Oregon Football Fall Camp Practice Report: August 12

The Ducks held their first fully-padded practice on a hot and smoky day in Eugene.

SI Editorial | Aug 12, 2021

Nick Battey

The players and staff were outside on the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex practice fields even though locals are in the midst of another heat wave and plenty of haze and smoke was coming into the Eugene area this morning.

The practice started with a drill that had all groups but the offensive line were involved with the quarterbacks throwing to the skill positions and the defense working on fundamentals like form tackling and wrapping up.

Anthony Brown and Jay Butterfield get some throws in during fall camp. — Anthony Brown and Jay Butterfield get some throws in during fall camp :: Max Torres/Ducks Digest

During the media portion of practice, we saw a lot of technical work with all of the position groups. The offensive line worked on run blocking with Alex Mirabal demanding excellence, quickness and precision.

Later on the defensive line came along and the two worked against each other with some double teaming work and getting comfortable for the team's first taste of contact since the spring game back in May.

The cornerbacks and safeties were mostly working on footwork and agility out in the open field.

Bennett Williams wraps up Verone McKinley III in tackling drills. — Bennett Williams wraps up Verone McKinley III in tackling drills :: Max Torres/Ducks Digest

Meanwhile, the kickers were breaking down their place kicking techniques and the quarterbacks were doing their typical warm up throwing, working through progressions and hooking up with a variety of skill positions.

Max Torres

There was a ton of energy coming out of the HDC this morning, with players excited to start hitting for the first time in fall camp.

The tight ends spent time with Mario Cristobal and Joe Salavea's defensive linemen working on ball security drills.

The tight ends also worked on the sled and chute with Bobby Williams, a group that boasts and insane combination of size and speed. I know I'm probably most exited about the wide receivers this year, but man the potential of the tight end group rotating multiple players is very intriguing.

Patrick Herbert and the tight ends work on the sled in fall camp. — Patrick Herbert and the tight ends work on the sled in fall camp :: Max Torres/Ducks Digest

There was a lot of work on fundamentals and form tackling that I saw throughout Thursday's practice, including the safeties group with Marcel Yates.

Mario Cristobal works through blocking drills with offensive linemen and tight ends. — Mario Cristobal works through blocking drills with offensive linemen and tight ends :: Max Torres/Ducks Digest

It was the first time I watched Mario Cristobal coach the offensive line up close and there was no shortage of energy and excitement. The vibe coming from that group was very perceptive of his coaching, probably because you could tell how excited he is by the idea of the unit getting better.

It wasn't all talk either, as Cristobal often stepped into the player's place and walked through the drill, showing how it should be done and kept asking for more. He shouted phrases along the lines of "get more of him" and "get a bigger chunk", trying to advocate for more physicality, but also efficient blocking.

The team looked fresh and ready for the ramp up in physicality, with pads coming on later than they typically do.

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