Football Practice Report: Nov. 23
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Full pads
When Tyree Robinson appeared off the bench in the first quarter of Saturday’s game against USC, it was a pleasant surprise. The safety-turned-cornerback left Oregon’s game at Stanford the previous week prematurely, and his status leading up the USC game was in question.
But when Chris Seisay also played in the first quarter against the Trojans, for the first time in more than two months? That felt, to Seisay, like a minor miracle.
“I’m just glad God healed me so fast,” he said after contributing to the Ducks’ 48-28 victory. “I thought I was going to be out for the season. It felt good being back with my team, being able to contribute to a win.”
Coming into 2015, the Ducks were dealing with the loss of three starters in the secondary, including both cornerbacks. Then Seisay, who started both College Football Playoff games last season, was lost midway through September. A UO secondary that already was a question mark endured a disastrous few weeks.
But young players like Arrion Springs and Ugo Amadi have made progress, and position changes for Robinson and receiver-turned-safety Charles Nelson have stabilized the unit. With Reggie Daniels and Khalil Oliver also contributing at safety, and Seisay back in action, the Ducks were able to use a deep rotation against USC.
“It’s a bonus,” position coach John Neal said. “We’ll keep doing it, and hopefully it’ll get better and better as we do it – and obviously that includes everyone staying healthy so we can do it.”
The Ducks famously streamlined their defensive package in the wake of their loss to Utah. That paid some dividends, but the simplicity was exploited by Arizona State, and the defensive coaches re-inserted some schemes for the Cal game.
The expansion continues, with the Ducks using more man coverage than normal against USC this past week. Earlier this season the young defensive backs couldn’t be put in that kind of situation, but the progress they’ve made the last few weeks allows it.
“We weren’t ready,” Neal said. “We weren’t up to the challenges. Even as much as we tried to simplify, we weren’t playing well. But we knew we would eventually. We’re in a good position now, and I’m greatly relieved, very proud of them.
“I know this group’s going to be good. But we’re still a major work in progress. We’ll be in this mode probably another half a year next year, to get where we want to be. We’re not there yet.”
But they’re at least in a much better place than they were a couple of months ago.
Practice highlights: The first competitive period Monday was 1-on-1 passing drills. Jalen Brown was the standout, with two different reps that drew rare applause from teammates. The first was a double move for a touchdown from Morgan Mahalak. … Taylor Alie threw a couple of TD passes, to Darren Carrington and Royce Freeman. … Glen Ihenacho broke up one pass, and Daniels got physical to knock Zac Schuller off his route and force an incompletion. That after Schuller beat Daniels off the line on a previous rep and bobbled a pass before securing it for a catch. …
The next period featured the travel squad going head to head, and Daniels and Schuller locked up again. In this case, it was a running play on which Daniels drove Schuller back as the receiver set a block, stringing out the run and allowing several other defenders to rally to the ball for the tackle. … On the very next play, Taj Griffin broke into the open field, had one man to beat and juked Amadi to the turf. Dude can scoot. … Scout defense scored a win late in the day when De'Quan McDowell batted a pass away from a receiver. The ball was fluttering in the air for a second, and Matt Mariota plucked it for an interception.
Other observations: Because of the Friday game this week, this was already a “Tuesday” on the Ducks’ practice schedule, and thus they were in full pads. But head coach Mark Helfrich made the last two team periods a no-pads walk-through. … The Ducks hadn’t even been in shells on Monday the last few weeks, as coaches tailored their work load, so full pads for the majority of today’s practice was a big jump two days removed from a game. But things were pretty physical overall, particularly between the offensive line and the scout team’s front seven. … In kickoff return drills, Kirk Merritt took the first rep and returned it for a touchdown.
