Football Practice Report: April 5
04/05/17 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The Ducks held their first practice under new coach Willie Taggart on Wednesday morning.
Venue: Outdoor practice fields
Format: Helmets only
Spring practice opened for the Oregon football team Wednesday. In some ways it was the comforting resumption of a traditional spring routine, and in other ways it very much had the feel of a fresh start.
"It's a big day always, the first day, right?" new offensive line coach Mario Cristobal said in his gathering with local media, interviews that will now take place prior to practice rather than afterward. "A lot of hope, a lot of excitement."
That's particularly the case for the Ducks this month, as they kick off their efforts to bounce back from a 4-8 season. And they do so under a new coaching staff led by Willie Taggart, who wore a black visor and had a yellow whistle dangling from his neck as he led the UO football team through practice for the first time.
From the outset, things were a bit different. Rather than lining up as a full squad the length of the field for pre-practice stretching, the Ducks broke into three groups: linemen; defensive backs and receivers; and everybody else. Strength coaches put the different groups through slightly different routines. Then, rather than doing jumping jacks in unison to cap stretching, the team did air squats to the cadence of "D-U-C-K-S."
The Ducks still employ a PA system that blasts music, and also announces the transition from one practice period to the next. Early on, there was an ominous message: "Starting period one: Insanity." Despite the scary name, though, the first period was similar to the "fuji" up-tempo 11-on-11 drill the previous staff used to jump-start practices. As Taggart said Tuesday, there's not much if anything that the new staff is doing exactly as it was done before.
From there, the routine was generally familiar. Position-specific drills, then one-on-one drills, 3-on-2 situations, 7-on-7, and finally team periods. There are only so many ways to format a football practice, after all.
Position drills, though, were a chance for the new coaches to establish their voices with players. Receivers coach Michael Johnson was encouraging but demanding.
"Hey, we need to pick it up!" Johnson yelled during one of the first periods. "We're too slow! We're walking!"
A few minutes later, players seemed to have gotten the message, though Johnson continued to coax them on. "We've gotta work harder than that, guys," he said. "We're going three-quarter speed."
After about an hour, the practice clock turned over to period 13. This turned out to be a five-minute break. Players broke into position groups and met with their coaches, a twist on the "teach" periods we used to see.
From there, it was on to 7-on-7 and team drills. In the end Taggart, like Johnson to start the day, was encouraging but demanding of more in his post-practice address to the team.
"It was a good day," the new head coach said. "It wasn't a great day; it was a good start."
Early depth chart: Here's how the Ducks generally lined up over the course of the day …
QB: Justin Herbert, Terry Wilson Jr.
RB: Royce Freeman, Tony Brooks-James/Kani Benoit
WR: Darren Carrington II, Malik Lovette
TE: Jacob Breeland, Ryan Bay/Cam McCormick
LT: Brady Aiello, Tyrell Crosby/Logan Bathke
LG: Shane Lemieux, Evan Voeller/Sam Poutasi
C: Jake Hanson, Doug Brenner/Zach Okun
RG: Jake Pisarcik, Valentino Daltoso
RT: Calvin Throckmorton, Jacob Capra
WR: Charles Nelson, Darrian McNeal
WR: Dillon Mitchell, Dylan Kane/Alex Ofodile
DE: Jalen Jelks, Elijah George/Hunter Kampmoyer
DT: Gary Baker, Jordon Scott
DE: Henry Mondeaux, Gus Cumberlander
OLB: Jonah Moi, Bryson Young
ILB: Danny Mattingly, A.J. Hotchkins
ILB: Troy Dye, Kaulana Apelu/Blake Rugraff
OLB: Jimmie Swain, La'Mar Winston Jr./Keith Simms
CB: Arrion Springs, Ugochukwu Amadi
CB: Tyree Robinson, Ty Griffin/Thomas Graham Jr.
S: Brenden Schooler, Brady Breeze
S: Khalil Oliver, Mattrell McGraw/Juwaan Williams
Highlights: The freshman who jumped out the most to me was Graham. He jumped a route in one-on-one drills for an interception, and had another in team drills when Wilson scrambled away from pressure coming from his left and rolled out against the grain to the right, then threw a pass that Graham picked off. … Another new addition, quarterback Braxton Burmeister, caught my eye on a rep in 7-on-7. He used his eyes to get a linebacker to bite on a screen pass, which helped a tight end get wide open over the top. Burmeister's throw was a little too long, but the way he used his eyes to influence the defense stood out. …
In the team periods that closed practice, the defense seemed ahead of the offense a bit, which is typical for the start of a camp, be it spring or fall. Herbert and the ones were kept off the scoreboard, and the second possession for the offense ended with Graham's interception of Wilson. Travis Jonsen finally led a touchdown drive, capped off by a short Brooks-James run. Hotchkins and Dye had made tackles inside the 10-yard line prior to the touchdown play, but James' persistence paid off.
Other observations: Along with Burmeister, the new additions to the program for spring quarter included the receiver McNeal, safety Billy Gibson and defensive lineman Rutger Reitmaier. They joined true freshman classmates Graham, Scott and kicker Adam Stack, who enrolled in January. … On the other hand, the group of offseason departures from the program included punter Ian Wheeler and linebacker Eric Briscoe Jr. … Defensive tackle Rex Manu, running back Taj Griffin, defensive lineman Drayton Carlberg, safety Ronnie Rust, defensive end Justin Hollins and defensive lineman Riley Greene all were limited participants. …
To bolster depth at tight end, the position group added former linebacker Matt Mariota, former defensive lineman Drake Brennan and former linebacker Ivan Faulhaber for the start of spring. Lovette moved back to receiver from defensive back, and Young is now an outside linebacker rather than a defensive end. … There were officials on hand for practice, something the previous staff usually employed for major scrimmages. … A good chunk of the team missed the final few periods in order to get cleaned up and over to campus for class. …
After practice, Taggart addressed the team and then called safeties coach Keith Heyward to the front of the huddle for some "wise words." Heyward made a few brief remarks, not enough for Taggart, who said, "I need some more wise words." Schooler was summoned to address the team next. "Don't be complacent," was his message. "Always strive to get better, even if it's something you think you're good at."
Pre-practice interviews:
Co-offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal
Sophomore quarterback Justin Herbert
