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 Monday at 02:47 AM 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. 
 

 

[Mike West]

Excellent analysis Solar.  I really like the talent in the room.  Like you, I’m looking at the team from the perspective of playing elite games.  11-1 is possible, and so is 12-0.  That will take some cleaning up from the entire team.

 

It seems to me that Moore is focused on explosive playmaking and not drilling down to efficiency.  Novo tries to be what  Moore and Smith have naturally-a big arm that can complete all the throws.  Moga needs to work on setting his feet properly-it affects his accuracy.  Smith just needs experience, and more footwork basics also.  So the task is tamper their desires and show them how they each can unleash a beast of an offense.

 

I also believe the WR is the most complete- can be better than last year.  But…that will require using the strengths of each player, as in my opinion the room is ten deep.  Yes I said TEN DEEP.  Benson should be used on fade routes exclusively. He has that kind of speed.  Dickey is a ‘window’ receiver-his knee injury killed his burst-so he gets open most in combo routes.
 

Bryant, Moore, Perry, Mclellan, Stewart, and Moore are complete receivers-you can give them everything in the offense.  Kasper will help clear space for receivers and a package needs to set him up for easy catches.  Gresham is the joker.  Not sure what he really is yet.  But of course, Sadiq is Mr. Fabulous.  I’d make every team focus so hard on him, they can’t cover anyone.  
 

Which brings me to Will Stein.  My opinion is he will take steps to grow this offense, but he needs to use his analysts more to carve out the most lethal offense Oregon has seen since the Gulf Coast Offense.  The talent is that solid.  
 

My question to Stein is did he learn from the Rose Bowl, because Ohio State took away every aspect of what he likes to do. I think he has the chops, but now it’s time to develop sets of plays for each individual, and compose a beautiful symphony. Some of this comes from my priorities and my philosophy, so that part really doesn’t matter.  I think Stein was given more latitude his first year, and I hope DL lets him loose again.

 

My take on the Defense is the talent along the Front 7 is spectacular.  And I believe the secondary matches that talent.  But the scheme lends itself to obliteration because too often scheme or formation nullifies that talent.  I hope DL and Lupoi go to more of a hybrid defense.  The talent is too good to waste.

 

Why do I say that? Because I don’t see solid coverage rules, and elite offenses are finding glaring gaps in coverage.  Ironically, the secondary is perhaps the most talented group that Lanning has ever fielded. Now mind you, the way the Hash marks are situated makes covering the wide side of the field extremely difficult because you can’t use the sideline on the wide side of the field to your advantage.  
 

But Ohio State did just that in the Rose Bowl.  They ran a scheme that basically dared Stein to throw mostly fade routes and simplified curl routes.  I don’t think Lupoi has that kind of vision, but he has the talent to execute that  same strategy.  Elite Coordinators will have a field day until DL and Lupoi fix their coverage rules, and utilize the linebackers in coverage more often. 
 

I hate express the above, because this defense is very, very talented.  But talent alone will not stop elite talent, or elite coaching.  And while I still believe the playoff format produced a lag impossible to overcome, Ohio State took every weakness we have and basically went to town at our expense.  
 

Fortunately, secondary coverage will be much tighter this year, so if Lupoi can alternate strategy and become less predictable, he will pull off a coup of epic proportions.  
 

The defense has the kind of talent to slow some very elite teams down, but the Bear Defense is not the kind of scheme to handle the open side of the field without Olympic track speed throughout the entire back seven.  That goes for every football team in America.

 

My opinion of course, but I am going to take more time to display exactly why I feel this way.  I saw Georgia struggle last year, I saw Bama fall behind several times because their schemes require elite NFL talent to cover the wide range of schemes that can attack that philosophy.  So this isn’t exclusive to DL and Lupoi. 
 

That said, I believe Lanning has the most talented group of players he’s ever had. They are raw, and will require experience.  But OBD will only face one elite team in the regular season.  Lanning’s job is to prepare his team over the course of the entire season to be prepared for the group of elite teams.  And he has an elite bunch to accomplish that exact task. 

