Run the ball, Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti told the offense before Friday’s scrimmage, and run the ball they did.
With a receiving corps thinned by injuries, the spotlight of the Ducks’ second spring scrimmage shone brightly on the team’s running backs. And the group, given the opportunity with 36 rushes compared to 19 total passes, didn’t disappoint.
“They told us we were going to be carrying the ball a lot, but I didn’t expect it to be that much,” Chris Vincent said. “The ‘o’-line did a good job of blocking and everything. We picked it up a little bit. You could tell on the field everybody knew their assignments and the good thing is we’re getting better as a team.”
Vincent led the quartet with 15 attempts, gaining 57 yards and breaking into the end zone twice. The first came on a two-yard plunge, then Vincent broke tackles late in the workout on a seven-yard run for the second score.
Ryan Shaw, considered the front-runner for the starting spot, had 28 yards on 10 attempts, also getting into the end zone once. Terrence Whitehead ran the ball nine times for 22 yards, while Kenny Washington, who suffered a sprained shoulder on his first carry — a 53-yarder — carried the ball twice for 58 yards.
“I think we’ve got some backs that can play,” Bellotti said. “I was very pleased. Chris Vincent obviously has some dimension to him that is exciting. Terrence Whitehead ran the ball very well. He ran for tough yards. And Ryan Shaw ran for tough yards. Kenny Washington had the best run of the day.”
About the only thing the backs didn’t do with success was throw the ball. Vincent attempted a halfback pass that was intercepted by Aaron Gipson near the goal line. But then again, the way the defense was swarming to passes, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Of the 19 passes thrown, three were picked off.
Anthony Trucks grabbed a lame duck pass from Johnny DuRocher early in the scrimmage, running it back 18 yards for the score. Later, Jerry Matson read Jason Fife perfectly, and out-ran his opponents for 45 yards.
“Obviously, I’m not happy with the turnovers but I’m excited for the defense that they got those turnovers,” Bellotti said. “They made some plays.”
Matt Toeaina stood out defensively, claiming the group’s only sack, a three-yarder with quarterback Adam Hazel behind center. Justin Andrews, battling for a backup linebacker spot, pounced on the only fumble of the day when DuRocher couldn’t hand the ball off cleanly at the team’s one-yard line.
“I thought we had a pretty good scrimmage overall,” Gipson said. “We’ve just got to get better on
tackling a little bit, especially on wrapping up and bringing them down.”
Oregon hits the field on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this week before the team’s third scrimmage of the spring on Friday. The Ducks will look to further the progress they’ve made in the past week.
“I think we made quantum leaps (last) week,” Bellotti said. “The last three practices, in my mind, we’ve come to grips with what the effort was necessary to be good. We’re practicing to become the Pac-10 champions. In the past couple of years, I’ve talked about defending the Pac-10 championship. It’s a different mindset. It’s a different idea.”