April 2 can’t arrive fast enough for the Oregon football team.
The Ducks open spring practice Saturday at 11 a.m. It’s Oregon’s first on-field chance to erase the memories of last season’s 5-6 record — its first losing mark since 1993.
The team will hold workouts every Tuesday and Thursday throughout April, as well as alternating Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. The Spring Game will take place at 12:30 p.m. April 30
in Autzen Stadium.
Oregon is expected to have
93 players participate in spring drills, including 43 returning lettermen and 14 returning starters.
Offense
New offensive coordinator Gary Crowton will have plenty of weapons at his disposal as the Ducks return nearly all of their impact position players.
Rising senior quarterback Kellen Clemens matured as a leader during his first full season as a starter during the 2004 campaign. The Burns native passed for 2,548 yards and
22 touchdowns last season, moving into sixth place (5,149) and fifth place (42), respectively, on Oregon’s all-time lists.
The Ducks also return Clemens’ top two targets: wide receiver Demetrius Williams and tight end Tim Day. Williams is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he was limited to 47 catches, 593 yards and only two touchdowns. When healthy, the senior has the ability to be a game-breaker.
At 6-foot-4, 267 pounds, Day is
a massive pass-catching threat as well as a devastating blocker.
The senior’s participation in
spring drills will be limited, however, as he recovers from offseason foot surgery.
Along with Williams and Day, big things will be expected from sophomore wide receiver Cameron Colvin, who came to Oregon last year as a five-star recruit from California’s De La Salle High School.
Senior tailback Terrence Whitehead became Oregon’s 10th
1,000-yard rusher last season (1,144) and is also a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. The Los Angeles native will be pushed for playing time when top freshman running back recruit Jonathan Stewart arrives at Oregon.
There will be plenty of competition along the offensive line after the departure of Adam Snyder, Nick Steitz, Michael DeLaGrange and Robin Knebel. Geoff Schwartz, Jacob Hucko and junior college addition Palauni Ma Sun are a few potential suitors to fill vacancies up front.
Other returning starters include junior center Enoka Lucas, senior guard Ian Reynoso and junior
fullback Dante Rosario.
Defense
Defensively, Oregon will have several big holes to fill.
Gone are middle linebacker Jerry Matson, outside linebacker Ramone Reed and defensive linemen Chris Solomona and Robby Valenzuela. While there will be several new starters in the middle of the Duck defense, those who are left give
reason for hope.
Junior defensive tackle Haloti Ngata amassed 46 tackles
last season and will surely attract plenty of attention from pro scouts. Senior defensive end Devan
Long is a relentless pass rusher
who will be looked to as a leader next season.
The secondary returns four starters and should be much
improved. Cornerbacks Aaron
Gipson (senior) and Jackie Bates
(sophomore) will be pushed by
true freshman Willie Glasper. Senior Rodney Woods, recovering from
last fall’s knee surgery, will be
limited in his spring participation.
Other returning starters include safeties J.D. Nelson (junior)
and Justin Phinisee (senior)
and senior outside linebacker
Anthony Trucks.
Coaching changes
In addition to Crowton, who was named offensive coordinator after four seasons as head coach
at Brigham Young, there were
several other coaching changes
for Oregon.
Former Oregon defensive lineman Michael Gray is now the defensive line coach for the Ducks. Former
defensive line coach Steve
Greatwood will now coach the offensive line, and assistant coach Neal Zoumboukos, who used to coach
the offensive line, will coach the
tight ends.

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