By Gavin Carpenter, Audio Story By Ben Schoenfield
Ducks fans showed out at Autzen Stadium Saturday to watch Oregon Football’s spring game. This was the first opportunity for Oregon fans and the wider public to watch new Ducks transfers Dillon Gabriel, Dante Moore, Evan Williams, and many others.
Despite a lot of the focus being on the new offensive weapons, it was all defense to start.The Dillon Gabriel led Green team started with two straight punts, and Gabriel would finish the first half 6/10, with his longest completion going for 11 yards while being sacked twice. He did have a few bright spots early, including an awareness play to take a deep shot on a free play that drew a pass interference call and gained the Green squad 15 yards. It was mostly defense in the first half, however, as Teitum Tuioti ended the first half with 1.5 sacks and Dakoda Fields had an interception off Austin Novosad that he returned 54 yards. When asked about the play of Fields and another young defensive back, Aaron Flowers, who made four tackles in the second half, Coach Lanning said ““It’s really hard to be able to come in and compete, especially as a freshman in this defense and what we ask these guys to do. There’s a lot they have to absorb and sometimes days like today are awesome days to see those guys go out there and play fast”. The only touchdown of the first half came off a shortened drive by Gabriel and the Green team after the Novosad interception was returned to the White 30 yard line, and the half ended with a score of Green 7, White 3.
In the second half, however, the offense picked up significantly, thanks to Austin Novosad going five for six for 59 yards, including a 26 yard connection to freshman wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan to set White up for a Jordan James 1 yard score. The Green team followed that up by mixing up the plays; running back, Jay Harris, tight end Kenyon Sadiq, and receiver Justius Lowe were able to advance the ball for another score. The only major highlight touchdown for either side was a 60 yard run from Brison Cobbins that retook the lead for White; “we’ve all seen what Jordan can do, and really impressed with that. I think there’s other guys that are doing a really good job growing in that room. … We have some guys we can compete with”, Coach Lanning said after the game.
In most spring games, the focus is on offense; doubly so for the Ducks, who are working with a new quarterback and new receivers. Dillon Gabriel went 14 for 21 with 163 yards and two touchdowns, Evan Stewart had 3 catches for 67 yards, and Jay Harris had 52 yards on the ground and 34 receiving yards. But the real star of the show was the defense, particularly for new faces. Dakoda Fields had an interception, tritium Tuioti had 2.5 sacks, and Aaron Flowers had a pass break-up and some great coverage throughout.
The question on most Oregon fans’ minds is whether this team is going to be as good as or better than last year’s team; while that remains to be seen, Coach Lanning was focused on keeping the same essence and standards of past teams. “I think the DNA traits for us aren’t going to change.”, he said. “ It still has to be about connection, growth, toughness and sacrifice. Every team is unique, every team is different but it’s about growing up together. I think our team grew up a ton coming into spring. We had a talented team, but we had to become a team. I think I saw a lot of that throughout this spring”.