The Oregon football team was back at it for the fourth practice of a young fall camp on Tuesday, and head coach Mario Cristobal has liked what he’s seen so far.
“I love the way we’re competing in practice,” Cristobal said. “If numbers were off the jerseys, it’d be hard to tell who’s competing. It’d be tough to say who’s an incumbent guy, who’s fighting for a spot, who’s a freshman. It’s been open season for spots.”
There are plenty of experienced returners coming back on both sides of the ball, but to fill out the depth, underclassmen are going to have to play a big role in 2019.
“There’s a lot of freshmen that are going to see a lot of action,” Cristobal said. “This last class, this next class, they’re all guys that are going to have to come in here and play.”
It’s been made clear throughout the early portion of fall camp that there are going to be opportunities for younger players to get on the field early and often, and a number of those freshmen have already made an impact.
“I keep forgetting [Kayvon Thibodeaux] is a freshman,” senior linebacker La’Mar Winston Jr. said. “Mase [Funa], Jamal [Hill], oh my gosh, that guy…he’s a baller for sure.”
Senior wide receiver Brenden Schooler did not participate in practice and won’t be able to in the near future due to a foot injury. With the season opener a little over three weeks out, it doesn’t appear likely that he’ll be ready for the season opener on August 31 against Auburn.
“Brenden hurt his foot. He had a procedure done yesterday. It will probably be six weeks optimistically, eight weeks realistically before he’s back,” Cristobal said. “The thing about Brenden…he’s not only a great player, he’s a great leader. Feel terrible for him because he’s a tremendous human being. He means a lot to the guys out there.”
Sophomore cornerback Daewood Davis and freshman offensive lineman Justin Johnson were both limited in practice as well on Tuesday, but all signs point to them both being full-go on Wednesday. Tight end Cam McCormick, also, remains on the sideline for the beginning of fall camp with an injury.
The team will be back on the practice field from Wednesday through Saturday. They’ll get a day off Sunday, then resume on Monday.
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