In the Oregon football team’s first major scrimmage of the spring on April 15, Jermaine Hanspard rushed for only two yards on six carries as the starting tailback.
On Friday, in the Ducks second scrimmage, Hanspard busted loose for a 36-yard dash that drew plenty of “oohs” and “ahhs” from the couple hundred fans on hand at the Kilkenny Practice Field outside of Autzen Stadium.
The fans weren’t cheering an offensive play though. Hanspard, who was moved to his more comfortable position as cornerback earlier in the week, intercepted Orlando Evans’ pass near the five yard line.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound cornerback proceeded to wow the crowd as he zig-zagged left to right and right to left, eluding offensive wannabe tacklers. He was only credited 36 yards for his vertical gain, but his horizontal length was much farther.
“Jermaine obviously has some skills on the run with the ball in his hands,” head coach Mike Bellotti said. “He adds a certain toughness [to the secondary] and has some real intensity.”
Hanspard’s interception helped the Ducks’ defense gain the upper hand over the offense as Oregon completed its third week of spring practice with the 90-minute controlled scrimmage.
A week after Oregon’s quarterbacks combined for 385 yards, the quartet of arms were limited to just 213 yards on 19 of 35 passes.
The most impressive offensive showing of the afternoon was Oregon’s 13-play, 95-yard scoring drive that was anchored by No. 2 QB, A.J. Feeley.
Feeley accounted for the offense’s only passing touchdown when he threw a tight spiral down the middle of the field to wide receiver Marshaun Tucker, who leapt, snared the ball and darted into the end zone to complete the 23-yard touchdown pass.
“Yeah, that drive felt pretty good,” said Feeley, who completed seven of 10 passes for 68 yards. “Offensively, we did some things fundamentally sound. I just try to go out there and make things happen.”
“A.J. put together a nice drive,” Bellotti said. “He’s such a great competitor, and I thought he did a nice job of leadership during that drive. I was very pleased.”
Bellotti was also happy to see his inexperienced backfield show some development. Redshirt freshman tailback Joe Broder, who is a walk-on, led all runners with 48 yards on nine carries. Derek Earls, a redshirt freshman from Portland, also impressed with 33 yards on eight carries.
Josh Line and Mike Zeck, both fullbacks, each muscled home a one-yard rushing touchdown. Line showed tremendous grit in his three rushing attempts and 11-yard catch.
“I think I’m getting more comfortable with the offense,” said Line, who hails from Springfield. “But it was nice to see the defense improve. They came out fired up.”
The defense made the offense work for everything it got. Along with Feeley’s TD pass, Harrington’s 22-yard dart to tight end Enyi Nwamuo was the only other play that went beyond 20 yards.
“I saw some good things on both sides of the ball,” Bellotti said. “But I thought our defense had the advantage.”
Afterwards, Hanspard, who is not at full speed due to a hip pointer, was still thinking about his interception.
“I was trying to get into that end zone,” said Hanspard, who also ran track Saturday. “I wanted to take it to the house. That’s all I was focusing on.”
The Ducks turn their focus to next Saturday when they culminate their spring with the intrasquad Spring Game at 1 p.m. at Autzen.