How? By using his analysts to actually install a practice routine to deal with elite schemes.  That’s how I would do it.  Lanning showed in ‘Us against them” that he knows how to attack elite teams.  He didn’t elevate that to how to attack elite coaching.  That’s his next step. I hope he makes that happen this year.  As I’ve said before, in Dan I trust.

[Steven A]

Here is a take on Moga and Gresham

 

Tuesday Ted Talk: Luke Moga, Dillon Gresham could play vital roles for Ducks - On3

WWW.ON3.COM

---

An interesting connection took place late in Saturday's Spring game leaving some of us wondering if we could see it again this season.

 

[Duckhart2]

On 4/27/2025 at 12:12 PM, Solar said:

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.

 

Good take... I think we have that magic in abundance offensively especially with receivers and running backs. We have as good a qb room of any other team in the big. I hope the OC dials it up more with the long ball this year as he has the weapons. Thats how OSU got us good in playoff. Also, the top four teams that got bye's lost because the magic at home wasn't their and 31/2 weeks between games is ridiculous.  

[Jon Joseph]

 

Thanks for the post, Solar, and the terrific comments from you, Mike West, and others. 

 

A young group with split squads and with Coach Alliotti and Coach Brooks calling plays in the 3rd quarter, and with mix and match O-lines giving up 11 sacks, in my less than solid X and O knowledge, I find it difficult to project spring game results into the season.

 

But it sure seemed like everyone on the field and in the stands had FUN. It's a game, it's supposed to be fun.

 

My concern is when folks with more knowledge about the game than I, especially Mike West, continue to have questions about the systems being run on D and O. Especially on D, where Mike and others have doubts about OBD's athletes having the talent to fit into the system?

 

As noted above and as discussed elsewhere on the Forum, OBD could not have asked for a more favorable conference schedule in 2025, other than swapping the venues for the Penn State and Indiana games.

 

Having but two opponents, Penn State and USC, on the schedule in one of the two Power 2 conferences, with a Blue Chip Roster, is fortunate, especially with all of the roster turnover. Compare OBD's schedule to Wisconsin's in 2025 and breathe a sigh of relief. And our UGA friends play Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas at home, with road games at Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia Tech, and the annual neutral site game versus Florida. 

 

The Ducks D in 2024 could not stop the Ohio State O on two occasions, and the Penn State O in the championship game. Both Penn State RBs went for over 100 yards vs a Ducks D with the NFL's draft 21st pick, Harmon, and the 84th pick, Chadwell, playing on the D-line. Without a systemic change to the D, will the OBD defense be able to stop the teams it will have to defeat to win a national title?

 

With OBD's roster advantage and Dan's motivational moves, I see 10-2 as the floor in 2025. This means another trip to the playoffs, where there will not be any easy outs. And with another year of Wheel of Fortune-like seeding.

 

Again, thank you all for the terrific comments and Go Ducks!

 

 

 

[30Duck]

As Sgt. Schultz said so often and so well,

 

 

 

, except whatever the Ducks' scheme was in the Rose  Bowl was severely flawed. I can recognize talent, and people who know stuff say the talent is there, So, DL and TL have to "go to school" for next season to playout the way everybody wants it to. 

 

It's like baking. All the ingredients are there. But they have to be mixed just right, or it falls, or gets burned. Before you taste something, the aroma catches you. Sweet, sour either one. But never bitter, the aftertaste that never leaves. It's all there this season. 

[Jon Joseph]

 

Some Spring Clean Up to be Done.

 

Dan Lanning details the order of business for the Duck football program post-spring football

 

 

 

[JabbaNoBargain]

Well in hindsight, one observation from last year is that Jabbar Muhammad was nowhere close to as advertised. He was supposed to be a first round, shut down a side of the field kind of guy, there was a reason we brought him on. Secondary seems like it was actually pretty sub-par but we masked that for the most part against teams with a lot of relatively poor QB play. I would think/hope our young talent will really start to show in the secondary this year.