During the clutch drill to close out practice on Saturday, Kanye West’s “Stronger” blared over the Moshofsky Center speakers. As West declared, “Now that that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger,” quarterback Darron Thomas took the field with the first string offense.
The song proved to be especially fitting for Thomas, who was practicing in front of the media for the first time since his shoulder injury against Washington State. Any doubts about the sophomore’s health were quickly erased, as he completed all five of the passes he threw and finished off the drive with a touchdown pass.
Thomas assured the media he was at his best.
“Oh yeah, 100 percent,” he said. “Felt good today. Came out, threw the ball better than I thought I would, better than everybody thought I would.”
Thomas wasn’t the only player feeling rejuvenated after a bye week. Though it seemed as if half the team suffered some sort of malady in Pullman, most players were out on the field practicing at the beginning of game week.
“(The bye week) gave time for guys who were dinged up to come back, and get healthy,” linebacker Casey Matthews said. “I think this bye week is perfect timing, middle of the season, but it shouldn’t affect our momentum too much.”
Some players, however, are still struggling to shake the aches and pains of the season. Cornerback Anthony Gildon (ankle), defensive tackle Zac Clark (leg), defensive end Terrell Turner (leg) and running back Kenjon Barner (head) were listed on the injury report on Monday and did not practice. Turner could be seen wearing a boot on the sidelines.
Barner, of course, is still dealing with a concussion after the nasty hit he took against the Cougars. He has been attending practices wearing a jersey and shorts, but no pads and a baseball cap in the place of a helmet. During the clutch drill on Monday, Barner wore earplugs to drown out the noise of music.
No one, not even head coach Chip Kelly, is exactly sure when Barner might be able to return to the playing field.
“Our doctors handle all of that,” Kelly said. “I don’t diagnose injuries, I don’t get involved in injuries. They tell us who can play and who can’t play, and then we just go from there.”
Though Barner’s health is a concern throughout Eugene, Kelly made clear that it would be silly for him to offer a prognosis.
“For me to weigh in and say that I think it’s his synapses aren’t firing on the left side … that’s not my job,” Kelly said. “My job is to coach football, their job is to be medical staff.”
As the UCLA game approaches, the Ducks have consciously shifted the focus of practice. Over the bye week, according to Kelly, the points of emphasis were fundamentals and team specifics that had little to do with the competition.
More specifically, Kelly wanted to see ball security improve, as well as the blocking technique of Oregon’s offensive line.
“We’ve got some holding penalties that are high in my opinion,” Kelly said. “We need to work on fundamentals, getting our hands inside the framework of the body.”
The team responded well, and Kelly was pleased with the quality of practices last week.
“They practiced really, really well last week,” Kelly said. “And it carried over; we practiced really, really well (Saturday).”
Now, the focus shifts to UCLA. The Ducks may be number one in the polls, but they will never rest on their laurels.
“Just working hard for UCLA,” Thomas said. “Coming out, doing a good job, not worried about what everybody else (is) talking about in the media and things like that.”
That hard work also comes on the defensive side of the ball, and the unit responded with a convincing stop in the clutch drill to end Monday’s practice.
“Defense came up big in the two-minute situation,” Kelly said. “Which was encouraging to see because I root for both sides, so whoever wins I’m excited about.”
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