Ducks Move On From Opener, Turn Attention To Spartans
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
After a night of mixed reactions in Oregon’s locker room Saturday, following the No. 7 Ducks’ 61-42 win over Eastern Washington to open the 2015 season, there was more of the same Sunday at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex.
For players who came to the facility on their off day, for medical treatment or to get a head start on scouting this week’s trip to No. 5 Michigan State, there was satisfaction at opening the season 1-0, but lingering frustration over mistakes against the Eagles.
Most notably on the stat sheet were the 438 passing yards surrendered, by a secondary that had to replace three senior starters from last year’s College Football Playoff National Championship participant. But after watching film, UO head coach Mark Helfrich wasn’t pointing fingers at any one group.
“A lot of guys made mistakes,” Helfrich said. “They weren’t all defensive backs. Everyone on offense made mistakes; everyone on defense made mistakes. The beauty of it was, most of it was guys playing their first time ever in that stadium, and they were correctable.
“A bunch of little things turned into big things – we had a defensive lineman spin out of a gap and create a huge hole; that’s not a DB’s fault. It’s everybody focusing on their job, no more, no less.”
In the postgame locker room Saturday, Helfrich recognized the displeasure among some players, and appreciated the competitive fire that illustrated. But, he told the Ducks, they needed to appreciate how hard it is to win, regardless of the opponent.
The UO coach reiterated that point Sunday in a meeting with media. “I like that they’re not completely satisfied with the score, the stats or the way it all played out,” Helfrich said. “But at the same time, they put in a lot of tireless hours to earn being out there, and you have to enjoy that. But that’s a good thing.”
Helfrich said his staff has already watched quite a bit of film on Michigan State, both over the offseason and also in the last 24 hours, following the Spartans’ 37-24 victory Saturday at Western Michigan.
Since Michigan State’s loss last season at Autzen Stadium, defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi left to become head coach at Pittsburgh. Linebackers coach Mike Tressel and secondary coach Harlon Barnett were promoted as co-coordinators, and have expanded on Narduzzi’s no-frills, well-executed 4-3 package.
“They’ve added quite a bit schematically from when we last saw them,” Helfrich said. “And they still make you earn every inch.”
Helfrich said the Spartans “got after” Western Michigan quarterback Zach Terrell, who finished 33-of-50 for 365 yards. This week Michigan State will contend with new Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams, who accumulated 340 yards of total offense against Eastern Washington.
Adams averaged 6.7 yards per carry on 14 rushes, and it could have been more, Helfrich indicated. “There were a couple missed reads in the run game, probably one of them him trying to do too much, and another not trusting the whole big picture part of it,” Helfrich said. “The good thing about him was, he always knew why.”
Oregon’s players of the week for the Eastern Washington game were Royce Freeman on offense, DeForest Buckner on defense and Tony Brooks-James on special teams.
Freeman ran for a career-high 180 yards with three touchdowns, and Buckner had three tackles, a total that didn’t reflect how disruptive he was up front. Brooks-James had two tackles on kickoff coverage.
Brooks-James may have benefitted from the extra attention paid by EWU’s kick return team to UO freshman Fotu Leiato. The safety and recruiting highlight film sensation drew double coverage from the Eagles on Oregon’s first two kickoffs of the game, and again later in the evening.
“We were joking about that on the sideline, him being from the state of Washington, they must have known him or something,” Helfrich said.
The Ducks used another true freshman, receiver Kirk Merritt, as a starter on the kickoff team, and worked in a third, walk-on linebacker Kaulana Apelu, in the fourth quarter. “He’s an undersized guy who plays a million miles an hour,” Helfrich said. “For a smaller guy he plays very physically, and that showed up last night.”
Oregon’s scout-team players of the week were running back Jarret LaCoste, safety Austin Daich and, on special teams, defensive back Michael Manns.
Helfrich sought to quell potential rumors by noting that no Ducks were suspended for Saturday’s game for violating any school or team rules.
The absence of receiver Charles Nelson and defensive lineman Canton Kaumatule prompted some scuttle, of which Helfrich said he became aware. Each dressed and was on the sideline Saturday but did not play.
“The guys that weren’t in there weren’t in there for a reason, and they’re fighting like heck to get back,” Helfrich said.
The Ducks showed off their impressive depth at running back Saturday, with Freeman, Brooks-James and Kani Benoit combining for 38 carries, 326 yards and six touchdowns. And in the fourth quarter, they provided a tease that there’s more where that came from.
Freshman Taj Griffin took three late snaps and, after the only carry of the game by a UO back for lost yardage, ripped off a team-high gain of 61 yards. Griffin showed off his incredible quickness to get behind the defense, though not the top-end speed that had been advertised, as a defender tracked him down to prevent a touchdown.
“He took a lot of grief for not scoring on that, by the way,” Helfrich said. “He was cold, he said.”
Griffin combines speed and quickness with what Helfrich called a physical nature between the tackles and in pass protection.
