Format: Full pads
The Oregon football team was in full pads for practice Tuesday, and won’t be again until Saturday’s Spring Game.
So there was no reason to hold back on the hitting Tuesday, and the Ducks sure didn’t. Linemen battled in the trenches, safeties came up and whacked running backs, and running backs lowered their pads to return the favor. They were careful not to tackle to the ground, but there was no denying the physical nature of Tuesday’s practice.
Come Saturday, when the Spring Game kicks off in Autzen Stadium at 1 p.m., fans hopefully will get the same impression.
“I think you’re gonna see a really physical team,” UO coach Dan Lanning said Tuesday. “… We have been much more physical as a team this spring than I think we were last year.”
By the numbers, Saturday will be practice No. 14 for the Ducks this spring; between now and then is No. 13, on Thursday morning, a lighter workout leading up to the Spring Game.
But Saturday isn’t just another practice. The stands in Autzen will be packed, and coaches will see which players rise to the occasion.
Lanning will be watching for that, and more.
“We’d like to be penalty free, pre-snap and post-snap from a penalty standpoint,” he said. “We want to do a good job taking care of the ball, but we also want to attack the ball. And then ultimately, you just want to see that competition – guys go out there and treat it like a game. Have an opportunity to go get better, and take advantage of it.”
The Spring Game also is a chance to welcome alumni back to campus, with Marcus Mariota and Jevon Holland on hand as guest coaches, and many other UO football alumni also invited back. And the program’s future will be impacted by Saturday as well, with the Ducks scheduled to host several recruits over the weekend.
Hopefully, those recruits come away from the Spring Game eager to one day play for Oregon in Autzen Stadium themselves.
“Everybody here at Oregon needs to realize that they have an impact,” Lanning said. “We’re gonna have great players here on campus, (and) they have an impact for what that experience looks like. So they can help create that experience from a fan standpoint, from an administrative standpoint, from our staff standpoint, making that experience really unique and special for the guys that we have here on campus.”
Notable: Tuesday’s practice included a competition period of 1-on-1 special teams reps, with a blocker taking on a coverage player in tight space. It…
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