After a less than stellar performance against San José State, No. 20 Oregon football returned to practice looking to work out the kinks before its big game against No. 7 Stanford.
With two turnovers and a couple drops against the Spartans, Oregon’s offense will have to play better to stay with the Cardinal.
Here is offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo talking to the media about last week’s game and a few standout players.
Q: What was the evaluation of the offense [against San José State] and what did you like after film review?
A: “There were some times in there in the game where I felt like we had some miscues and stuff like that. More than anything, I think the thing we got to learn was it’s hard to do things right all the time no matter who you’re playing, unless you execute correctly. That’s the biggest thing we preach. You guys have heard it since camp, is doing the right things, regardless of who you are playing. You can make it easy or you can make it hard. [San José State] played hard, but we did some things that really put ourselves in jeopardy. That’s what comes back to, we always preach ‘Oregon cannot beat Oregon.’ And that’s the biggest thing we’re focused on.”
Q: What did you see from [running back] CJ Verdell on Saturday?
A: “CJ continues to do a nice job. All of our backs are all different and in different stages. They all do a few different things, but they’ve all got a special gift in one way or another. CJ did a really nice job. [He] continues to progress as a young guy. We’re excited about him.”
Q: Now that Tyler [Shough] is a snap away, where is he in his progression?
A: “Anytime you got a rotation at quarterback and you get another true freshman that’s gonna potentially have to go in, I think we are taking the appropriate steps. He continues to develop everyday. Just like anything else, when you see that come to light, when you’re like ‘Oh wow, I’m one snap away truly now,’ you hope there’s not too much of a mindset, but the reality of it is, he’s really done a nice job this week getting in early and getting a little bit more. We’ll be ready to get him rolling.”
Q: What makes Cyrus [Habibi-Likio] such a good goal line guy?
A: “He’s earned that spot. Just like everybody else. We saw some things in camp that he did in short yard yardage situations. He displayed really good vision in a muddy area in those situations where it gets real tight. It’s proven that what you see and what you get in practice shows up in games. He’s done a real nice job.”
Q: What have you seen from Johnny Johnson III the last few weeks?
A: “Johnny’s continued to show he’s a huge effort guy for us and makes big plays. I think Johnny is a lot like Justin. He’s never satisfied. I think one little thing can really motivate him. I think there’s a couple things we’re always striving to get better at, but Johnny continues to be a leader and a great part of our offense.”