The Oregon football team held its first outdoor practice of the spring season Wednesday afternoon at Autzen Stadium for the first of two scrimmages the team will have this month. It was a sloppy performance at best for second-year head coach Chip Kelly’s highly potent offense, scoring only two touchdowns in 122 snaps.
“I thought they competed.” Kelly said. “We started off a little slow on both sides of the ball. Obviously our defense is ahead of our offense right now.”
The Duck defense almost entirely eliminated the offense’s passing attack, leaving the door open for Oregon’s deep running back unit. Senior Remene Alston shouldered most of the carries for the first-team offense after a quick exit by redshirt sophomores LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner.
Alston scored one of the game’s two touchdowns on a four-yard scamper, while the lone other score came on a short zone-read option run by redshirt sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas. Both he and senior Nate Costa saw action with the first team, though neither quarterback has set himself apart from the other at this point.
The second score of the day was set up by a nifty 65-yard punt return by Barner. He initially mishandled the punt for several seconds, and tacked on another 15 yards for a horse collar penalty — one of very few penalties on the day for either squad.
“I didn’t plan to see very much of LaMichael or Kenjon,” running back coach Gary Campbell said. “I wanted to work those other guys. I (already) know what those two guys can do.”
With the Pacific-10 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year attached to his name, it’s clear that James will take on the same role he did during 2009 despite being sidelined for the season opener against New Mexico on Sept. 4. At this point in the spring it doesn’t look like much will change for Barner in the regular season either, but for players like Alston and the other running back reserves, every snap during spring workouts can make a difference.
Campbell said in addition to Alston, redshirt freshman Craig Loper and junior Andres Reed both showed glimpses of being able to contribute during the regular season. But he also said that in order for Alston to hold down his spot as the No. 3 running back, he’ll have to improve his physique over the next few months.
“I think he needs to lose a little bit of weight so he gets his speed back.” Campbell said. “I’d like to get him back to where he was when he got here, I think that’ll help him. I want to see him play — he’s working hard.”
Alston, who rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns in five games last season, will also have to battle for playing time with two newcomers during summer camp when freshmen Lache Seastrunk and Dontae Williams arrive. Williams, a hardnosed and physical runner, should add another level of toughness to the Oregon backfield. Williams’ 6-foot, 205-pound frame makes him an early candidate to compete for playing time once he arrives.
Seastrunk, a five-star recruit from Temple, Texas, leads a deeply talented recruiting class for 2010 and has drawn comparisons to James, only faster and more elusive.
But as a seasoned coach like Campbell knows, nothing comes easily at first.
“Lache is a very talented guy,” Campbell said. “But I don’t know if you remember when Jonathan Stewart came here, he was a great athlete but he was still unable to beat Terrence Whitehead out because of the experience.”
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