Notes and Observations from Oregon Football's Fourth Spring Practice
The media got its first look at 11-on-11 at Oregon practice in Eugene Thursday.
For the first time since at least 2019, the media was able to watch an 11-on-11 segment of practice. In what simulated what looked to be a two minute drill, redshirt-freshman quarterback Ty Thompson took reps with the first-team offense.
Thompson's best pass was down the right sideline to wide receiver Seven McGee for a long completion. Then, a few plays later Thompson’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Jackson Powers-Johnson, who's working along the defensive line this spring, and was intercepted by the outstretched hand of cornerback Bryan Addison. He had what may have been the highlight of the day with his one-handed snag and returned it for what would have been a touchdown in real game situation.
Auburn transfer Bo Nix took the next reps with a mix of members from last year's first-team offense, throwing a nice completion to Kris Hutson. The wideout put some moves on the defense for a nice gain. Nix led the offense to a quality possession, moving the ball into scoring position.
Redshirt freshman Jay Butterfield ended the drill with a group of largely backups and threw some dump-down passes for short gains. It's important to remember that this practice is just a sliver of what they do throughout the session and it's likely that many players, including quarterbacks, rotate throughout the spring.
The same names as Tuesday were on the side rehabbing during this portion of practice. Linebacker Justin Flowe, defensive back Daymon David, defensive linemen Brandon Dorlus, Popo Aumavae and Keyon Ware-Hudson and offensive lineman Bram Walden were all off to the side while others were practicing.
Oregon continues to emphasize special teams in their practices, once again starting a variety of block-shedding drills to simulate kickoff coverage. One drills included practicing onside kicks and recovering them.
Kicker Camden Lewis practiced both squib and high short kicks that players needed to recover. Shortly after the team went into 11-on-11 drills and a bit of individual position group drills towards the end of the media viewing period.
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