Ducks start playing ‘real football’ with full pads

At long last, the Oregon Ducks are now playing “real football.”

It was a statement made popular by offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham last week when asked if four practices in helmets and shoulder pads was enough to evaluate some of the players on the team.

“We haven’t even had full pads yet. We haven’t played football yet. We played 7-on-7 a lot though,” Dillingham said.

That was no longer on Thursday. After taking a day off on Wednesday, the Ducks were back at it with full pads to start the second stint of fall camp. The intensity was palpable, as players were flying around and cracking pads back at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex.

Here are some of our biggest takeaways from the day:

Returning Players

There was at least one positive development at the start of practice on Thursday. Former starting offensive tackle Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu was seen walking into practice, though he did not have any pads on and was only sporting a jersey. While it’s clear that he is not yet back to a level where he can participate in practice, it’s good to have him back on the sideline.

On top of that, the road to recovery is well underway for both TJ Bass and Michael Wooten, both of whom were in full pads at practice and participating in drills in a minor fashion. Wooten was not in a walking boot, but did have trainers on, rather than cleats.

Defensive back Darren Barkins was also in full pads, but still sporting a club wrap on his left hand.

Absent Players

The list of absent players grew a little bit on Thursday. Media members were unable to locate OL Kanen Rossi, OL Kawika Rogers, DL Sua’ava Poti, and DL Maceal Afaese. It needs to be stated that the media was only allowed to watch about 20 minutes of practice, so there’s a chance that any or all of those players attended practice after the media left.

WR Cole Prusia and RB Ellis Bynum were also unaccounted for in the period where…