Football Practice Report: Aug. 19

Photo by: Andy McNamara/GoDucks.com

08/19/16 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley

By: Rob Moseley

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Helmets only

The notation above about the format for Friday's Oregon preseason camp practice is actually a bit of a misnomer, in a change from years past for the Ducks.

There are three general levels of protection for different practices – full pads, "shells" (helmet, shoulder pads, jersey and shorts) and what the Ducks refer to as "helmets," with no other padding included. But this year, the Ducks have joined a trend that's become increasingly prevalent in the NFL and college ranks, donning small, thin "incidental contact shoulder pads" for a "helmets" practice.

The padding, approved by the Pac-12, was worn for the first time Friday, Oregon's first "helmets" practice since the NCAA-mandated acclimation period the opening week of preseason camp.

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"They're just a little bit of extra protection for days like today, where you don't want to have a bunch of contact, but you're still trying to fit guys up (at the line of scrimmage)," said Kenny Farr, Oregon's football equipment administrator. "The occasional face mask or something gets into somebody's shoulder or AC joint or something, leaves some bruising; so this is just to protect against that."

Without any contact down to the ground, guys can hustle back to the line between reps, allowing the Ducks to really ramp up the tempo for drills. Afterward, UO coach Mark Helfrich seemed pleased with the volume of work the team got in, on what is supposed to be one of the hottest days of the year in town.

"We got a lot done," Helfrich told his team. "Today was a hard day."

Like Thursday's practice in shells, the Ducks still finished with a competitive period, in this case a clutch drill in which the offense needed a last-minute touchdown. Dakota Prukop worked the ball past midfield with a couple completions to Johnny Mundt, but Ugo Amadi flipped the momentum by breaking up a deep ball. Johnny Ragin III followed with a sack, and the defense got off the field with a win.

The drive for the twos was similar. Justin Herbert moved the chains with a pass to a tight end, in this case Jacob Breeland, but then the defense took over. Practice ended with Herbert throwing a lateral that wasn't caught; A.J. Hotchkins jumped on the ball for the fumble recovery.

The late sack was a rare misstep for the top offensive line, which today again featured five players who have never played a snap for the Ducks. From right to left, the unit included transfer Zac Morgan along with redshirt freshmen Calvin Throckmorton, Jake Hanson, Shane Lemieux and Brady Aiello.

Veterans Cameron Hunt and Tyrell Crosby spent another day with the twos, allowing the young players to build some chemistry in case they need to play together this season. And position coach Steve Greatwood said the newcomers have been holding up "very well" despite not playing with any UO veterans.

"It's getting there," Greatwood said. "I can tell they did their due diligence over the summer."

The young players are "sponges" for information, veteran Jake Pisarcik said. Greatwood expressed a similar sentiment.

"It's starting to stick," he said. "The more you repeat it, the more it sticks."

Other highlights: There were 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods in which the offense tried to drive the ball down the field rather than running plays from one spot. In 7-on-7, Prukop spread it around to Mundt, Charles Nelson, Royce Freeman and Tristen Wallace before finishing off the drive with a TD to Jalen Brown. Travis Jonsen followed with another crisp drive, working the ball primarily to Dillon Mitchell and Alex Ofodile. Then Terry Wilson Jr. got a chance, and ended his drive with a TD pass to Darren Carrington II, who tipped the ball up and over a defender before hauling it in. …

In 11-on-11, Prukop converted a third down with a pass to Brown. Another third-down pass was nearly intercepted by Arrion Springs, but on fourth down Prukop kept the drive alive with a really nice touch pass deep downfield to Mundt. Inside the red zone, Prukop found Carrington open in the end zone and hit him for six.

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Herbert quarterbacked the twos in that period and directed a drive that ended with a TD pass to Wallace. Jonsen and Wilson didn't have as much success, but Prukop added another touchdown drive, which ended in a scoring pass to Taylor Alie.

Other observations: Given the heat forecast for Friday afternoon, the Ducks planned to move their walk-through indoors to the Moshofsky Center. … Carrington was really dominant today. With his body control and athleticism, a quarterback doesn't have to be perfectly on target for Carrington to go up and make a play.

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Reggie Daniels spent some time with the ones at safety, a job he's filled in the past. He's trying to hold off hard-charging younger guys Juwaan Williams and Khalil Oliver this month. … For the first rep of a kickoff return drill, freshman linebackers Darrian Franklin, Troy Dye, Eric Briscoe Jr. and La'Mar Winston Jr. were all on the field together. … Yes, the "Macarena" was part of today's practice soundtrack, and yes, Freeman started doing the dance at one point, and yes, Kani Benoit was aghast. "Man, that's creepy," Benoit said. "What are you talking about, it's the Macarena!" Freeman replied.

GIFs:

Kani Benoit gets open underneath Reggie Daniels in 1-on-1:

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