On the second play of the second half of Oregon’s scrimmage Saturday at Autzen Stadium, running back Chris Vincent took a hand off from quarterback Johnny DuRocher.
Vincent ran left, broke three tackles and made a mad dash toward the end zone, eventually crossing the plain for a 12-yard touchdown.
A microcosm of Oregon’s second scrimmage of the spring? Sure.
What Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti was looking for? Not exactly.
“Today, the offense dominated somewhat and I don’t think the defense quite responded to that challenge,” Bellotti said. “I’m not very happy when one side dominates. I want it to be a fighting, scratching, clawing kind of battle where we fight hard and compete every play.”
Bellotti said it shouldn’t matter that the team was missing a number of key players.
“We’re down numbers on both sides of the ball, but that’s no excuse for anybody,” Bellotti said.
Rodney Woods and J.D. Nelson, both members of the secondary, didn’t see action in the scrimmage; Woods because of an elbow sprain, Nelson because of a concussion.
Demetrius Williams, Nick Steitz, Jordan Carey and Ryan Shaw all missed the scrimmage for academic reasons.
Some of the Ducks who did play certainly made positive impressions.
Vincent gained 17 yards on five carries, but his 12-yard run highlighted his second strong scrimmage. In between runs, he also caught two passes for 37 yards, including a 19-yard screen pass from Kellen Clemens toward the end of the first half.
Andiel Brown, relegated to sixth on the team’s two-deep depth chart — but effectively fourth because of the full-pad absences of Terrence Whitehead and Kenny Washington — scored two touchdowns. He ended the day with 34 yards
on five carries.
“Chris Vincent gets stronger every single practice, every single day.” Clemens said. “And Andiel really turned some heads. I was pleasantly surprised. He made some guys miss, made some big runs.”
Tight end Eddie Whitaker caught three passes for 51 yards, including a 31-yard reception from DuRocher late in the first half. On the next play, he went right and caught another pass, this one for 12 yards.
“I know my plays now,” Whitaker said. “I spent a lot of time in the off-season learning my plays. Now, I feel more comfortable in the offense.”
On defense, not much went right. But in looking for silver linings, the Ducks may have found one in Ryan Gilliam.
Not only did the redshirt freshman score on a kickoff return, he made an impressive defensive play early. When Brown attempted to get around the left corner of the line on the final play of the second drive of the afternoon, Gilliam caught him for a 5-yard loss.
“He’s put on 10 to 15 pounds,” Bellotti said. “What we want to do is use his speed, play at the speed level at which he can run.”
Bellotti said the Ducks came away from the scrimmage relatively unscathed. Dante Rosario, who ran just once, “bruised some ribs.” Scott Vossmeyer suffered a stinger earlier in the week, but still scrimmaged, and Shawn Flanagan had a tenderness issue with his right ankle.