One completion was all Justin Roper needed to set the tone at Oregon’s spring game Saturday.
On his first play as the White team’s starting quarterback, the sophomore watched as tight end Ed Dickson slipped past his defender and lobbed a strike that ended as a 67-yard completion on the Green team’s 8-yard line.
Roper took the next snap, scrambled to his left and found himself in the end zone.
It would be a recurring theme for the White team, winning 36-3 in front of more than 14,000 fans at Autzen Stadium in a much sharper display than any of the previous spring scrimmages.
“That first series it was obviously sort of a ‘Wow,’” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. “He showed some things that he did in the Civil War and the bowl game that I feel really pleased about.”
Roper would finish 3-of-7 for 82 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Jaison Williams late in the second quarter. He and fellow White team quarterbacks Cade Cooper and Cody Kempt displayed some of the elusiveness usually expected from freshmen Green team quarterbacks Darron Thomas and Chris Harper.
“Definitely in the spread you have to have a guy under center who can run the ball and be effective with his feet,” Roper said. “I’m usually am not that kind of guy but it was fun to get some experience doing it.”
After a stellar round of spring practices, running back LeGarrette Blount turned in another trademark punishing performance on the ground, rushing for 68 yards on five carries – almost half of which came on his first carry of 32 yards.
The Green team, coached by defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti and led by freshmen quarterbacks Thomas and Harper, wasn’t without its moments.
Harper, who enrolled in school early for spring quarter, ran for 14 yards on his first carry, then orchestrated a 12-play, 61-yard drive in the first quarter that resulted in a 36-yard field goal by Daniel Padilla.
The 6-foot-2, 230 pound quarterback showed his dual-threat potential by rushing for 67 yards and completing two passes for 73 yards. Malachi Lewis’ one-handed catch of a 53-yard pass from Harper in the second quarter sent up a roar from the crowd, but like seven other drives by the Green team, it ultimately netted zero points. Two Green drives at the end of each half ended within the five-yard line.
“I think Chris Harper, with the ball in his hands is as dangerous a quarterback as we’ve had,” Bellotti said.
Thomas left the game with a rolled left ankle after going 3-of-13 for 17 yards with an interception by interior lineman Ra’Shon Harris, which led to a White touchdown.
“We want to be the best defense in the nation, not just in the Pac-10,” Harris said. “You know you can quote that in big words, we want to be the best defense in the nation.”
Sophomore middle linebacker Casey Matthews led his White teammates with 10 tackles and two sacks. On special teams, Daniel Padilla, Matt Evensen and Justin Dougherty all converted their field goal attempts, including Evensen’s 50-yarder in the third quarter.
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