Football Practice Report: Sept. 7
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Shells
For an Oregon defense looking to shore up things against the pass this week, the scout team provided a heck of a look Monday. Not only is receiver Darren Carrington playing with the scouts, but Pharaoh Brown as well, helping the Ducks regroup after giving up 438 passing yards to Eastern Washington and prepare for this week’s trip to Michigan State.
Brown is the returning first-team all-Pac-12 tight end, working his way back from the injury he suffered at Utah. Despite his absence in the opener, the Ducks still relied quite a bit on sets with two tight ends, Evan Baylis and Johnny Mundt.
Oregon has a wealth of talented depth at receiver, but only Jalen Brown rotated in consistently behind Byron Marshall, Bralon Addison and Dwayne Stanford. Instead, the Ducks ran more than twice as often as they passed against Eastern – 57 rushes for 485 yards, compared with 25 passes – and did so in part thanks to the blocking of Baylis and Mundt.
“Those guys just keep getting better,” position coach Tom Osborne said. “They’ve gotten a lot of reps, last spring and in fall camp, so we totally trust those guys. …
“It takes a lot of guys to run that well. You’ve got to play well up front, play well on the perimeter, play well at the edges. If your offensive line’s playing well but your guys don’t play the perimeter well, or tight ends don’t play the edges well – you’ve got to get all those guys going to run the ball as well as we did.”
Baylis and Mundt also caught two passes each, for a combined 12 yards. That matched Mundt’s production all of last season, when he also had two catches in the opener but practiced behind Brown and Baylis the rest of the way.
Baylis filled in capably in the passing game after Brown’s injury last season, catching 11 balls for 98 yards in the two bowl games. He remains Oregon’s best blocking tight end, too, skills he put to good use Saturday.
“For the most part he did a really good job at the line of scrimmage, got some really good movement sometimes,” Osborne said. “It’s all those plays you don’t see – you just notice guys catch balls – and he did a really good job.”
Highlights: The first 7-on-7 period was run with the travel squad going head-to-head, rather than against scouts. Jeff Lockie completed a deep ball to Charles Nelson and had another that Devon Allen uncharacteristically mishandled. The offense generally got the better of the period, but Chris Seisay provided the defense a late highlight with a diving pass breakup. … Seisay had another breakup the next time they went 7-on-7, this time against scouts, and Eddie Heard added another. Arrion Springs gave up a couple plays early on but finished with an interception late in the period. …
During the first team period, Danny Mattingly and Cody Carriger combined on a tackle for loss. They seem like two guys on the bubble to contribute more as things start to click more consistently. … Torrodney Prevot set the edge and made tackles on two run plays, an area where he’s been working to improve. … Tony Brooks-James made the stop on the first rep for the kickoff team, after having two tackles in that role Saturday and earning special teams player of the week honors from coaches.
In the final period of the day, DeForest Buckner scooped and scored after a fumble, and Joe Walker had a tackle for loss. The scouts won a rep when Morgan Mahalak dropped a really nice deep ball into the hands of Casey Eugenio, who made the catch despite tight coverage by Ugo Amadi. … Over on the offensive field, Byron Marshall got down the field and then turned back to make a leaping grab over a defender, a much tougher play to make than the similar ball he couldn’t corral in the end zone Saturday night.
Other observations: After practice, Vernon Adams said the Ducks “are practicing harder – harder and faster,” following the opener. He also pledged to try and protect himself better on run plays, after being knocked out of Saturday’s game. “I’ve just got to take care of myself and know how to get down quicker.” … Nelson told media he plans to play against Michigan State. …
With the first game in the books, the Ducks can expand their roster above the preseason-camp limit of 105. Running back Thomas Tyner is now officially on the roster, as are veteran walk-ons Jeff Bieber, Chayce Maday, Davis Miyashiro-Saipaia, Jason Sloan, Spencer Stark and Jim Weber. New to the team are tight end Ryan Bay, an in-state guy, and Jaren Zadlo, a linebacker from Hawaii. … Glen Ihenacho got some reps with the twos at corner. …
In the post-practice huddle, UO coach Mark Helfrich used inside linebacker Rodney Hardrick as an example of the sense of urgency guys need to bring to practice, mentally and physically. “How good would we be” if everybody matched Hardrick’s intensity, Helfrich asked the team. “Really good. I don’t think we’d be good, we’d be great, if every person took as much pride in their job as that guy does.” (As an aside, I recognize Hardrick was among the Ducks guilty of missing tackles Saturday. But his value internally is hard to quantify for fans. He’s an impeccable leader on and off the field, and there’s no way to measure how much better the guys around him play because Hardrick gets calls communicated and the defense aligned for each snap.)
