The weather couldn’t have been better for the first scrimmage of the spring for the football team. Under clear skies and 70-degree weather, a smattering of fans lounged in the stands at Autzen Stadium to watch Chip Kelly’s first organized scrimmage as head coach.
“For a first scrimmage we got the number of plays we wanted,” Kelly said. “Forty-seven plays with the first string, and 42 with the second string. There’s just inconsistencies.”
That was obvious after the very first play from scrimmage. It began with a false start, but then-quarterback Jeremiah Masoli ran for 51 yards on the second play, then hit wide receiver Aaron Pflugrad for a 20-yard touchdown pass on the third play.
The second unit with Justin Roper at quarterback followed Masoli and the first squad. The defense shut down the run, with Remene Alston losing yards on three straight runs. The third squad didn’t do much better, with quarterback Darron Thomas fumbling a snap, then overthrowing two wide receivers.
“We played a little shaky,” tight end Ed Dickson said. “We got a lot of stuff to work on. But it was the first time we got to run around, so it was good.”
Shaky is the right word to describe the scrimmage. Both sides of the ball showed some rust, and youth was evident at a few positions.
But at quarterback, Masoli and Roper showed their experience. Masoli ended with 103 yards passing, completing 8-13 passes, and he threw three touchdowns. Roper finished with 95 yards passing and a touchdown and an interception.
“I thought Justin Roper was really consistent and threw the ball well,” Kelly said.
Even though Kelly was impressed with Roper, he was reserved when commenting on the progress of the offense. He said they were just “OK,” and he didn’t buy into the fact that the offense usually lags behind the defense early in the spring.
“You’re going to make mistakes,” Kelly said. “We had too many procedural penalties, but the first time you get referees you have to expect that. It was good that we got them out there though. It’s still a work in progress.”
Masoli was even willing to offer a grade for the day.
“I will give us a solid B,” he said. “It could have been better. Could have been a lot better. It was kind of sloppy.”
One area that showed promise, however, was the defense. Cornerbacks caused havoc, and linebackers filled holes and put big hits on guys.
“Oh, yeah. There were some big hits,” defensive end Will Tukuafu said. “It was good getting guys flying to the ball and getting the young guys a lot of time out there. We’re just trying to play fast. Play fast, run to the ball and play fundamental defense. Stick to your gaps, be where you’re supposed to be and stay on the ball.”
“They’re just young,” Kelly said. “I think our defense did some good things, they can create confusion at times, but they just need to become more consistent. But that’s to be expected with the age of some of those kids out there.”
But it’s still early in the spring. There were botched plays on all sides of the ball, and even though the defense played strong, the secondary dropped three easy interceptions. Part of that is youth, with 24 freshmen and even more players with no varsity experience.
Dickson says it will just take repetitions to eliminate some of that, and they will get their chance, with another scrimmage set for Saturday, followed by the Spring Game on May 2.
“By the time fall ball comes we should be rolling,” Dickson said. “It’s still early.”
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