Football Practice Report: Nov. 17
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Full pads
The amateur football career of Vernon Adams Jr. is winding down, and indeed is about to come full circle this week.
Adams, the senior transfer and UO starting quarterback, grew up an ardent USC fan in Pasadena, Calif., with a particular fondness for Reggie Bush. This week, with just a few days left in the final regular season of his college career, Adams gets a chance to face the Trojans for the first time.
“I’ve always dreamed of this, playing in the big games – Stanford, USC, Michigan State,” Adams said. “I’m just happy my dream is coming alive. It’s fun.”
In an interview after practice today, Adams noted that he has just a few practices and two home games left as a college player. He’s definitely soaking them in; during Monday’s practice, essentially a walk-through to preserve players' energy and prevent injury, Adams was bounding around the field and dancing between reps, as usual.
The pads went on Tuesday, and business was a little more serious. Again, Adams maximized his time, absolutely shredding the scout team during a 10-minute 7-on-7 session.
“I’m definitely excited and having fun and keeping the energy high,” Adams said afterward.
His teammates are following his lead. The Ducks are riding a four-game winning streak since Adams returned from injury.
“He’s getting more confidence in what he’s doing, which then filters down to everybody else,” UO coach Mark Helfrich said.
Adams seems to thrive in those big moments he always dreamed about, and another is on hand this weekend. The Ducks need a win to stay alive in the Pac-12 title race, against a USC team hoping to do the same.
Adams will also face more than half a dozen friends on the USC roster, including nose tackle Antwaun Woods, defensive end Greg Townsend, cornerback Kevon Seymour, running back Dominic Davis and receiver Steven Mitchell, whom Adams referred to as like a “little brother.”
“It’s going to be a fun game,” Adams said. “I know they have a lot of great athletes over there; we have a lot of great athletes over here, too. So it’s going to be a fun game.”
Other highlights: Adams tried to work his connection with Darren Carrington in the tempo period to open the day, but outside linebacker Eddie Heard anticipated the throw and batted it down. Jeff Lockie got the No. 2 offense off to a nice start with completions to Jake McCreath, Jalen Brown and Zac Schuller. … That offensive momentum carried over into the next few periods as the travel squad went head to head. In 1-on-1 pass drills, Dwayne Stanford used a little stutter step to gain separation from Arrion Springs and haul in a long TD pass. Royce Freeman reached behind Reggie Daniels for an underthrown ball and then hauled it in after it bounced off Daniels’ pads. …
In 11-on-11 between the offense and defense, Bralon Addison cut back against the grain for a long run, and Tony Brooks-James broke free for a gain on which Charles Nelson saved a touchdown. Taylor Alie connected on a pass with McCreath, who gained big yards thanks to downfield blocks by Jake Pisarcik and Haniteli Lousi. … Daniels jumped out a few times with some very physical play. He had consecutive tackles in that 11-on-11 period, and a tackle for loss against the scout team later in the day.
Other observations: Some depth players in the secondary were moved around today. Fotu Leiato and Mattrell McGraw worked with the travel squad, while Michael Manns – who has travelled all season – practiced as a scout. McGraw had a nice pass breakup in 1-on-1 drills and a tackle in kickoff coverage as a scout. … Speaking of the scout team, Jeff Bieber played the role today of star USC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. There was a funny coincidence late in practice when Bieber went up to make a leaping catch at the exact moment the song “Jumpman” began playing over the loudspeakers in the Mo. … As special sdrills began, coordinator Tom Osborne enthusiastically declared this “work-your-butt-off Tuesday.” Not quite the alliteration of “Fast Friday,” but OK.
