Football Practice Report: Aug. 20
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads
One of Mark Helfrich’s biggest issues coming out of Tuesday’s scrimmage was tempo – it was rare the offense really put its foot on the gas and used pace of play to its advantage.
On Thursday, the offense found that extra gear and demonstrated just how much of an asset it could be. During a couple of late 11-on-11 periods, the offense had the chance to move the chains and drive the ball down the field, and those periods ended up being pretty one-sided in favor of the guys with the ball.
With the first group up, Jeff Lockie zipped passes to Bralon Addison and Byron Marshall, and Royce Freeman chewed up yardage. Taj Griffin is dynamic enough to make space for himself, but the increased tempo created even more open field for him, complementing completions by Vernon Adams to Kirk Merritt and Johnny Mundt.
Up and down the field drove the offensive units. As frustration grew on the defensive sideline, the Ducks on offense liked what they saw.
“As fast as we go, it’s easy to find creases when the big ol’ D linemen are getting tired out there,” Griffin said. “It definitely helps out, and makes things a whole lot easier.”
Offensive coordinator Scott Frost said tempo has generally been good in camp, if perhaps not as consistent as he’d like. The sustained drives Thursday were a positive step.
“Right now, especially with the young guys, there’s a lot of thinking, and it’s hard to get lined up and go fast when your brain’s spinning,” Frost said. “Both those periods were what we want, absolutely.”
Other highlights: The defense was able to turn the tables in the overtime drill that closed practice. On the very first snap, Glen Ihenacho intercepted a Lockie pass and returned it for a touchdown, despite the best efforts of Merritt to chase him down. The drill was reset, with Adams and Taylor Alie leading the offense to fields goals by Matt Wogan and Aidan Schneider, respectively. That forced a second overtime; incredibly, Ihenacho again picked off a Lockie pass, and Adams ended the drill by side-stepping Joe Walker in the backfield and hitting Addison for a touchdown. …
In position drills to start the day, Morgan Mahalak was really sharp, and Mundt had an athletic catch along the sideline, leaping to haul in a pass from Adams and sneaking a toe inbounds. Torrodney Prevot picked off an Adams pass in the same drill. … Lockie was very solid in the 7-on-7 periods. Overall today was sort of the opposite of Tuesday’s scrimmage, in which Adams started well and Lockie finished strong. This was the other way around. …
Darren Carrington had a couple of great leaping catches in 7-on, from Lockie and Travis Jonsen. … In a team period focused on run plays, Tui Talia, Arrion Springs, Austin Maloata, Dylan Kane and Henry Mondeaux made stops for the defense. Griffin weaved through the front seven a couple of times for the offense, and Royce Freeman ran for some hard yards between the tackles thanks to Tyler Johnstone, who moved Talia off the line.
Other observations: Wednesday’s practice was a little up-and-down, with the guys perhaps a bit gassed from Tuesday’s scrimmage. They bounced back Thursday. “This was a really good practice,” Helfrich told the team afterward. “Not great, but headed that direction.” … Matt Wogan continues to really drive the ball on kickoffs. He had 22 touchbacks last season, a number that presumably will rise this fall. … Paris Bostick has started to flash pretty consistently in special teams drills. …
Speaking of special teams drills, one rep became a family affair today, when Ty Griffin came off a block and thudded up the returner: his younger brother, Taj. … A couple of positions where it seems like the Ducks have three good candidates for two starting jobs are outside linebacker (Tyson Coleman, Christian French, Prevot) and cornerback (Chris Seisay, Ugo Amadi, Springs). Obviously all of them will play a lot, given how much Oregon likes to utilize its depth defensively. … Moment of leadership from DeForest Buckner today – a linebacker wasn’t running off the field after a rep, so Buckner yelled at him to run, then went and basically tossed the guy a few yards back out on the field so he could run back off. You don’t want to cross DeFo.
