Fall Ball Takeaways: Ducks start playing ‘real football’ with full pads in practice No. 6
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 media was on site.
Hitch Tackle Drills
Once again, wide receivers and defensive backs lined up against each other in a tackling drill that was made to emulate the defender breaking down and attempting to bring down a ball-carrier after they caught a hitch route. The matchups were as follows:
Troy Franklin vs. Bennett Williams
Chase Cota vs. Khamari Terrell
Dont’e Thornton vs. Steve Stevens
Isaah Crocker vs. Christian Gonzalez
Isaiah Brevard vs. Donovan Dalton
Kris Hutson vs. Daymon David
Kyler Kasper vs. Bryan Addison
Memphis Drill
A new drill that we saw on Thursday was called the “Memphis Drill,” pitting running backs against linebackers in an open-field tackling drill. It is meant to emulate an RB catching a swing pass out to the right side near the sideline, with the LB pursuing and making the tackle. The matchups were as follows:
Byron Cardwell vs. Mase Funa
Noah Whittington vs. Keith Brown
Seven McGee vs. Noah Sewell
Jordan James vs. Jeffery Bassa
Sean Dollars vs. Justin Flowe
Noah Whittington vs. Harrison Taggart
Jordan James vs. Jackson LaDuke
From what I could see, the most notable play here came in the matchup between Dollars and Flowe. During the play, Flowe over-pursued Dollars to the outside, allowing the RB to cut up inside and leave the LB in the dust.
Sewell also had a nice play against McGee, forcing him out of bounds, but was encouraged by Dan Lanning to not lead with his head as much as he did. Bassa was also encouraged to do the same in the rep right afterward.
Special Teams
In the usual special teams drills that Oregon went through right after the stretching period, the kick returners once again went through reps down-field. The first pair of returners were Byron Cardwell and Mar’Keise Irving, followed by Sean Dollars and Noah Whittington.
Scouting Update
There once again were some NFL scouts on hand at the practice, watching from the sideline. From what media members could make out, the following teams were represented:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Buffalo Bills
Los Angeles Chargers
