Well, the first official practice of the 2011 season is in the books for the Oregon football team, and by most measures it looked to be a successful start to fall camp.
Following media day interviews with players and coaches in the morning, the Ducks took the practice fields for the first time since the end of spring drills Monday afternoon. There were, and still are, a lot of questions from a personnel standpoint on both sides of the ball, but a few of those answers began to take shape early on.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks — There’s no question that Darron Thomas is running the show this year. He looked more vocal throughout individual and team practice sessions, while his accuracy and throwing mechanics looked to be crisp as the day he ended last season. His backup, redshirt freshman Bryan Bennett, can still spin it with the best of ‘em, but accuracy still looked like a bit of an issue (though, in his defense there were an unusually high amount of drops on Monday).
Behind Bennett, true freshman Marcus Mariota looked strong in his debut with the team. Standing 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Mariota is physically the most imposing of the quarterbacks group, but still has a lot to learn within the offense. Sophomore walk-on Dustin Haines and true freshman Brennan Doty will likely compete for the scout team job this season.
Running backs — Aside from a pair of late arrivals by LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner (something school related or otherwise, I’m assuming), the running back group looked solid as expected. After the first day, its safe to say the competition for the No. 3 running back position will be one to keep an eye on over the next month. Redshirt freshman Lache Seastrunk and true freshman De’Anthony Thomas are the front-runners in that contest, while Tra Carson, Ayele Forde, and Anthony Blake are also in the mix.
Thomas had a particularly impressive day, and repeatedly broke away on a handful of would-be scoring runs down the sideline.
Wide receivers — Here’s where we’re expecting to see a lot of new faces in 2011, and my early impression is that this group is extremely athletic. Behind Lavasier Tuinei and Josh Huff, newcomers Devon Blackmon, B.J. Kelly (wearing Jeff Maehl’s old No. 23), Tacoi Sumler, and Rahsaan Vaughn all made good strides in their first team practices. Vaughn (6-2, 192 pounds) was physically impressive with his strength, while Sumler (5-9, 166) was as quick as anyone I’ve seen in an Oregon uniform.
The depth chart will flush itself out over the coming weeks, but a point of emphasis at this point should be hanging on to the football. Redshirt freshman Blake Stanton also impressed with his consistent hands and crisp routes.
Offensive line — Early on, Darrion Weems, Carson York, Hroniss Grasu, Ramsen Golpashin, and Mark Asper got the majority of the looks with the first team offense. Hamani Stevens was in the mix at both center and guard, and from a distance looked to be one of the bigger-bodied guys on the field. Mobility could be a concern for Stevens at this point, but given the guy hasn’t gone through a full practice in over two calendar years, I’d say he deserves a little slack early on. True freshman Jake Fisher was in the mix quiet a bit, and at 6-6, 285 pounds, he could easily be in the rotation this season.
Tight ends — This group hasn’t been discussed much during the offseason, but it has a huge upside. David Paulson anchors the unit as one of the more experienced players on the offense, but it remains to be seen who will fill the No. 2 spot with Brandon Williams no longer with the team. True freshmen Colt Lyerla and Christian French are both in the mix and figure to be contributors on special teams also, while redshirt freshman Curtis White and sophomore Brian Teague both have the physical attributes and soft hands to compete for playing time.
Offensive review of day one:
Oregon is deep and talented on the offensive side of the ball, but they lack game experience in some important areas. The one’s are proven, but backup quarterback, third-string running back (much more important than it might sound), and the wide receiving corps will be tested over the next month. Most everyone made it through opening day healthy, though Huff came up limp on a deep catch down the sideline about midway through practice.
Also, expect to see a lot De’Anthony Thomas over the next month. The kid is lightening fast and once he starts to develop his understanding for the offense, there’s no doubt that he’ll be a huge success in an Oregon uniform.
