Football Practice Report: Aug. 13

Photo by: Andy McNamara/GoDucks.com

08/13/16 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley

By: Rob Moseley

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads

Given the risk of injury, full-contact hitting isn't something college football teams can afford to do much. But full-speed blocking and tackling have to be practiced just like anything else, and the Ducks did a little of both Saturday to cap their first week of preseason camp.

The practice featured periods of full-contact work on offense and defense, and in position drills and special teams periods. Among them was the first red-zone period of the week, in which the offense won two of the three reps.

Starting with first-and-goal from the 9-yard line, Dakota Prukop was tackled for loss by Henry Mondeaux to open the series between the ones. But Tony Brooks-James got back that yardage and more on second down, then plowed into the end zone on third down behind a pancake block from center Jake Hanson.

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With the twos on the field, linebackers A.J. Hotchkins and Troy Dye combined to bring down Taj Griffin at or behind the line of scrimmage on each of the first two reps. But on the third, Travis Jonsen lofted a pass into the end zone that Darren Carrington II leaped to haul in for another touchdown.

The series for Terry Wilson Jr. and the threes didn't go anywhere due to snapping issues. After a play for lost yardage on first down, the second snap got away from Wilson and Canton Kaumatule jumped on it for a fumble recovery.

Prior to those three "live" series, the offense had five chances to drive the ball from the 20-yard line at a "thud" tempo. Brooks-James was tackled short of the goal line with the ones, and Fotu T. Leiato II later made another stop at the goal line to get the defense off the field. Of those five series, the only touchdown was another reception by Carrington, in that case from Prukop.

The first live period of the day was Oregon's version of the Oklahoma drill. Dillon Mitchell and Tristen Wallace had pancake blocks on different reps, and Justin Herbert dragged two defenders across the goal line:

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Defensively, Johnny Ragin III chucked away a blocker and made a tackle, and cornerbacks Ugo Amadi and Arrion Springs brought down ballcarriers. Here's a tackle from Springs:

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The next full-contact period was the special teams "tube" drill. Reggie Daniels defeated a couple blocks and made tackles, and fellow veteran defensive back Chris Seisay evaded a blocker to bring down a ballcarrier.

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Working on kick and punt coverage is a priority for the Ducks this preseason, coming off the 2015 campaign. Typically among the better special teams units in the Pac-12, Oregon was at the bottom of the conference last fall in net punting, allowing an average return of 5.1 yards.

So it was nice Saturday to see a couple of veterans like Daniels and Seisay setting the tone.

"As you get older, you realize how serious every aspect of the game is," Seisay said. "We're trying to take advantage of every opportunity in practice to go hard and get better, because how you practice is how you play."

Later, Seisay was in coverage in the live red-zone period when Carrington beat him for a touchdown pass. That was in one of the last periods on what was the hottest day of the week so far, and Seisay said he learned a lesson about not letting fatigue shake his focus.

"I was kind of tired out there, and I didn't make the play," Seisay said. "You've got to lock in every play; that's one of those things Coach Helf preaches to us."

Other highlights: Jonsen had a nice deep ball down the seam to Johnny Mundt in the opening tempo period, and another along the sideline to Dylan Kane while throwing under pressure in 11-on-11. … Calvin Throckmorton continues to work with the first unit, today back at his normal right tackle after playing guard Friday. Though he's having a solid camp overall, Throckmorton had a devil of a time containing Mondeaux in 1-on-1 pass-rush drills. They went head to head multiple times, and Mondeaux used an array of different techniques to get to the quarterback. …

The last team period saw the offense lined up at the 40-yard line. On the first rep, Prukop hooked up with Carrington for a touchdown completion. Prukop added another when Charles Nelson beat a safety in coverage, and Wilson lofted a ball that Mitchell appeared to make a leaping, twisting play on, though it wasn't clear if he came down inbounds. Defensively, Danny Mattingly did a nice job stopping Pharaoh Brown for little to no gain after a reception, and Elijah George had a tackle for loss.

Other observations: The Mattingly-Hotchkins battle at middle linebacker is definitely one of the most competitive of the first week. … Hall of Famer Dave Wilcox attended practice along with a couple of his former UO teammates, Doug Post and Rich Schwab. The latter is Herbert's grandfather. … Walk-on defensive back Michael Manns was an iron man in special teams drills, taking a ton of reps as a scout-team returner. Later in team situations he jumped on a couple fumbles. … The first-string QB at this time a year ago, Jeff Lockie continues to handle this year's dramatically different circumstances with maturity. Today he played at least four positions, not only quarterback and receiver but also filling in as a running back and a returner for the tube drill. ... A green flag flew at one end of the field to mark the defense's victory in Friday's competition periods.