The first few games of the 2015 college football season begin today, but the Oregon Ducks still have two days to wait before their season opener against Eastern Washington at Autzen Stadium. During his final address to the media before the game, head coach Mark Helfrich said today is the day the coaching staff tries to cut the players loose.
“We try to cut the umbilical cord from the coaches and make them communicate, and they did a great job of it,” Helfrich said. “Our communication was really good today. I thought our defense in particular was the most vocal.”
Quarterback Vernon Adams, who won the starting job despite missing the first week of fall practice, has been putting in extra time to learn the playbook.
“I think [Adams] is in a good place from a game plan standpoint and knowledge standpoint,” Helfrich said. “His reaction to everything is going to be new for everybody.”
With new players like Adams and starting center Matt Hegarty, head coach Mark Helfrich said he focuses on how they respond to positive and negative events on the field in the first game.
“We try to make practice as hard and mentally challenging as possible for them, so when they get into a high-stress situation like a game, it’s almost easier for them to approach those things the same.”
Helfrich said he feels good about the team’s depth at quarterback but doesn’t want to find out how deep they are.
“Every position you think you have depth, but you don’t want to test it,” Helfrich said. “But we like those guys a lot, and we have a ton of confidence in all of them.”
In recent years’ season openers, Oregon has played a lot of true freshmen. The Ducks boast a lot of talented freshmen on their 2015 roster, but Helfrich said the coaching staff doesn’t have in mind an idea of how many of them will play. Rather than trying to get all of them on the field, Helfrich bases their playing time on their merits in practice.
“The only kind of conversation we have is who’s not playing—who is not eligible, in terms of redshirting,” Helfrich said. “At this point, everybody is our best guy.”
One freshman who Helfrich definitively said would play is Fotu Leiato. The 6’1” 200-pound safety made a name for himself during high school with a vicious highlight reel, in which he lays a series of punishing hits on opposing players during kickoffs. Helfrich said he may shift to linebacker if he grows in size.
“Fotu is a guy who plays a million miles an hour every snap, every special teams situation. The YouTube sensation hype was not just hype. That guy can bring it. He’ll be fun,” Helfrich said. “I can’t wait to see him covering kickoffs.”
In addition to Leiato, Helfrich said freshmen, cornerback Ty Griffin and wide receiver Kirk Merritt, who are listed second on the depth chart, are “unbelievable at covering kicks.”
Taj Griffin will have to fight for carries in a loaded backfield led by running back Royce Freeman. Freeman, a sophomore, has had the opportunity to mentor fellow tailbacks Kani Benoit and Tony Brooks-James, who sit beneath him on the depth chart.
“They come to me with questions, and since I’ve gone through the process a year before and got a considerable amount of playing time, I’m more than willing to help,” Freeman said. “I look to them for help, too, to have them check little things that I do wrong or things that I can work on. It’s a two-way road.”
Having already played a home-opener in an Oregon uniform, Freeman said the pregame jitters will be easier to control.
“Tomorrow, the juice is probably going to be flowing during the final practice leading up to it,” Freeman said. “Everyone is very excited.”
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