Football Practice Report: Oct. 10
10/10/17 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
A key to getting untracked offensively would be the return to health of some receivers at Stanford on Saturday (8 p.m. PT, FS1).
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Shells
When practice began following a walk-through Tuesday, the Ducks went into their two-minute drill dubbed "Insanity." The first few passes off quarterback Braxton Burmeister's hand were incomplete, but the offense got going when Charles Nelson caught a short pass, cut behind a block by Jacob Breeland and advanced up the field.
As practice progressed, it was Dillon Mitchell who became Burmeister's target of choice. In 7-on-7, Mitchell went up and beat a defensive back for a 50-50 ball, a bit of playmaking the Ducks sorely missed without Nelson and Mitchell in last week's loss to Washington State.
As Saturday's game at Stanford approaches, the Ducks have yet to declare Nelson and Mitchell all the way back. But their eventual return is eagerly anticipated.
"No one has more experience than Charles in big games," co-offensive coordinator and QB coach Marcus Arroyo said. "And we miss him obviously. But he's got to get healthy, and Dillon's got to get healthy."
Getting healthy at receiver isn't the only place where the Oregon offense will look for help this week. The Ducks also want to be sharper along the offensive line, after struggling to adjust to Burmeister's cadence and with an active WSU defensive front last week.
The Stanford front presents a different challenge, but the Ducks will expect to see movement like WSU's stemming and twisting the rest of the season. To work on cadence, the first period of drills following "Insanity" on Tuesday addressed just that.
The offense lined up in formation, the quarterback had to loudly bark the snap count and the line fired off the ball, hitting a blocking sled. Burmeister was too quiet early in the WSU game, leading to some false start penalties, but on Tuesday it seemed like the Ducks were getting off the line in unison.
Such is the development process with a young quarterback in the wake of his first start.
"There's a lot you want back usually – some things you didn't even anticipate," Arroyo said. "Things like not being able to communicate loud enough at certain times. … That's part of the growing process. That's part of the lumps we take when a guy goes out there and has had single-digit snaps."
At Stanford on Saturday, the Ducks hope they'll take fewer lumps. Getting Nelson and Mitchell back, or even just one, would go a long way toward helping in that.
Other highlights: The day began with a "bulls in the ring" drill. Safety Nick Pickett and receiver Malik Lovette locked up in an extended battle that Pickett won, and Jacob Capra evened things out for the offense when Drayton Carlberg lost his footing and tumbled to the turf. … Mitchell made plays throughout the day, but in a rep during 1-on-1 drills, Deommodore Lenoir ran stride for stride with him on a deep route and slapped the ball away. …
Kani Benoit and Darrian Felix broke off long runs against the scout team, despite the Ducks being in a period of primarily run plays that made the play-calling somewhat predictable. Austin Faoliu blasted through the line to drop Felix in the backfield later in the drill, and Sampson Niu came up with an interception when Tony Brooks-James bobbled a reception. … Taylor Alie fired passes to Johnny Johnson III and Breeland in 7-on-7, as Alie and Burmeister traded QB reps throughout the morning.
Other observations: The Ducks were in shells rather than full pads. Afterward, Taggart got after the team a little bit about the intensity on what overall was a pretty subdued practice. … Demetri Burch was back in a red non-contact jersey with the other quarterbacks, for the first time since August. … Offensive line coach Mario Cristobal has leaned hard on his starting five of late. But he said prior to practice he wants to take advantage of his depth, and later during practice there was a period in which Jake Pisarcik played center and Brady Aiello was at right tackle.
Pre-practice interviews:
Co-offensive coordinator and QB coach Marcus Arroyo
Co-OC and offensive line coach Mario Cristobal
