Any More Thoughts on the Spring Game?

[Solar]

Seeing there weren't any follow up threads on the game and the news cycle is going to be on idle, I figured I ought to start a follow-up thread.

 

My thoughts:

QB is the most important position to pay attention to, and it seemed there was zero separation from all 5 that played.

 

I mean you could make an argument Brock Thomas played the best, as he seemed the most efficient with the ball which is Lannings #1 measure of QB success and rightly so.

 

It was fun to watch Akili out there. He reminds you that you can't teach height, and he has a very natural feeling for the 11 on 11 game. If he can tighten up his throw and learn some patience he could be special.

 

Novasad processed the game better than most with one glaring exception that he seems blind to second level pressure screaming in from any direction. He feels the DL pressure and sees his wide receivers, but he could have been knocked out of the game on a few plays if it was a real game.

 

Moga is more than serviceable. If Moore or Novasad hits the portal in the Fall I won't be worried about our backup. His biggest issue is simply the height.

 

Lastly Moore has the best arm, and seems motivated to play well. But I think he is not that great at keeping the chains moving. It everything else that you need to do to make the most of every down, and I'm not sure he has it. If you make him scramble he won't get a completion. His pocket presence is still several notches down from DG and not in the same universe as Bo Nix.

 

This is going to have to be a totally different offense. Stein's going to have to earn his money, in selecting the right starter and tailoring the offense to cover their weaknesses, and maximize the efficiency of the offense.

 

Even though it was just a spring game I still felt like I was seeing more effective and intentional route trees, creating space for receivers to work, or overloading an area of the field to get someone uncovered. This was one of my hopes from our new WR coach is helping Stein in this area. We'll see.

 

A follow on to that is Kenyon Sadiq. Rather than trying to get him the ball on trick plays and TE reverses, just send him down field and clear out his area. Seems to work much better. 

 

Benson looked like dud which is apparently what he was at his previous stop. Impressive sized guy with athleticism, but not really able to do much with it.

 

Kasper is still dropping key passes, but at least he is catching it sometimes.

 

Gresham had a good game, but not enough in general to judge him or the rest of the WR room to determine separation. If nothing else we could rotate our significant depth so these guys can go at 100% every snap like a timed 40 yard dash.

 

OL will be better this year, could be the best since 2019 unless Alique Terry screws them up. World, Pregnon, Ilipani, Bedford and the next best guy that can play right Tackle should be a special group. Need to bring in a center from the portal though. Ilipani has no backup.

 

I'm still not crazy about our run blocking. Both screen and player decisions seems like it's always a struggle to block beyond the DL.

 

RBs are another level group. Hughes was just okay. Watching his tape at UNC seemed the same. Nothing super standout other than the blocking he was running with. He didn't shine any better than Harris or the other big guy freshman.

 

Hill has some burst, which is nice to see, and I'm starting to be a believer in Limar. Riigs certainly did do anything today that would push him up the depth chart over Limar.

 

Wittington is back but will the OL and the scheme create the creases he needs to work his magic at the second level?

 

Our front seven will be the best group in the country in 2026, and more than formidable this year. Everyone on the DL and LB crew was impressive. Lanning is right, we don't need a LB from the portal.

 

Flowers continues to be the spring game master. I wonder if he's one of those guys that can find that extra gear in the game, but doesn't show out much in practice limiting his playing time. It's a shame if that is happening. My advice to any coach is "whenever a player steps into the game and tells you who they are, good or bad, you need to listen and forget about how they practice.

 

Coverage by the secondary was consistently tight and contesting catches. We should be able to rotate dudes and keep the them fresh.

 

Lastly, too much slipping on the field for Nike U. Almost like the tread is too narrow for sharp cuts players felt they were capable of making. Nike needs to fix that.

 

All in all, tremendous depth, my concern is us being limited to merely a great team, without the extra magic needed to make a deep playoff run.

 

[The Kamikaze Kid]

My next day thoughts.

The passing offense will be ridiculous.

 

Moga as a periodic wildcat could be lethal.

 

By the fall, the D should be Lanning’s best.

 

54 yard field goals? Yes please!

 

Many Ducklings look impact ready right now.

 

PS I will never get tired of seeing Rich Brooks being honored on his own damn field!

[JabbaNoBargain]

Most entertaining spring game since Marcus’ coming out party imo.
 

Feels like we have 4 good QBs, but it’s always fun to watch people fall in love with the backup(s). I left the game feeling like we had a pretty clear #1 based upon upside and clear arm talent. Not trying to knock Novasad, as I think we’d do great with him, but he was 5 of 9 with the bulk of his numbers coming on one pass. I’m not drawing any conclusion from that. I’ll be surprised if we don’t lose him though, he seems very capable of being a starter on a top-20 team.

 

My biggest takeaway is that it would be shocking to not win at least 10 games. The offense will do Oregon things no matter who is at QB, and I think the D will be as good as ever.

Edited 9 hours ago by JabbaNoBargain

[Drake]

I think it is difficult to judge QBs when personnel are divided between two different offenses.  It takes time for a starting QB to get in sync with the starters, much less players that will probably be on the sidelines most games. 
 

To me, It looks like our defense will be formidable, and the offense will need game time to gel. 
 

As far as slipping on the turf, I think some players are amped up and trying to defy physics. These guys are strong and fast, and want to show they belong. With more playing time those slips will diminish.