Football Practice Report: Oct. 8
10/08/17 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
A day after making his first collegiate start, Oregon's freshman quarterback led the Ducks back out onto the practice fields Sunday.
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Helmets and shorts
A benefit of practicing the day after a game is that, in the event of a loss such as Saturday's to Washington State, there's little time to dwell. For quarterback Braxton Burmeister, though, it was a performance that demands reflection, of everything he can learn from his first collegiate start.
Burmeister was back at the helm of the UO offense Sunday night, beginning with a period of 7-on-7 drills. He still had a tendency to air out his deep balls a tad, but on shorter routes he was much more decisive and accurate a day after going 15-of-27 for 145 yards and a touchdown against the Cougars.
"I think he feels a heck of a lot better now, knowing what it's like," head coach Willie Taggart said following Sunday's practice. "He knows what it feels like to get hit in college. Now he can get back to that feeling of just playing football."
Burmeister enrolled at Oregon in the spring and so had a head start on preparation for the 2017 season. That said, since games began this fall he's been primarily an observer, as starter Justin Herbert and backup Taylor Alie got the majority of practice reps.
That changed a week ago, after both Herbert and Alie left the win over California with injuries. Suddenly, Burmeister went from on track to redshirt, to starting against the No. 11 team in the country.
"Last week was kind of like his first full week," Taggart said. "So you expected some hiccups. But as we get better around him, you'll see improvement."
Taggart echoed comments he made postgame Saturday, that the rest of the offense didn't do enough to help Burmeister in his starting debut. Part of that can be cleaned up by the guys who did play against WSU; part of that will be addressed by some injured players returning, particularly at receiver.
"The better we get around him, the better he'll be," Taggart said. "That's a big part of it for him."
Practice highlights: Burmeister just missed on a deep ball to Darrian McNeal that opened 7-on-7. But he connected on some nice intermediate routes, one by Daewood Davis on which the speedy freshman cut off his route and made a nice grab of a Burmeister pass that had some mustard on it. … Later in the period, Jimmie Swain was all over Taylor Stinson, but Burmeister zipped a ball into a small window that allowed the tight end to make the grab. …
Alie had a completion to Malik Lovette on a similar route, firing a ball in between two defenders. … The biggest play of the period was a nice checkdown by Demetri Burch to a wide-open Ryan Bay, who rumbled for a touchdown. … In 11-on-11, Burmeister connected with Kani Benoit, who went 55 yards to the house.
Other observations: Both Charles Nelson and Dillon Mitchell did some drills, a welcome sight at a position where the Ducks were a little thin Saturday night. … Deommodore Lenoir played some safety last week, but was back working with the corners Sunday. Presumably the anticipated return of Nick Pickett some time soon is a factor there; Pickett suited up but didn't play Saturday. … Oddity pointed out by a reader – after Sampson Niu's debut Saturday, linebacker Isaac Slade-Matautia is the only healthy true freshman on defense still slated for a redshirt. Seven guys on that side of the ball have played.
