As football fans across the nation followed the NFL draft this past weekend, the Oregon football team held a draft of its own — maybe not of equal importance, but a draft nonetheless.
The Duck coaching staff divided late last week to compile the rosters for the upcoming spring game on Saturday. Sounds simple enough, but with Oregon football, things are always more complex than they seem.
“They had a strategy involved and it’s entirely up to them,” second-year head coach Chip Kelly said. “So if you took first pick at a position, then the other guy gets two picks at that position.”
This format prevents one team from drafting every player at a certain position, leaving the other team without a vital piece of the puzzle, which is why a player like Jordan Holmes can be the first player selected overall.
“It went by position, so center was the first up,” Kelly said. “So there wasn’t a No.1 pick, because if you don’t do it that way someone could steal all three centers and you can’t snap the ball.”
Neither team had trouble snapping the ball at practice Monday morning in what was dubbed another competition day for the Ducks. Competition days are usually the most concentrated practices throughout the week between the offense and defense, but as the fine-tuning for Saturday continues, Kelly decided to match the drafted teams against one another.
The white team, headed by senior quarterback Nate Costa, won the day with a final score of 116-114. Points are tallied through the duration of practice, though few of them actually come from reaching the end zone.
Costa will have the luxury of throwing to Oregon’s top receiving threat in Jeff Maehl, and will also have junior wideout Lavasier Tuinei and junior tight end Brandon Williams as down-field targets. Defensively, the white team has the upper hand in the secondary with Eddie Pleasant, Cliff Harris and Javes Lewis manning the back line.
Sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas will lead the green team and will have the better backfield of the two with both LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner lining up behind him. Thomas will have the sure-handed David Paulson on his side, as well as the senior D.J. Davis and sophomore Justin Hoffman at the wide receiver spots.
The green team took a trio of senior linebackers in Spencer Paysinger, Casey Matthews and Bryson Littlejohn. And up front the green team will have both starting exterior linemen with senior Kenny Rowe and junior Terrell Turner.
“There was a lot of strategy and (coaches) fired up going on in there,” Kelly said. “But as I told them, we won’t figure it out till we get to the game.
“Sometimes what they think is a good strategic pick may not be a good strategic pick.”
Not present for the draft, however, were the two Spring Game honorary coaches, Dan Fouts and Ahmad Rashad. Fouts and Rashad are expected to arrive in Eugene on Thursday and may get a chance to work with their respective teams at practice on Friday morning.
After becoming the first Oregon quarterback to eclipse 2,000 passing yards in a single season in 1972, Fouts enjoyed a 14-year NFL career with the San Diego Chargers and was eventually inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Fouts will work with Thomas and the green team on Saturday.
Rashad, a 1971 first-team All-American wide receiver for the Ducks, will lead Costa and the white team.
“They can yell at their general managers if they don’t like groups we picked,” Kelly said jokingly after practice.
Judging by the number of red jerseys on Monday, more than a handful of familiar faces will likely be sidelined for Saturday’s match up. Defensive backs Talmadge Jackson III, Marvin Johnson Jr., and Anthony Gildon still remained out of full-contact drills, while tight end Malachi Lewis, linebacker Josh Kaddu and offensive lineman Carson York are also not expected to participate.
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