oregon spring game – Page 5 – Syndication Server

Opinion: Honorary coaches wrinkle emphasizes Oregon Ducks’ all-in nature of spring game

Dan Lanning has stressed the importance of the spring game for recruiting. Now, with 4 Oregon legends as honorary coaches, he’s stepped it up a notch.

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Earlier this week, the Oregon Ducks announced they will have honorary coaches present for the annual spring game set for April 23 at Autzen Stadium.

In a release, Oregon announced De’Anthony Thomas and Haloti Ngata will be the coordinators for the Yellow Team, while LaMichael James and Arik Armstead will be the coordinators for the Green Team.

It’s a fun wrinkle to the spring game I don’t recall seeing before, but it also highlights the importance of the day for the Ducks, which is something Dan Lanning has stressed since arriving in Eugene.

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That Saturday, which has been dubbed “Duck Day” by Lanning, is meant to be a showcase for the school, and it will be a perfect way to show the numerous recruits that will be in town for Oregon’s exhibition game just what the are in for if they commit to the Ducks.

So far we know a few highly rated recruits who will be in town for the game, headlined by five-star running back Richard Young and five-star defensive lineman Jayden Wayne. As the weeks go on, more will certainly hop on board. It’s all part of Lanning’s plan to attack recruiting in the 2023 and 2024 classes.

“One of the biggest things that we can do as a fan base and as a staff is to focus on getting guys here on the 23rd for our spring game,” Lanning said on national signing day in February. “April 23, 1 p.m., we need to pack the crowd and make Autzen the experience we know it can be. That’s one of the big pieces moving forward, and then just getting these guys on the phone, on-campus, on zooms, and that’s where we’ll attack moving forward.”

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By bringing in former Oregon legends to participate in the game and join in on the fun, Lanning is ensuring that these recruits — and players on the roster who may not be certain about their future in Eugene — see a little bit about what it means to be a Duck, and witness how important a place it was for some of the best players in Oregon history.

Who knows if it will work, or if the recruits on campus for the spring game will even take notice of the Oregon legends they’re standing alongside. What matters is that Lanning is trying, though, and bringing in new ideas and innovations to try and up the Ducks’ recruiting efforts to land some of the top talents in Eugene. At the end of the day, that’s what is most important of all.

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Oregon players we can’t wait to watch in Spring Football: QB Ty Thompson

We have nothing but questions surrounding QB Ty Thompson after the 2021 season. With Spring Ball around the corner, we may finally get some answers.

Though we are in the thick of basketball season, and the offseason in football keeps rolling along, a light has shown itself at the end of the tunnel. For the Oregon Ducks, that light is Spring Football. On March 10th, Dan Lanning and his new coaching staff will hit the gridiron for the first of 15 practices with the team, giving us an oasis of things to talk about.

One of the things we are looking forward to the most is seeing some individual players take the field. How do they look after the offseason? Are they healthy? What improvements have they made? How will they be used in the new scheme?

The list of guys we can’t wait to watch is endless, but we highlighted a few key players to keep an eye on.

Quarterback Ty Thompson

He’s the first-ever five-star quarterback to commit to Oregon. But after on year with the team, Ty Thompson is still somewhat unknown. His lack of playing time in 2021 as a true freshman is a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes.

Most five-star quarterbacks that have his size (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and arm strength see the field in their freshman season, and some even take on the starting role.

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But Thompson, despite the calls from the Duck faithful in the stands, was on the sideline with a clipboard for the majority of the 2021 season. A big part of the mystery is that even when the Ducks had some games in control — or when a win was so far out of reach — starting quarterback Anthony Brown was still on the field.

Thompson did appear in three games where he was 7-of-15 for 87 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The stats don’t exactly leap off the page, but Thompson wasn’t given the chance to show out and play with the first-string offense.

When former coach Mario Cristobal left for Miami before the Alamo Bowl, many suggested that might lead to Thompson not only playing in the bowl game but starting the glorified exhibition against Oklahoma.

Sorry. Thompson didn’t see the field in San Antonio, adding to the mystery.

Now Dan Lanning is the head coach and he brought in offensive guru Kenny Dillingham to run the Duck offense. Surely this will be Thompson’s time to shine and take the reigns of that coveted starting quarterback position, right?

Those hopes were tempered when Auburn transfer Bo Nix announced he was coming to Eugene for his senior season. Surely Thompson will have every chance to beat out Nix in the spring, but senior transfer quarterbacks usually don’t go somewhere to waste their last season of college football holding a clipboard. If Nix thought there was even a chance of that, he wouldn’t be a Duck.

Nix also has the advantage over Thompson as he played in Dillingham’s system in his freshman year.

To Thompson’s credit, in the world of the transfer portal, he could have left Eugene as soon as Nix signed on the dotted line. But he didn’t. Staying and willing to compete for the job had to show the new coaching staff that Thompson has more to him than just the physical attributes.

He’s a fighter and that’s just the kind of player Lanning wants on his team.

While we didn’t get many chances to see Thompson’s ability to sling it in 2021, that will change in the next couple of weeks with the arrival of spring ball. Finally, his talents will be put on display in a QB battle against Nix and fellow freshman Jay Butterfield. It’s far too early to determine who will come out on top, but after developing a ton of questions about the highest QB commit in Oregon history, we may finally start to get some answers.

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Oregon Ducks announce date for first Spring Game under Dan Lanning

During his halftime speech at the Oregon basketball game, new Ducks’ head coach Dan Lanning announced the date and time for the Spring Game.

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One of the most intriguing Oregon Duck Spring Games that we have seen in a long time now has a date.

In a rousing halftime speech at the Oregon vs. Oregon State basketball game on Saturday night, head coach Dan Lanning announced that the spring game is set for April 23rd at 1 p.m.

This is certainly something that you will want to mark your calendars for, since it will be the first time that we get to see both the coaching staff that Lanning has put together, as well as the scheme that they plan to use in their first year in Eugene.

On top of that, there are a number of new recruits that will be on the roster, as well as an intriguing quarterback competition that will be underway.

The Spring Game is always fun, but this year it is set to be must-watch entertainment.

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Oregon’s spring game is Saturday, so which fans can attend?

Information about which fans can get into the Oregon Spring Game on Saturday is expected to be released this week.

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The Oregon Ducks are putting on their 2021 Spring Game this coming weekend, set to kick off on May 1st at 2 p.m. at Autzen Stadium.

For the first time in over a year, the stands will be filled with fans, as Autzen plans to allow 15% capacity, which means approximately 8,100 fans will be allowed into the 54,000 seat stadium.

So which fans will be given first dibs on the tickets? We don’t know exactly yet, but information on how to claim tickets will be released publicly this week and be available to season ticket holders, Duck Athletic Fund members, students, and the general public first.

Fans at the game will have to abide by COVID protocols and social distancing practices, like wearing masks actively unless eating or drinking. There are expected to be people patrolling the stands to enforce the protocol.

As it was last year, the spring game’s annual food drive to benefit Food for Lane County will be virtual.

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Ducks to allow fans at 15 percent capacity for Oregon Spring Game

Approximately 8,000 fans will be allowed inside Autzen Stadium to watch the Oregon Spring Game, set to take place on May 1st.

We got our first taste of what it will be like to have fans back in the stands for Oregon Duck games at the spring scrimmage on Saturday, and now the school has announced that they will once again be giving spectators a chance to see their team at the Spring Game, set to take place on May 1st.

The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., and Autzen will be allowed to fill to 15 percent capacity, which is approximately 8,000 people.

Normally a free-for-all that allows spectators in for free with a donation to Food For Lane County, this year’s spring game will be a ticketed event to allow for proper physical distancing. The tickets will first be made available for season ticket holders, Duck Athletic Fund members, students, and the general public.

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