Oregon Football Early Enrollees Getting Thrown Into the Fire Upon Spring Arrival

Some new faces saw the practice field for the first time in an Oregon uniform.

Spring break is wrapped up, and the Ducks are back in pads on the practice field. Football as it was meant to be is in full swing.

With the start of the new academic term, five true freshmen have arrived in Eugene and practiced for the first time on Tuesday.

Jahlil Florence, Michael Wooten, Justius Lowe, Devon Jackson, and Harrison Taggart made debuted the Oregon O on their helmets at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene. Transfer portal additions Chase Cota and Noah Whittington also arrived on campus this week.

True Freshman Defensive Back Jahlil Florence

Max Torres/Ducks Digest

Dan Lanning said he wanted to throw the young guns into the fire right away to see how they responded.

"You don't set expectations," Lanning said of the newcomers. "You go one day at a time, and today was one day. I'm sure it was spinning a little bit for them today. I don't want to set it [the expectations] too high or too low. They're going to set the level of their expectation by the way they perform and the way they practice day in and day out."

It's been 17 days since the Ducks last hit the practice field. They only had two pad-less practices before spring break, but Lanning and his staff are alreadt throwing the kitchen sink at their players, even those whose heads are still spinning from their first practice.

Lanning has repeatedly emphasized the staff's desire to train players at multiple positions and "throwing it all at them and seeing what sticks," as he said following the first practice. With that priority in mind, how do the coaches approach getting the early enrollees up to speed with others who have learned multiple positions?

"Each guy's a little bit different," Lanning said. "How fast do they pick it up? Are they drinking out of a water hose or do they have it figured out? We're gonna give them as much as they can handle. 

"So if they're able to handle multiple positions coming in, then we want to be able to do that."

Taggart and Jackson, who are both listed as inside linebackers on the updated spring roster, are learning both the Money and Mack positions, according to Lanning.

Florence is another player that could bring some versatility to Oregon. He'll be one of several talented young defensive backs looking to crack the rotation early in a young cornerback room.

Cornerbacks have arguably as tough of a transition from high school to college as anyone because of the increase in speed and size of college wide receivers, as well as the speed of the game in general.

Lanning prefers to let the young guys compete for reps on the field rather than learn from the sideline — a value he carries strongly.

"We want to throw them in there early," he said. "Let them get some experience and see how they take. I'm not a big believer in having guys learn and watch from the sideline.

"You want to be able to get mental reps when you can, but you can do that by getting reps. We're gonna throw those guys out on the field, coach them as we go, and if there's things we can improve on, that's what we want to focus on."

With the practice schedule ramping up for the next four weeks, the Ducks look to find their groove with the exciting collection of talent at their disposal.

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