Football Practice Report: Sept. 19

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Helmets only

Oregon began the process Monday of moving on from the Nebraska loss and focusing on Saturday's home game with Colorado (2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network). But one more element of the trip to Lincoln is worth revisiting before completely turning the page.

UO kickoff specialist Matt Wogan and coach Mark Helfrich placed a bouquet of flowers at the 27-yard line of Memorial Stadium prior to kickoff. The gesture was in memory of former Nebraska punter Sam Foltz, who wore jersey No. 27.

Afterward, Wogan said, Huskers kicker Drew Brown approached him to express his appreciation. "There was no, 'you're welcome,'" Wogan said. "It was like, that's exactly what (Foltz) would have done if it had happened to anybody else. That's the least we could have done."

Wogan said he became acquainted with Foltz in high school during the recruiting process, when they attended some of the same camps. Wogan also knew former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler, who was driving the car during the crash that killed both Sadler and Foltz this past summer.

After the accident, Wogan called Michigan State kicker Michael Geiger to offer his support. Wogan had been closer with Geiger's teammate Sadler, but he had kept in touch with Foltz, too, via social media.

Early last week, Wogan was considering ways to honor Foltz; he thought about wearing No. 27 himself for the game. He took his ideas to Helfrich.

"He was like, look, I've already thought about it – what do you think about this idea?'" Wogan recalled. "I was like, coach, that's perfect."

They passed the idea on to Oregon's equipment staff to help execute. Thus did lead football equipment manager Kenny Farr find himself at close to midnight Friday in the team's hotel lobby in Lincoln, Neb., awaiting delivery from a local florist.

Wogan and Helfrich walked the flowers out to the 27-yard line soon after the team arrived at the stadium, some two hours prior to kickoff. The fans already in their seats, primarily students, erupted in a cheer.

"I thought it was going to be pretty low-key," Wogan said. "But when I laid those flowers down, it was tough not to shed a tear. It was pretty neat."

85473

At practice Monday, Wogan was wearing a rubber bracelet memorializing Foltz, which he picked up in Nebraska over the weekend. A devout Christian himself, Wogan called Foltz "a brother in faith."

"I know where he's at," Wogan said. "But it's tough."

Practice highlights: The travel squad went head-to-head just once, in 7-on-7. With the ones on the field, Troy Dye did a nice job of defeating a block and blowing up a screen play. Shortly after that, Dakota Prukop looked to pass, took a second to survey his options and then found tight end Evan Baylis deep over the middle. For the twos, Jalen Brown had a cool highlight, running a route over the middle. The ball was thrown a little behind him, so he turned back to catch it and just kept on rotating his body, turning the attempt to reach back for the ball into a spin move past a linebacker as well. …

The scouts made a couple plays during the last team period, which emphasized pass plays. Dexter Myers won a jump ball for an interception on the offensive field, and Dylan Kane had multiple receptions during the period on the defensive field. Kane was scout-team player of the week for his efforts in practice leading up to the Nebraska game.

Other observations: Helfrich said Sunday the coaches were generally pleased with the new-look secondary at Nebraska. That was backed up today when the group of cornerback Arrion Springs and Tyree Robinson and safeties Khalil Oliver and Brenden Schooler remained together. … Cameron Hunt was back at his usual right guard spot with the first unit after being benched in the second half Saturday. …

Helfrich seemed pleased with the energy level as the Ducks looked to bounce back from defeat, particularly as it was reflected in the team's pre-snap communication. "Teams that start to disintegrate, it gets quieter and quieter," Helfrich told the team afterward. "This was our loudest Monday." From the sideline, it seemed like Johnny Ragin III and Brown were among the guys helping set that tone. … Oregon's game next week at Washington State will kick off in the evening, at 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Networks utilized the option to wait until six days out to finalize TV slots, meaning the picks will be made Sunday. ... In the wake of the 13-penalty performance at Nebraska, practice began with what Springs noted below was, "a lotta up-downs. A lotta, lotta up-downs."

Interviews:

Junior defensive tackle Austin Maloata

Junior cornerback Arrion Springs

Junior running back Kani Benoit