Of all the units that took a hit this offseason, none is more apparent than the defensive line. But as the theme has been so far this spring, young guys and new faces are continuing to prove they’re ready for the limelight.
The fifth installment of practices showed just that in what was easily deemed the most physical day of workouts so far. In full pads and down roughly a dozen red jerseys — which indicates a player is ineligible for full-contact drills due to injury — Oregon head coach Chip Kelly made sure his players understood the importance of playing to the whistle.
“We’re just trying to get them to run to the ball a little bit more,” Kelly said. “That’s why we turned the music down. Sometimes I think they don’t know when the whistle blows so they are kind of stopping and going. We want full speed to the football.”
Kelly also had his dozen or so managers wave a pair of bright yellow socks high in the air to indicate to the video camera — which has no sound — the whistle has blown. But in the mix of it all, adjustments are still being made. However, Kelly says the depth charts and schemes are the last of his worries at this point in the year.
The second-year head coach was particularly impressed with the younger defensive lineman yesterday, especially the play of redshirt freshman Wade Keliikipi and redshirt sophomore Dion Jordan.
“Some of those younger guys are starting to take advantage of all the reps they’re getting.” Kelly said. “And those are two guys that are really standing out right now, along with Taylor Hart.”
The defensive line saw the departure of defensive end Will Tukuafu and defensive tackle Blake Ferras to graduation, leaving both spots open for competition this spring.
Junior defensive end Terrell Turner looks to be the frontrunner to take over for Tukuafu, while senior Zac Clark will likely play alongside the highly touted Brandon Bair on the interior line. Rose Bowl defensive MVP Kenny Rowe returns for his senior season at the other defensive end slot.
“They played so many snaps last year that they’re battle proven,” defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro said. “They’re just going to get better.”
Jordan, on the other hand, will have to learn on the fly this spring as he makes the transition from tight end to defensive end. The 6-foot-7-inch, 223-pound Jordan saw limited action at the tight end position during the regular season, though Azzinaro feels he has plenty of athleticism to make the transition smoothly.
Bair, who also made the transition from tight end to defensive end early on in his career, agrees with Azzinaro.
“Most tight ends played d-end in high school and they’ve got a good feel for it,” Bair said. “And when you move from tight end to d-end it’s almost a relief because you can just forget about most of the stuff you learned on offense and you can just play football and run and do your own thing.
“Dion is amazingly quick and fast — he’s not going to have a problem.”
Of the handful of returning defensive lineman, it’s clear that Azzinaro has the highest expectations for Bair after a standout 2009 season. He tallied the team’s eighth-best mark with 45 tackles last season, which included a career-high 10 tackles in the Ducks’ upset loss to Stanford on Nov. 7.
“He’s one of the top defensive linemen in the country, so I expect him to perform that way and he typically does.” Azzinaro said. “He’s got good effort and he really understands the game. When you work hard, as he does, and you have good athleticism, you get to
be productive.”
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