Football Practice Report: Dec. 15
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Shells
After a day off Monday, the Oregon football team reconvened for Alamo Bowl practices Tuesday, with more of an eye toward the matchup with Texas Christian on Jan. 2.
A scout team was designated, for the offense and defense to run plays against. And the workout included some” teach” periods, for offense, defense and special teams, to begin installing schemes for the matchup with the Horned Frogs.
The special teams periods, for the kickoff return and punt return units, allowed more time for the quarterbacks to go to one end of the Moshofsky Center and do position drills. Those were conducted under the direction of their interim position coach, graduate assistant Nate Costa, the former Oregon quarterback who is coaching the QBs in the absence of Scott Frost.
Costa has primarily worked with Matt Lubick and the wide receivers during his time as a graduate assistant. For this month though, he’s stepped into a bigger role.
“It’s been great,” Costa said. “Coach Lubick’s been helping me in general with the offensive scheme, but I’ve got the quarterbacks in practice, I’ve got the quarterbacks in meetings. Really handling all things quarterback-wise.”
Just in the first few days for Costa on the job, in practices Friday through Sunday, some new drills were being incorporated into the quarterbacks’ position work. Someone in Costa’s position might be expected to stick with the status quo while filling in, but that hasn’t been the case.
“He’s teaching us a lot,” starter Vernon Adams Jr. said. “We’re doing a lot of footwork things we don’t usually do. He’s out here working hard to get us better, so we’re excited about him and I’m happy for him.”
Costa played quarterback from 2006-10, and while knee injuries denied him more extensive playing time, he learned under the tutelage of former UO head coach Chip Kelly and his successor, Mark Helfrich. The focus on footwork this month, Costa said, stems in turn from the focus Kelly and Helfrich placed on mechanics.
“Sometimes in college football you get so involved in the scheme – and you have to, because there’s so much to take in – that you tend to lose sight of things mechanically,” Costa said. “That was one of the things I appreciated from my quarterback coaches – coach Kelly, coach Helfrich – that they found time and found a way to work on mechanics.
“I always felt like that was something that, if I was ever in that position, it was something I’d want to work on. You watch a guy in fall camp, his mechanics are going to be pretty clean and pretty smooth. You watch him in game 12, there’s going to be some flaws poking through that are going to affect your game.”
Costa is in his third and final season of eligibility for the graduate assistant role. After this season he’ll need to find a full-time position somewhere, but he said that looming development isn’t weighing any more on his mind this month.
“It’s been an audition for me for three years,” he said. “I’m just going to continue down that path.”
Other highlights: With the emphasis on installation in 11-on-11, the earlier position drills featured some of the most entertaining competition. In 1-on-1 passing drills, Kirk Merritt got separation on Charles Nelson off the line, and while Nelson used his speed to close the gap, he couldn’t break up an on-the-money throw from Morgan Mahalak. … Jeff Bieber also had a highlight reception, keeping some separation against the speedy Ty Griffin and then making a leaping catch. … Malik Lovette broke up a pass to Chris Tewhill in the end zone, and on the next rep Ugo Amadi shut down Darren Carrington. With play like that on a more consistent basis, those will be guys to watch in the years to come. …
In 7-on-7, Adams hit Dwayne Stanford in the end zone, but Arrion Springs slapped the ball out before the catch could be completed. Later, Adams had a prototypical moment, slipping out of the pocket to his left and buying time for Carrington to get open for a long completion. … The offensive line started well in pass-rush drills, with nice reps for Tyrell Crosby against Tui Talia, Matt Hegarty against Rex Manu, Tyler Johnstone against DeForest Buckner and Jake Pisarcik against Canton Kaumatule. In the second drill run for young guys, Calvin Throckmorton won reps against Jonah Moi and Gus Cumberlander.
Other observations: With the scout team designated, that meant Mahalak in the No. 2 jersey of TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, Bieber in No. 9 as all-America receiver Josh Doctson and Cumberlander as the Horned Frogs’ top pass rusher, No. 94 Josh Carraway. … Helfrich didn’t think the Ducks hit the ground running this morning, which is not uncommon after a day off. He called for the Ducks’ vocal leaders to set a better tone. “Don’t just talk about it, be about it,” he said. … Like the weekend practices, this one also ended with 10 minutes for the non-travel squad. Mahalak had a nice TD on a wheel route to J.J. Jones, Jarret LaCoste used a stiff-arm to avoid being tackled for loss by Kaulana Apelu and Moi thumped a receiver to break up a pass.
