Spring Ball Takeaways: Ducks open 2023 season with new faces, new energy
In the world of college football, the first day of spring football feels like the first day of school in many senses. You get to see the new kids in town, whether they came from the high school level or from elsewhere in the country via the transfer portal. You also get to see all of your old friends, checking out their new clothes (or new numbers) and looking to see what type of growth spurts they went through while you were away.
Then you get to see all of your favorite teachers once again, and some potential new teachers — A’lique Terry, Mike Cavanaugh, Chris Hampton, etc. — who came to school while you were away.
It’s an exciting time, and there was a ton of energy present when the Oregon Ducks took the field at the Hatfield Downlin-Complex on a brisk Thursday morning in Eugene.
The structure of practice was similar to what we’ve seen in the past; an open stretching period to start things off, followed by special teams drills, ball security drills, and then individual work. Here are some of the notable takeaways from the first day of practice.
New Numbers to Note
There are a number of returning Ducks with new numbers to note, and a handful of notable incoming Ducks, be it transfers or incoming freshmen who have picked out what numbers they will be wearing in Oregon.
For all of the new numbers, you can read this article.
Will Stein's New Look QB Room
While there are three returning QBs from last year’s roster — Bo Nix, Ty Thompson, and Marcus Sanders — the addition of freshman Austin Novosad and an implementation of some new QB drills had that position group drawing some attention early on.
While under Kenny Dillingham, the group would start the individual drill by warming up with some long toss — something that Thompson always impressed with because of his arm strength — it was now more of a footwork-centric operation, with the four passers focusing on dropping back, rolling out, and making sure they had the proper technique while holding onto the ball.
Austin Novosad has some zip on the ball
It was a chilly morning in Eugene, with my watch reading 32 degrees the entire time we were out there watching practice. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the quarterbacks who were playing catch, particularly Marcus Sanders, who was paired up with true freshman Austin Novosad. There was some real zip on his passes, and it appeared that he had a lot of strength to show. Of course, I’m not saying that he can throw harder than Bo Nix or Ty Thompson, but I definitely noticed some pop on his ball. I can’t wait to watch him throw some routes in the days to come.
Recruits in Town
There were some notable recruits in Eugene for visits this week, many of whom were taking in the first practice of the year. We have a visitor list for guys expected to come to town over the next month, but we saw players like Bryce West, Aaron Flowers, Ify Obidegwu, and Jaylen McClain out at practice on Thursday.
George Silva is a large human
We didn’t get to see much from the offensive line before we were asked to leave practice in the way of position lineups, but we did get to see them go through some drills getting off the line. My biggest takeaway? Incoming JUCO OT George Silva is a massive human being. Listed at 6-foot-7, 295-pounds, Silva looks every bit of it, and he likely will push for a starting spot on the OL this season.
