four reps when the offense and defense went head-to-head for a period, including a tackle for loss on a screen pass. … In pass-rush drills, Torrodney Prevot used his quickness to beat Tyler Johnstone a couple times. Johnstone had a better showing against Henry Mondeaux later in the drill. Over in the other pod, featuring scout-team guys, Shane Lemieux had a pancake, and Davis Miyashiro-Saipaia continued to be a consistent standout. … Both Robinson and Reggie Daniels had interceptions later in the day against the scout team.
Other observations: Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Braden Eggert has taken a medical retirement. He made two appearances off the bench earlier this season. … Jonah Moi is a huge outside linebacker; he tipped at least two passes at the line today. The Ducks will lose seniors Tyson Coleman and Christian French at the position, and Moi is an intriguing presence coming up the pipeline. …
UO coach Mark Helfrich spent a minute or two coaching up Taj Griffin during individual drills. It looked like they were working on reading and reacting to blocks. … The kickoff return team seemed to be handling its business today. Charles Nelson returned the first rep of that period for a touchdown, and both Devon Allen and Brooks-James followed with long returns. It took about four reps before the scout team was able to bottle up a returner.
