Football Practice Report: April 15
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads
Kani Benoit came into this spring looking to make his presence felt. On Wednesday, he definitely made it heard.
Early in the day, the Ducks did a “tube” drill, a special teams drill that’s like an Oklahoma drill on which everybody gets a running start. Twice, would-be tacklers got by blockers, only to be flattened by Benoit.
Benoit, a redshirt sophomore running back, wasn’t done. On the final play of the day, in an 11-on-11 situation, he put another potential tackler on his back.
A year ago, Benoit had 23 carries for 98 yards and one touchdown. Teased by that limited playing time, Benoit wants more. “I had to come into camp with a mindset that I’m not going to be beat,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been busting my butt to do everything I can to stand out. I just hope I can continue to impress the coaches.”
The irony of Benoit’s physical play Wednesday is that he spent the offseason molding himself into a speedier back. He lost about a dozen pounds since last fall, he said, and currently weighs in around 207.
From the first day of practice two weeks ago, it was clear Benoit had gained a step. Not only is he reading plays quicker now, entering his third year in the program, he has the foot speed to react quicker as well.
Benoit said he owes that to his winter training regimen, which carried over into spring break. “I didn’t even have one,” he said. “I went straight to training when I got home. That’s all I did. I came into camp in pretty good shape. I felt good, didn’t feel tired, and it’s been a good spring ball.”
Despite losing weight, Benoit showed Wednesday he can still be a physical runner. “I got stronger,” he said. “So I was able to keep my power, but I was able to cut that weight so I’m able to move a lot better, which has been tremendous for me.”
Highlights: Other consistent performers during the tube drill included Chris Seisay and De’Quan McDowell as tacklers. Ty Griffin, who is doing special teams work along with practicing at quarterback, had maybe the biggest hit of the drill to force a fumble. … Some offense-defense drills were conducted in the red zone over the course of the day. In 3-on-2 work, Arrion Springs had a pass breakup, Dwayne Stanford had a nice leaping catch in the end zone and Alex Ofodile used his big frame to shield away a defender for a couple of TD catches. …
Later in the day in 11-on-11, the offense was trying to drive the ball across the goal line from around the 20-yard line. The No. 1 offense got in with two Royce Freeman carries, and Taylor Alie got the twos in on one play, another great leaping grab by Stanford. But then the tables turned, owing to a couple of guys who stood out for at least the third practice in a row. Christian French and Justin Hollins had sacks on consecutive plays to spoil one drive, and a couple possessions later Hollins forced a fumble that French recovered.
Other observations: The offense starting well and the defense finishing strong has been a theme of late. That was the case in Friday’s scrimmage, in the 11-on-11 red-zone drill noted above, and also during 10 minutes of 1-on-1 pass-rush drills today. The offensive line had it locked down, but then the defense started to win more reps, with Canton Kaumatule and Jalen Jelks showing off their athleticism, and Austin Maloata and Tui Talia driving blockers backwards. … Springs barely missed blocking a field goal during a special teams period. John Neal coached him up after that rep, and on his next try Springs blocked one. … The Ducks spent some time working on getting off the line in special teams coverage. “We got a 10-yard fist-fight, guys, a 10-yard fist-fight,” one coach yelled.
