Oregon Football Fall Camp Practice Report: August 16

The Ducks continue their preparations for the 2021 season with the home opener against Fresno State less than three weeks away.

Oregon was back out on the practice fields in shells at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex Monday morning.

Cristobal described the practice in an opening statement to reporters.

"Again, physical practice today. Really pleased with the way that the guys came out after a scrimmage like we did with 150/160 plays and attacked today with physicality. The situational football we played today was third and medium and long, some red zone opportunities, played some mixed down ball as well. And then had some blitz and pressure situations both testing some protections and in the run game as well.

"But all in all, I thought we sustained better towards the end of practice. Emphasis on competition, making sure that competition is not just a tagline that you feel good about it when it's going your way. That competition is something that is real and that you keep bringing it every day and I think that has stuck."

Nick Battey

Week two of fall camp got underway today with the players back out in shells this morning. Media got to see the typical warm ups and a few drills.

First, for an update on a couple of tight ends. Patrick Herbert was not at practice today after not playing at all in the first scrimmage Saturday. Mario Cristobal told reporters following practice that he sustained a "good knee injury" and that he'll be out for "a while."

DJ Johnson was at practice and participating with his new number 12 after we saw him for the first time this fall camp in warm ups at the scrimmage.

It was also good to see some players who had been limited and/or out recently. Wide receivers Jaylen Redd and Devon Williams were back and participants in practice. Cristobal said that the staff is working on acclimating them back "the right way" and that the two have progressed nicely and that they will be steadily increased so they're ready to go when the season starts.

Starting linebacker Mase Funa also present at practice today. He was someone who did not participate in Saturday’s scrimmage.

While it isn’t a surprise to anyone, one player that continues to stand out this camp is Mykael Wright and how he goes all out, 100% of the time no matter what drill it may be. He is a future high NFL draft pick for sure.

Max Torres

I spent some time watching the offensive and defensive lines during Monday's practice and saw a couple of plays that had the coaching staff fired up, specifically during a two-on-one double team drill. Sua'ava Poti handled a double team really well, planting himself firmly in the ground and halting the double team from moving him back.

The next sequence came during the same drill, when freshman tight end Moliki Matavao worked with a tackle to drive Terrell Tilmon into the ground. The dude does not look like a freshman and has the physicality to contribute this year. It's worth noting that Tilmon wasn't a push over, getting a win himself on the very next rep and throwing Matavao off of him. For reference, Tilmon is listed at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, and Matavao at 6-foot-6, 263 pounds.

Offensive lineman Charlie Pickard also had a really nice pancake block during the same set of drills and you could definitely see the physicality was alive and well today. I also watched Jayson Jones in action and that guy is not easy to move AT ALL.

Freshman running back Byron Cardwell also had a nice one-handed grab during a drill with the quarterbacks when they were working on passes out of the backfield. Definitely a good sign that your thunder style of running back has some nice hands to go with his bruising physical stature.

Aside from those highlights, some of the other work I saw Monday involved ball security for all groups, wide receivers working on their release and running routes on air. The defensive backs and wide receivers also worked on sideline tackling in the THUD format.

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