Spring is finally here, (we hope), and for some that means the return of the little, round, white ball.
Others herald the coming of NBA games that actually matter, making them infinitely more watchable than the winter variety.
The Masters (a tradition unlike any other, according to CBS execs) captures the attention and imagination of some.
All of the above appeal to me, as an admitted addict. But this is my first spring as a beat writer for the Emerald, and though next spring will be a much more complete experience for Duck fans with the resurrection of Oregon baseball, this is my first experience with spring football drills.
For me, it’s filling a big void.
Because much like the hope that baseball fans feel on opening day, college football fans are in the same place right now, emotionally.
Everyone has a clean slate, everyone has a chance at a new beginning, and everyone can at least hope that “this is the year.”
Fall camp has a much more serious tone. The start of the season is imminent and its approach is reflected in the increased intensity of practices. (And the new crop of gray hairs that adorn coaches’ scalps.)
But spring is all about player development, not game planning, and the coaches can actually coach the game rather than prepare for one.
Don’t get me wrong, these coaches only coach one way: all out. Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti is still demanding his players’ attention with a colorful tapestry of expletives delivered in his trademark raspy tone. Defensive line coach Michael Gray’s gruff bark echoes across the Autzen grounds like some hellish mix between a drill sergeant and a German shepherd. The pace is fast, the drills intense and the coming season’s imminence still ever-present, just not knocking on the door.
From what I’ve seen in one day of practice, and what I’ve seen as a beat writer for Oregon football for the past year, this team will enter fall camp with the same big question mark that it faced last season: Who is the quarterback? And then, can that person get the job done?
Last season, we all knew who the running backs, receivers and key defensive players would be. Yes, there were surprises (Matt Harper at free safety for one, Nick Reed another, Aaron Pflugrad and Jeffrey Maehl two more), but most of the positions were filled by known quantities.
And after the “who” question was answered and Dennis Dixon was proclaimed the starter by Chip Kelly, we all wondered, and rightfully so after the end of his junior season, “Can he do it?”
This team is in the same boat, and will still be there come fall camp, and until the games begin. We all know what Jeremiah Johnson, Jaison Williams, Ed Dickson and the bevy of seniors on the offensive line are capable of. We all thanked the heavens when Patrick Chung stayed for one more season, solidifying the secondary as the strength of this defense, and we all know the kind of havoc that the likes of Nick Reed, Walter Thurmond, Jairus Byrd and Jerome Boyd can wreak on an opposing offense.
But who will take the reins of Oregon’s trademark high-voltage offense? And beyond that, no matter who is chosen, how well can they complete the task?
Many say that quarterback is the most important position on a college football team. The records of young quarterbacks as opposed to veteran quarterbacks in the Pacific-10 Conference supports that theory. Going into my second season covering Duck football, and seeing the same issue as the main one on the horizon, I’m inclined to believe it.
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