Football Practice Report: Aug. 10

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Shells

The Oregon football team had some extra pep in its step Wednesday, the team's first practice of preseason camp in "shells" – with shoulder pads on in addition to helmets.

The defense seemed particularly energized by the ability to finally do some hitting, albeit without tackling to the ground. But both sides raised their level as compared to Tuesday, as an effusive Mark Helfrich noted in his post-practice remarks to the team.

"If we continue to make strides like we did from yesterday to today, how good can we be?" Helfrich asked his players, before answering: "Scary."

The first 11-on-11 period of the day was probably the most impressive for the defense out of the first three days of camp. Austin Maloata finished off what could probably be termed a coverage sack to start it off, and Jonah Moi got into the backfield to bring down Kani Benoit. Troy Dye had both a tackle for loss and what likely would have been another sack in a live situation, getting good push against offensive tackle Zac Morgan.

Later in the drill, a ball caromed off a receiver into the hands of linebacker A.J. Hotchkins. Undeniably, it was a period that went to the defense, which played with impressive vigor.

"A lot had to do with having pads on," Hotchkins said. "That was a huge deal for everybody, to set the tempo."

Wednesday's practice was the first chance to see the graduate transfer Morgan in pads with the Ducks. The former two-year starter at Dayton is working with the second unit at right tackle, where he started with the Flyers in 2014 before moving to the left side last fall.

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"Everything's been going great so far," Morgan said. "Everyone's been really helpful, helping me along in the new system. The coaches and the O linemen are great."

Morgan, listed at 6-foot-7 and 290 pounds, is exceptionally athletic for a man of his size. The competition at right tackle will be an interesting battle of styles between the massive, technically sound Calvin Throckmorton and the athletic veteran Morgan.

Check out Morgan's nimble feet in a pass-rush drill against freshman end Hunter Kampmoyer:

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Other highlights: If you watched our Facebook Live video Monday from media day with Arrion Springs, you saw him mention that the toughest receiver on the team for him to cover was sophomore Jalen Brown. Not the biggest or fastest wideout on the team, Brown has incredible body control that allows him to make extremely acrobatic plays on balls not necessarily thrown right on the money.

Today, Springs and Brown went head-to-head in a 1-on-1 drill, and what ensued was a perfect example:

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Brown had a similar reception later in the same drill. Safety Brenden Schooler backpedaled and didn't bite on a head fake by Brown, remaining on his hip as they ran upfield. A pass was thrown well above Brown's head, and though Schooler was right there, Brown was able to reach up and haul in the reception despite decent coverage. The Ducks are flush with options at wideout, but at some point Brown will break through and torment opposing defensive backs the way he does Oregon's own. …

During one of the 7-on-7 periods, the linemen squared off for 1-on-1 pass-rush drills. One two-rep sequence illustrated the diversity of ways to get the job done in the trenches. Left tackle Brady Aiello faced off with Justin Hollins on the first, a battle of two long, agile athletes in which Aiello generally maintained pretty good position.

The next rep moved down the line, with left guard Doug Brenner taking on D tackle Ratu Mafileo, pure power on power. The video looped below doesn't provide the added benefit of sound, which is unfortunate, because the grunts and snorts emanating from the two only added to the effect.

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Other observations: During one period of position drills, the defense broke into four groups and rotated among stations to rep various elements of fumble plays. One group worked on punching out the football, another moved horizontally over some pads and then tried to "scoop and score":

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The focus of a third station was simply jumping on a loose ball and then protecting it from being ripped out. Coordinator Brady Hoke was running that drill, and also filling the role of trying to rip the ball out, leading to the odd sight of a coach wrestling players for possession of the football.

Another drill I'd not seen before took place during a special teams period, in which the quarterbacks went off to one side by themselves. New position coach David Yost raised a passing net a few feet into the air and had his quarterbacks throw over it to each other. The goal was to come as close to the crossbar as possible without hitting it, while aiming for the face mask of the receiver.

The QBs lined up three to a side; here was a sequence from Terry Wilson Jr., Justin Herbert and Dakota Prukop:

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