Oregon
Offense scores ‘with ease,’ defense forces 4 turnovers in Oregon’s first fall scrimmage
The seesaw battle between Oregon’s offense and defense continued during the Ducks’ first fall scrimmage.
The offense moved the ball early, then the defense came up with some stops and forced four turnovers Saturday afternoon at Autzen Stadium, according to coach Dan Lanning.
“I think the offense came out early and really had a lot of success early with the defense,” Lanning said. “Today we did some live tackling, some stuff to the ground. I think that’s a shocker to people at first and our guys were running really hard early and had some early scores. I’d say in the second half of the scrimmage, the defense really came back situationally and performed a lot better in two minute and third down, red area. So it was a little bit back and forth.
“Plenty of stuff to clean up, got to see a lot of reps. Got to go back and watch the film to see really what we have as far as the guys that participated today.”
Playing fast and executing while doing so were points of emphasis, along with knockback tackles and turnovers.
The scrimmage was closed to neutral observers, but Lanning felt the results were mixed in those areas.
“I don’t know if (the speed) was consistent enough at the level that we want,” he said. “We have really high expectations for what we want. At times we were really, really good. And at times we weren’t. So we got to be more consistent.”
Lanning didn’t cite any individual player’s performance, but noted the offense connected on explosive plays and “scored pretty much with ease” in the early going. So much so that there weren’t any punts early in the scrimmage and the Ducks were trying to have punts on Saturday to better evaluate that position battle, which got some opportunities later on.
Not all was bad for the defense though. There were three interceptions and a fumble inside the red zone, according to Lanning.
“We got to do a better job taking care of the ball on offense,” he said. “Certainly attacked it at times on defense.”
The defense’s physicality picked up as the day went on, which was not unexpected given it was UO’s first fall practice with tackling to the ground with the exception of kick and punt returns.
“We operated like we were going to be in thud mode today and then those guys didn’t go down,” Lanning said. “We gotta tackle. And the only way to get good at it is practicing it. Now, it came on and some physicality showed up throughout practice, but we have to continue to take that to another level.”
Personnel-wise Lanning said seventh-year senior nose tackle Popo Aumavae “was out there a little bit” after he missed Friday’s practice. Aumavae missed last season due to injury.
Defensive tackle Keyon Ware-Hudson, who was also out on Friday, and receiver Justius Lowe, who was out Wednesday and Friday, both didn’t take part in the scrimmage.
Lanning and the staff will review Saturday’s film and the Ducks will be off from practice Sunday before another week of practice in what is forecast to be extreme heat. Until then, his initial impressions were much of the same aspects Oregon was emphasizing entering the day.
“We gotta take care of the ball better,” Lanning said. “That’s an easy one to come away with. We got to tackle better. It’s an easy one for defense. Gotta communicate and just operate more efficiently.”
A full weekend of wins saw Dan Lanning and company finally come up short in a recruiting battle.
Four-star linebacker Noah Mikhail made his college decision Sunday afternoon. The 2025 California prospect had a final three of Oregon, USC, and Texas A&M.
Mikhail visited Eugene in June. He also visited USC (June 7) and Texas A&M (June 21). Ultimately, he decided to go with the Aggies.
Mikhail plays for Bonita in La Verne, California. According to the 247Sports Composite, the 6-3, 227-pound prospect is the 69th rated player in the country and the No. 8 linebacker.
Lanning and the Ducks coaching staff has had a busy weekend. On Friday, four-star running back Jordon Davison and four-star defensive lineman Josiah Sharma committed to Oregon while Saturday saw five-star cornerback Dorian Brew and four-star tight end Da’Saahn Brame do the same.
The Ducks have 14 commits right now, with a pair of five-stars and 11 four-stars, according to the 247Sports Composite. That’s good for No. 5 in the nation.
Stay up to date on all things Oregon Ducks by visiting Oregon Ducks on SI daily and following Oregon Ducks on SI on Facebook and X.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon State University’s Big Fish Lab is giving a “grand finale” presentation of its educational “Summer of the Shark” series — which includes an in-person shark dissection — at McMenamins Bagdad Theater and Pub in Southeast Portland on July 23.
The event includes lectures on the types of sharks found on Oregon’s Coast, the lives of mother sharks and the risk of shark attacks. The event also includes trivia, discussions with local shark experts, and, once again, a shark dissection performed live.
“Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to meet Oregon’s shark scientists and learn about the important work they do,” Mcmenamins announced. “And we’ll be projecting the dissection onto the theater screen, so you don’t miss out on any of the details. And just in case you’re wondering, don’t worry: the shark died of natural causes.”
Doors open for the event at 6 p.m. and the show will run from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets for the event are $12 for adults and $8 kids 17 and younger.
Dan Lanning has done a great job of building a talented roster in Eugene as the Oregon Ducks football program is gearing up for what is expected to be a special season in 2024. And right along with that comes a lot of interest in possible draft picks.
So, as Oregon football fans continue to get ready for the upcoming season, they should keep an eye on and start getting excited about the Oregon Ducks’ NFL prospects. In PFF’s recent way-too-early 2025 NFL mock draft, two standout Oregon football players are tabbed for getting picked up in the first round of the draft.
While it might seem a little too early for way-too-early NFL draft content, PFF is literally called Pro Football Focus, so, you know, you can’t really blame them for getting excited about things.
Cornerback Jabbar Muhammad is the first Oregon Duck to land on the list. According to the good folks over at PFF, Muhammad is currently projected as the No. 24 overall pick, which would currently have him getting selected by the Green Bay Packers.
At least he’d get to continue to wear yellow and green. That’s a good thing, right?
Over on the opposite side of the ball sits former Texas A&M Aggies transfer Evan Stewart, who appears poised to thrive as a wide receiver for the Oregon Ducks. Stewart missed a few games last year, but he has immense potential and PFF is currently projecting Stewart as the No. 26 pick in the draft, allowing him to go play for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Which, you know, more green. And a bird!
There’s a lot that’s going to happen between now and the actual 2025 NFL Draft, but as it stands right now, this would be a solid job from Lanning and his coaching staff to develop these players and put them on the platform they need to get to the NFL.
As the season gets closer to getting underway, Oregon football fans should keep an eye on the performances made by Stewart and Muhammad, who could improve their standing in the NFL draft thanks to more strong showings this season.
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