Dennis Dixon gave spectators a glimpse of Oregon’s new wide-open offense capabilities during the team’s first spring scrimmage Friday in the Ed Moshofsky Sports Center.
The rising sophomore quarterback kept the ball on an option to his left and scampered for a 25-yard touchdown, leaving a group of defenders in his wake.
The San Leandro, Calif., native also showed off his arm, completing 4 of 6 passes for 36 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown to redshirt freshman tight end Casey McKillip.
With the good, however, came the expected miscues of an offensive work-in-progress.
Oregon running backs twice turned the ball over on fumbles. Senior quarterback Kellen Clemens was forced to backtrack
30 yards to recover an errant shotgun snap during the scrimmage’s first offensive series. And head coach Mike Bellotti said
he didn’t see enough big plays from his wide receivers.
Despite mistakes, Dixon said the offense is heading in the right direction.
“(A new offense) is supposed to be like that,” Dixon said when asked about his touchdown run. “But you’ve got to have patience, and patience takes time.”
Things started out well for the first-team offense as redshirt freshman running back Terrell Jackson gained 11 yards on the first play from scrimmage — a draw from the shotgun formation.
After another draw and an incomplete shovel pass netted a one-yard loss, the offense picked up another first down on a 9-yard completion from Clemens to sophomore receiver Cameron Colvin and an 11-yard pass from Clemens to junior fullback Dante Rosario.
However, things quickly turned sour as the drive ended after a bad shotgun snap and a pair of sacks by Haloti Ngata.
Clemens ended the day 6 of 10 for 45 yards, while sophomore Brady Leaf completed 3 of 7 for 40 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman tight end
Ryan Keeling.
Sophomore running back Andiel Brown led all rushers with 42 yards on eight carries, while Jackson picked up 15 yards on six carries.
Clemens said he felt good during the scrimmage but is still adapting to offensive coordinator Gary Crowton’s new system.
“Shotgun has been an adjustment,” Clemens said. “It’s a new protection now, new (passing) routes, and it’s a whole new philosophy. It’s get three yards, get three yards, get four yards and then bust a big one.”
Defensively, Bellotti said he was pleased with some of the plays that were made but added the group needs to improve in several areas.
“Defensively, we need to do a better job of stopping the run,” Bellotti said. “Canceling the dive, that’s our goal and our mission in life, and we have to pressure the quarterback secondly.”
Ngata proved to be the defense’s biggest playmaker Friday, disrupting several plays in the backfield.
“You can’t block Haloti one-on-one,” Clemens said. “He’s such a phenomenal athlete. He’s definitely a force to be reckoned with on every single play. You have to know where number 96 is.”
Bellotti said the biggest improvement to be made from a team standpoint is playing with more intensity.
“We had some hits, but I need to see more,” Bellotti said. “When we turn the lights on, when we come in (to the Moshofsky Center) or in Autzen Stadium and say, ‘this is live,’ I want to see a dramatic difference in what happens, and I didn’t see enough of that today.”

[email protected]