After missing the Oregon Ducks’ game vs. the Stanford Cardinal just under two weeks ago, offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead will be at Autzen Stadium and available to coach on Friday night, from the booth, rather than the sideline though.
Moorhead missed the Stanford game after undergoing surgery on Saturday morning in Palo Alto. He was able to return home to Eugene later that week and was said to be resting and recovering. Leading up to this game against the California Golden Bears, head coach Mario Cristobal reported that it was unclear whether or not Moorhead would be able to return to the sideline, but it appears he has made enough progress in his recovery to do at least be in the stadium.
The return of Moorhead has the chance to be impactful for the Oregon offense, which has struggled at times during the season. As the leading play-caller and the quarterbacks coach, having Moorhead absent seemingly plays a trickle-down effect on the sideline. Not only did the Ducks have to rely on play-calling from running backs coach Jim Mastro, but they also didn’t have the QB coach around to help Anthony Brown when things got tough down the stretch.
Luckily, that likely won’t be an issue this week with Moorhead returning to the sideline. Let’s hope the offense looks improved because of it.
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