Fall Ball Takeaways: Ducks start playing ‘real football’ with full pads in practice No. 6

The pads were popping on Thursday, with the Ducks back on the field in full pads for the first time this fall. Here are some instant takeaways from the practice…

At long last, the Oregon Ducks are now playing “real football.”

It was a statement made popular by offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham last week when asked if four practices in helmets and shoulder pads was enough to evaluate some of the players on the team.

“We haven’t even had full pads yet. We haven’t played football yet. We played 7-on-7 a lot though,” Dillingham said.

That was no longer on Thursday. After taking a day off on Wednesday, the Ducks were back at it with full pads to start the second stint of fall camp. The intensity was palpable, as players were flying around and cracking pads back at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex.

Here are some of our biggest takeaways from the day: