Football Practice Report: April 25

Photo by: Andy McNamara/GoDucks.com

04/25/17 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley

Oregon's secondary came up with several turnovers during Tuesday's spring practice, four days prior to Saturday's Spring Game.

By: Rob Moseley

Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Full pads

When the Oregon football team has been at its best in recent years, the Ducks have been defined by a high-scoring, fast-paced offense. But opportunistic defense has been just as much a hallmark of the very best UO teams of the last few years.

The 2010 team that played for the BCS championship was second in the FBS with 37 takeaways. The 2014 Ducks, who also played for a national title, had 34 takeaways, better than all but two other FBS teams. And the 2012 team considered by some the best in UO history – its only loss was a controversial overtime defeat to Stanford – led the entire FBS with 40 takeaways.

That opportunism hasn't been on display the last couple falls; the Ducks slipped to 43^rd nationally with 22 takeaways in 2015, and then all the way to 118^th in 2016 with just 12 forced turnovers. But there have been signs the 2017 group might reverse that trend – Arrion Springs intercepted the first pass attempt in each of Oregon's two scrimmages this spring. And Tuesday's practice featured more big plays from the secondary.

In 7-on-7, freshman Thomas Graham got his hands on the first two passes thrown by Travis Jonsen with the No. 2 offense, though he couldn't haul in either; Kaulana Apelu did the deed on the third rep for that group, picking off a pass over the middle. Graham did come up with an interception during the first extended segment of 11-on-11 drills, when Braxton Burmeister didn't quite get enough on a deep ball to Cam McCormick.

Springs picked off a Burmeister pass in the next 11-on-11 segment, though Matt Mariota didn't give up on the play and punched the ball out as Springs was returning it. Ty Griffin also had a pick in that period, jumping in front of a Jonsen pass. And the final drill of Tuesday's practice, a "clutch" situation, featured yet another Graham interception, as Jonsen had a pass tipped at the line and the freshman cornerback returned it for a pick-six.

"That's gotta be a habit, going and getting the ball," UO coach Willie Taggart told the Ducks after practice. "Offense, we're gonna get the ball back to you."

Of note was the fact Herbert didn't throw any of those balls, after being picked on by Springs in the scrimmages. And also, while Taggart has been critical of the offense for not "flushing" mistakes quickly enough at times, he didn't see that Tuesday.

"The thing I do like is, when we gave one away, we came back from it," Taggart said. "But we've gotta limit those."

Today's #QuackClip from @oregonfootball Spring Practice:

Herbert dropping dimes to @DrakeBrennan and @dcisaballa24_7.#DoSomething pic.twitter.com/SJWnYemfRR
— Oregon Video (@QuackVideo) April 25, 2017

Highlights: The "clutch" drill opened with Herbert driving the ones into the red zone, by converting a couple fourth downs. But the second of those, a completion to Jacob Breeland, didn't leave enough time for the offense to spike the ball in time for a shot at the end zone. Credit to the D line for its work earlier in the series, forcing Herbert to throw the ball away under pressure and then sacking him on the next play, setting up third-and-long. Jalen Jelks got the sack … After Graham's interception with the twos, the drill was reset with the offense only needing a field goal. Herbert hit Darren Carrington II for a 57-yard completion on the first play, and two snaps later Tony Brooks-James ended the drill with a touchdown run, keyed by a McCormick block on A.J. Hotchkins. …

The opening team period showed the effectiveness of the new "Duck" defensive position. On the first series, starting "Duck" Fotu T. Leiato II tackled Royce Freeman for a loss, and also broke up a pass to Charles Nelson. With the twos up, backup "Duck" La'Mar Winston Jr. demanded a double team while defending a bunch formation to one side of the field; that allowed Graham to break through and stop a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage. … Jordon Scott had a couple really good battles with starting offensive linemen Shane Lemieux (below) and Jake Hanson in an Oklahoma drill. …

Jordon Scott is a tough man to move, even for an ox like Shane Lemieux. And @CoachJsalavea loves it. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/e3u8NQWLuo
— Rob Moseley (@DuckFootball) April 25, 2017

During the 9-on-7 run game drill, Brooks-James had a couple really nice cutback runs behind the No. 2 offensive line, which featured an interior of Sam Poutasi, Zach Okun and Charlie Landgraf. … In 1-on-1 drills at the other end of the field, Herbert hit Carrington with a deep ball on the first rep, and threw another beautiful ball on the next play, although Mattrell McGraw closed well on Nelson and prevented a reception. … On the play before Graham's interception of Burmeister's pass to McCormick, the freshman QB and redshirt freshman TE hooked up on a nice completion up the seam; McCormick held on despite absorbing a hit from Brady Breeze.

Observations: The period that featured interceptions by Springs and Griffin saw the No. 1 offense going against the no. 2 defense, and vice versa. As you might expect, the first-team groups generally got the better of things when they were on the field. …The punt team continues to be the special teams unit that does the most work together as a full unit. Tuesday the Ducks repped all the way down to a third unit, which featured Hunter Kampmoyer as the long snapper. …

Kampmoyer and Scott were lauded after practice by Taggart for repeatedly jumping in to take reps in the Oklahoma drill. Taggart noted after practice that coaches are "starting to see some dogs" who seek out such competition; conversely, they're also noticing when certain guys don't. … Graham was picked for post-practice "wise words," and told his teammates that "the word 'can't' should never be in a man's vocabulary." …

Hanson also delivered wise words, and spoke about finishing off the month of spring drills strong. "Keep working hard," he said. "Don't let all we've accomplished go to waste." … Former UO receiver Damon Griffin attended practice, one of several alumni who've been on hand throughout this spring. "We need them back, showing what being a Duck's all about," Taggart told the team.

Interviews:

Head coach Willie Taggart