After 13 practices and two scrimmages over the past seven weeks, the Oregon football team has reached the end of the spring season.
In other words – it’s game time.
The Ducks will hold their annual spring game at 1 p.m. Saturday, an intrasquad exhibition inside Autzen Stadium open to the public.
The goal, coach Dan Lanning said as he approaches his third spring game at Oregon, is “to create that game day environment like we talk about. We’re not going to come out and show everything we did this spring from a scheme standpoint. Let’s let our guys go out there and play fast, watch them execute and see who can play football.”
Oregon’s spring game takes place the same weekend as the NFL draft, which serves as a perfect reminder of some of what the Ducks lost to last season’s 12-2 team that won the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. .
Among those in need of replacement are starting quarterback Bo Nix, record-setting wide receiver Troy Franklin, top running back, defensive lineman and cornerback Bucky Irving, Brandon Dorlus and Khyree Jackson respectively, as well as Rimington Trophy-winning center Jackson Powers-Johnson.
“We want to get better at football,” Lanning said. “We want to practice what football is like and do a good job of seeing who can play, and it’s different when you play in a game day environment, so we want to create that.”
Here are five stories to keep an eye on on Saturday.
New Oregon quarterbacks will face each other
Oregon fans will see live for the first time how the Ducks have positioned themselves for the post-Nix era.
Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel – who threw for 14,865 yards and 125 touchdowns in his career – and former five-star recruit Dante Moore – who started five games as a freshman at UCLA last season – will undoubtedly have plenty of time to show what I can do them on Saturday.
Also keep an eye on redshirt freshman Austin Novosad, a former four-star recruit who offensive coordinator Will Stein said is showing total command of the offense in his second spring.
“Austin Novosad had a fantastic spring,” Stein said. “We have really good depth in that room, competition and then great camaraderie, and it really shows on the field.”
Databases versus WRs
The Ducks’ defensive backfield underwent an offseason overhaul with the addition of transfers Jabbar Muhammad (Washington), Kobe Savage (Kansas State) and Kam Alexander (UTSA) to a veteran position group that already included Tysheem Johnson, Jahlil Florence, Dontae Manning and Nikko Reed.
It will be intriguing to see this group take on Oregon’s receivers, which is arguably the team’s deepest position, with touted transfer Evan Stewart (Texas A&M) joining record-setting Tez Johnson, returning starters Gary Bryant Jr. and Jurrion Dickey , an emerging second-year student.
Watching these units chase each other should be a fun show-within-a-show.
Oregon’s Rebuilt Defensive Line Debuts
Seniors Jordan Burch and Keyon Ware-Hudson are the rare seniors among Oregon’s defensive linemen, a unit that includes 11 sophomores, redshirt freshmen or true freshmen.
Measured by play volume, the Ducks lost their top four defensive linemen for 2023, according to defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi.
“So it’s an important spot, but I’m excited about the future and the continued development of these guys,” Lupoi said.
Oregon added senior transfer Jamaree Caldwell from Houston and sophomores Matayo Uiagalelei and A’Mauri Washington have star potential.
Saturday will be an opportunity to start familiarizing yourself with several new names and numbers.
Kicker competition is shown to the public
The Ducks need a new kicker, and special teams coach Joe Lorig said earlier this month, “it’s been good competition” during the Ducks’ indoor practices and scrimmages this spring.
Saturday the competition becomes public.
Realistically, the job is for Oregon State transfer Atticus Sappington to lose. He led the Pac-12 last season and ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage at 92.86%, converting on 13 of 14 attempts.
However, sophomore Grant Meadors was ranked by Chris Sailer Kicking as the No. 1 recruit nationally in the 2023 class.
Freshmen to Watch
The 2024 recruiting class signed by Lanning and Co. was ranked by 247sports as the fourth-best in the country. Twenty-two members of that freshman class enrolled early at Oregon to participate in spring practices.
Among them are five-star outside linebacker Elijah Rushing, as well as a host of four-star recruits on the defensive line (Aydin Breland, Jericho Johnson and Xadavien Sims) and at wide receiver (Jeremiah McClellan, Dillon Gresham and Ryan Pellum) and defense. (Aaron Flowers, Dakoda Fields and Kingston Lopa).
Follow Chris Hansen on X @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon spring football game at Autzen Stadium: What to know
