It’s tough to tell whether many of Oregon football’s special teams questions were answered after Saturday afternoon’s Spring Game. Both teams battled weather conditions ranging from humid to monsoon before capping the day off with some sunshine.
The White squad made sure their kickoff unit was ready to go as junior Chad Peppars blew up redshirt freshman return man Kenjon Barner on the opening kickoff.
Peppars, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound rover, had an outstanding game on both defense and special teams. He led all tacklers with 10 takedowns, nine of which were unassisted. Peppars also blocked two field goals throughout the day, proving he could make an impact anywhere on the field.
“Oh man, I just read the ball. They called it to my side and I got a real good start and I knew I was going to block it as soon as I got off the ball,” Peppars said. “I was real happy I got (it).”
Peppars, who was sidelined from competition last fall after being ruled academically ineligible for the 2008 season, will look to come back and make an impact anywhere that he can this year.
“Coach (Tom) Osborne is always talking about ‘making the bus,’” said Peppars, “and guys that can contribute on special teams are going to make it.”
As far as the other special teams units were concerned, there is still quite a bit that special teams head coach Tom Osborne will have to figure out over the course of the summer. After Saturday’s torrential downpour, neither kicker really got a good opportunity to show what they can do.
For the White team, senior Morgan Flint was 2-2 on extra point attempts, while the Green squad’s sophomore kicker Daniel Padilla also went a perfect 3-3 on PATs.
“I felt good. I only got to hit a couple PATs,” Flint said. “But at the very least I proved that I’m not going to mess up on those.”
And for an Oregon squad that will feature two of the nation’s top kicking prospects next fall, Mike Bowlin and Jackson Rice, both in on scholarship, Flint and Padilla will each be battling for a consistent spot on the roster.
Both field goal units struggled throughout the game on Saturday, going a combined 0-5, including Peppars’ two big blocks. Padilla missed on attempts of 34 and 42 yards while Oregon’s third kicker, redshirt freshman Rob Beard, missed a 51-yard attempt.
The game featured kickoffs at the start of the first and third quarters, though neither team got much going on their lone return. Barner picked up 14 yards on the game’s opening kickoff before Peppars laid the game’s first big hit, while redshirt freshman Scott Grady fielded the second-half kickoff for the White team, taking the ball 18 yards before being brought down.
Neither team brought out a punt team, as it only has one punter on the roster in junior Tim Taylor.
It will be interesting to see how the Ducks address their special teams issues as they enter camp this summer.
“Most of the issues were young guys that need a lot more reps and aren’t ready yet,” defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said of the scrimmage.
The Ducks will now spend some time fine-tuning things before they match up with the Boise State Broncos for the 2009-10 season opener on Sept. 3.
[email protected]