With just over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday against Missouri State, an Oregon linebacker burst into the backfield and tackled running back Vernon Scott for a loss of two yards.
It would have been a fairly routine play, had it been made by a mainstay like Josh Kaddu, Kiko Alonso, or Boseko Lokombo. But it wasn’t a seasoned veteran busting this particular play before it could get started.
It was true freshman Rodney Hardrick.
With Oregon holding a commanding 56-7 lead, head coach Chip Kelly and Oregon’s coordinators seized the chance to play some of the team’s youngest, and greenest, players. Alongside Hardrick, fellow true freshman cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olumu, as well as redshirt freshmen James Scales and Dior Mathis, each saw significant playing time, giving Oregon’s coaches precious reels of fresh film to study and pass along to the players.
“Two weeks in a row we had an opportunity for guys to get some quality snaps,” Kelly said. “And we’ll get a chance to come in Monday and watch the film and coach them off the tape, and it’s really going to pay dividends for us down the road.”
Hardrick’s performance was perhaps the most notable. The three-star recruit from Colton, Calif., came away with three tackles (all solo), including two for a loss, and appeared to be comfortable on the field despite his lack of experience.
“After you get those jitters out, you start playing, and it’s just regular football,” Hardrick said. “Like high school. You’re out there playing, and do your assignment, know what you’re doing, beat the man you’re playing against.”
Having admitted to concerns earlier in the week about his unit’s depth, defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti jumped at the chance to play some of Oregon’s less proven players. With Pac-12 conference games fast approaching, everyone needed as many reps as possible.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s game, Aliotti felt a bit more comfortable, but there are still plenty of issues to work out.
“We’re still not as deep as I’d like to be at inside (line)backer,” Aliotti said. “But we’re working towards that end.”
Hardrick, for one, impressed Aliotti with his practices in the week leading up to the Missouri State matchup.
“I thought he really improved this week,”Aliotti said. “I noticed that in practice, his knowledge of what we were doing.”
Yet, given that he spent most of his energy calling plays, Aliotti knew little about how Hardrick or any of the other young players showed up on the final statistics sheet. He looked down at the freshly printed defensive statistics page, and the tone in his voice raised a few octaves.
“Hardrick…had three tackles and two tackles for losses,” he said. “So he showed up, and that’s encouraging.”
Along with Hardrick, sophomore defensive back Avery Patterson led the team in tackles with eight, and sophomore linebacker Keloni Kamalani added six of his own.
“They get a lot of credit,” senior defensive end Terrell Turner said. “It was real exciting to see those guys mature right in front of you when they’re true freshmen.”
With senior linebacker Michael Clay out indefinitely with an ankle injury, players like Hardrick and Kamalani will likely be called on again when the stakes are even higher. It’s not an optimal situation for Kelly, who is famously averse to playing freshman early on, but he has accepted the reality of the situation.
“We need to develop some depth at the linebacker spot with Michael being out,” Kelly said. “And we wanna play a lot of guys there. But we’re not going to force that issue. I thought Rodney made some plays out there, it was good to finally get (redshirt freshman linebacker) Derrick (Malone) in.
“We’ll look at the tape and improve upon it, but those are guys we’re going to have to count on as the season wears itself on.”
In blowout victory, Oregon seizes chance to improve depth
Daily Emerald
September 16, 2011
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