The Ducks head into the Mo Center Tuesday afternoon quickly as they could before the Monsoon that hit Eugene late afternoon Tuesday. Oregon entered the Mo center with the approach of getting the job done as quickly and as efficiently as possible as the Ducks prepare for the Spring Finale Spring Game on Saturday.
Going into practice there were some interesting developments before practice even started. Sophomore Tonio Celloto was wearing a brown jersey that will prevent him for participating in any contact drills. Freshman Darrion Weems was held out of practice and was wearing a boot but got involved in practice in any way he could, including posing as a passing target in a blocking drill for the running backs and tight ends.
Oregon is also trying out a new type of uniform for practice jerseys and also down the line for games. No, its not a new fashion style, but what the material of the jersey is made out of. Seniors Jaison Williams, Jacob Hucko, Max Unger and than Juniors Ed Dickson and LeGarrette Blount were all wearing the new jerseys. They are made a special way that will fit the players more comfortably and yet are tighter on the body. Only downside is that the jersey is easy to rip and when a rip does occur the length of the rip is longer than the current material.
Ex Ducks Ryan Keeling, Geremy Gibbs, and Andiel Brown were all in attendance today. Keeling on a side note still appears to be in good graces towards Oregon, as he looked very interested on the sideline decked out in his Oregon gear.
After the team got done warming up and doing quick position drills the Ducks went 4 on 4 on one side of the field working on running and defending the short passing game. The Defense won the drill with Sophomore Marvin Johnson making the hit of the practice when he blasted a Dickson who was left to dry up top and popped the ball into the air and Freshman William Wallace intercepted the pass. The offense was not without any shining moments in the drill. Williams broke a long run on a screen as well as Sophomore Malachi Lewis catching a short out and turning up field with Williams paving the way for a 15-yard gain.
In the team’s first live 11 on 11 drill Freshman Chris Harper started with the first team and did pretty well considering he didn’t complete any passes. Harper read the option like a team and made the right leads that resulted in Blount running for about 60 yards on four carries including a 20 yard touchdown run that had Blount show great vision making a quick cut back at the line of scrimmage and going untouched. It was clear however that Blount wouldn’t have gotten as many yards if Harper wasn’t making the proper reads and forcing the defense to attack him.
During the first series Senior DT Cole Linehan recorded a sack on Harper that was attributed to a coverage sack as the DBs locked up all available players downfield.
With Freshman Darron Thomas running the second unit the offense flourished quickly. Thomas hit Sophomore Aaron Pflugrad for an eight-yard screen pass that was blocked perfectly by the offensive lineman and wide receivers. The very next play the offense ran a similar formation and play that had Thomas roll out and Pflugrad slipped past the entire defense up the seem and Thomas hit him in stride but a tad too far to the left that resulted in Pflugrad’s momentum pulling him away from a clear 70 yard touchdown pass for a gain of only 30. Thomas showed the ability to scramble nicely picking up eight yards and then Alston finishing the series off with a four yard run. Thomas also hit Senior Terrance Scott for a 19-yard screen play.
After the quick 11 on 11 session was over Head Coach Mike Bellotti showed why recruits love meeting and talking with Bellotti and why his players love him. He was seen high fiveing Thomas and joking around with Thomas about a minor scratch and yet also coaching him up at the same time.
During the 11 on 11 session early in the practice it should be noted that the entire defensive coaching staff was harping on Junior Simi Toenia to bull through the offensive line and get a sack. Toenia proudly blew up a play and landed a big time sack that reminded people of what Haloti Ngata once did at Oregon before Toenia. The coaches are really pushing Toenia to get into that nastyness of football and use the huge talent that he was blessed with. Toenia impressed everyone during that 11 on 11 session.
With the spring game approaching and the spring season almost over it was clear the coaching staff was allowing practice to be light on hitting and heavy on proper technique as there was little action going on outside of short 11 on 11 or 7 on 7 or 4 on 4 drills.
The team spent a good deal of time working on punt return and punt coverage. Senior John Syria blasted a few bombs so high the ball hit the beams at the top of the roof and no punts could be caught. Such a great site to see when your punter is kicking the ball high and very far. To spice things up the coaching staff dropped a few fake plays on the defense that allowed onlookers to catch funny passes from Punters or fake runs by the blockers.
5A state champion Aaron Magnuson a 6’3 305 pound offensive tackle/ defensive tackle took on practice with his father and had a quick few words with a few of the coaches during practice. It appeared they were either finishing up a tour of the area or about to start one as they were wearing the name tags given to players taking unofficial visits.
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