Football Practice Report: Aug. 26
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads
Nobody walked off the practice fields Wednesday on a bigger high than true freshman receiver Malik Lovette. On the final rep of the Ducks’ last practice before Thursday’s scrimmage, Lovette got behind the secondary in an overtime drill and hauled in a “game-winning” touchdown pass from Jeff Lockie.
That was just the latest standout moment for one of the most consistent true freshmen so far in preseason camp. Lovette has had notable highlights just about every day, owing to his talent as a receiver, his usefulness on various special teams and his durability.
“We practice so many situations; knowing that was the last drive, to win the game, it felt good,” Lovette said afterward.
For as solid as Lovette has been, though, he plays at perhaps the deepest position on Oregon’s roster. With the likes of Byron Marshall, Bralon Addison, Dwayne Stanford and Charles Nelson on hand, Devon Allen and Darren Carrington looking to return in the coming weeks and Jalen Brown, Kirk Merritt and Alex Ofodile also hoping to contribute this season, is there room for Lovette on the travel squad?
Ditto a guy like Jake Hanson; he proved so adept at picking up the offense, offensive line coach Steve Greatwood has been playing Hanson at center, a position he never played in high school. But has Hanson been so good he could crack a rotation in which veterans such as Haniteli Lousi, Elijah George and Braden Eggert are fighting tooth and nail for the few available spots in the two-deep?
On Thursday, Hanson spent time snapping with the No. 2 offense. That speaks volumes about his progression in camp – although Lovette was able to win the overtime drill for his team because Hanson’s group was unable to score, in part because the timing of a couple running plays was upset by low snaps.
Again, it’s Hanson’s understanding of the offense that makes him a candidate to play center, which is so crucial for coordinating the offense prior to each snap. As for the snaps themselves, “I’m still working on that, but I’m coming along,” said Hanson, who flattened a defensive back as a pulling blocker for Lockie during an earlier team period Wednesday.
For players like Lovette and Hanson, Thursday’s scrimmage is perhaps the last best chance to make a case for playing time in 2015.
“I think all of us young guys, we’re going to play the best we can,” Hanson said. “We have a way better grasp of the offense now than we did the first scrimmage, and we’ve learned the techniques we’ve been taught since then. Now we’re trying to put it all together and show whether, when we do know all that, if we’re good enough to play.”
Other highlights: Another bit of awesomeness from DeForest Buckner today: As the overtime drill started, his defensive group was on the field and he turned to cornerback Ugo Amadi to shout, “Let’s get the ball back and score, Ugo!” Three plays later it was fourth-and-one; Kani Benoit took a handoff; Buckner tackled him for no gain. On the next play, Royce Freeman scored on a 25-yard run. Damned if Buckner didn’t get the ball back so they could score …
The drill was then reset, since it ended so quickly. A couple nice runs by Tony Brooks-James set up a 29-yard Aidan Schneider field goal, which Matt Wogan matched by making a 39-yard attempt. That set the stage for another stop by the defense – Jimmie Swain and Ivan Faulhaber teamed for another stop on fourth-and-one – prior to Lovette’s touchdown grab from Lockie. … Brooks-James was particularly explosive during team drills prior to the overtime periods, while Matt Mariota had a sack and Tyson Coleman had a big tackle for loss. … In the first team period of the day, Coleman had a really solid tackle in space against Freeman, while Benoit cut back against the grain for one of the longest runs of the day.
In 7-on-7 drills in the red zone, Vernon Adams hooked up with Johnny Mundt a couple times. … An earlier 7-on period offered chances to convert second-and-long situations. Lockie had third-down completions to Zac Schuller and Jarret LaCoste, while Adams had a one-play conversion that Merritt took all the way for a touchdown. … In 1-on-1 drills near the goal line, Lockie and Adams each had TD passes to both Marshall and Allen, and Merritt caught balls in the end zone from Lockie, Travis Jonsen and Morgan Mahalak. Tyree Robinson got the best of three straight matchups against Jalen Brown, who finished well by reaching up and catching a pass over the top of a different defensive back.
Other observations: After Thursday’s scrimmage, the Ducks have scheduled a very light workout for Friday before kicking off Eastern Washington preparations on Saturday. … Among the visitors to practice today were NFL Hall of Famer Dave Wilcox and two fellow lettermen from the 1963 Sun Bowl team, Doug Post and Rich Schwab.
