You would think catching a football would be the exact same thing whether is was coming out of the right hand or the left hand, but those who watch baseball know the ball spins differently for a southpaw than it does for a traditional right-hander.
The same goes for a football and the Oregon Duck receivers are adjusting to the differences as the lefty Dillon Gabriel doesn’t spin it as Bo Nix did.
“The rotation is different, but it’s all pretty much just the same. When he (Gabriel) throws it, you just have to go up there and grab it,” Oregon senior receiver Tez Johnson said. “He throws a pretty good ball, though. You just have to know that on the right side, it’s going to drift away from us, and on the other side it’s going to drift towards us.”
It’s quite the adjustment, but this is why you have a month and a half of spring practices and fall camp later this year before the actual season begins. From the sounds of it, Gabriel’s passes are hitting their marks.
“It just takes a day or two, just a couple throws to be like ‘Oh okay,'” Johnson said. “More right-hand dominant than the left because the right-handed quarterbacks are gonna hit more on the left hand than the right.”
The Ducks won’t care which hand Gabriel’s passes hit, as long as they stick is all that matters.
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