Tag: Ty Thompson

7 major takeaways from Oregon Ducks’ spring game

Ty Thompson rebounded after a slow start, and Cole Martin made his presence felt. Our takeaways from Saturday.

After months without football inside Autzen Stadium, there were hours of fun to be had in Eugene on Saturday afternoon while the annual Oregon Ducks’ spring game took place.

While it was an intrasquad scrimmage that didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, it offered Oregon fans and media members a chance to see some of the new faces on the team, and what the updated version of the Ducks will look like going into 2023.

We saw several highlights, a breakout performance from Tez Johnson and Cole Martin, and the grittiness and tenacity that makes QB Bo Nix special. We also got to see a roller-coaster performance from Ty Thompson that should ultimately leave fans with a bit more confidence than they had coming into the game. Let’s start there. Here are my biggest takeaways from the spring game, starting with No. 13.

Instant reaction: Defense dominated the offense in Spring Game

There wasn’t as much of an offensive explosion for fans to enjoy as last year, with the Oregon defense dominating the day.

After quite a slow start from both offenses in the first half, both the Green and Yellow teams managed to find their way into the end zone in a spring game that was dominated by both defensive units.

Green was ahead 10-0 at the halftime break and went on to take it 23-20.

Bo Nix found Troy Franklin for a 32-yard touchdown with just under a minute remaining before the half ran out. The senior quarterback took several shots down the field to his favorite receiver and it wasn’t until the touchdown that Nix finally hit Franklin in stride.

That was nice to see, but unfortunately, most of the talk after the game was the ineffectiveness of backup Ty Thompson. He threw eight incompletions to start out his day before finding Patrick Herbert for a five-yard gain.

Oregon’s backup did have a better second half, however, as he threw for a couple of touchdowns.

Thompson did drive the Yellow team down to the 7-yard line, but his fourth-down attempt fell to the turf in the end zone, and the half ended with that thud.

While the offenses had a hard time finding their way, the defenses both dominated. There is a reason why Nix couldn’t find Franklin open until late in the first half and why Thompson struggled.

Transfer Tez Johnson made the play of the day as he turned a short crossing route into a 63-yard touchdown thanks to his speed and maneuverability. He

Twitter Reactions: Duck fans react to Oregon Spring Game

There were a lot of highlights, and a few moments to remind you that it’s still spring. All in all, very fun spring game.

As you would expect with any spring game across the country, there were a lot of ups and downs for the Oregon Ducks on Saturday afternoon.

This is not a finished product, nor should it be after just 14 practices with this new roster. There were some really solid plays, including some great passes from Bo Nix to Troy Franklin, and some really nice running from Dante Dowdell and Bucky Irving. Tez Johnson provided the highlight of the day in the second half with a beautiful catch and run for a 63-yard TD.

There were also some plays that reminded everyone that we’re still months away from games that matter. Ty Thompson had a number of passes that could have been intercepted, and in general, the offense had far too many three-and-outs.

All in all, it was a great day for the Ducks, with the sun shining and a packed Autzen Stadium. Oregon fans took to Twitter to react to all of the action.

Notable quotes from Dan Lanning after Ducks’ first scrimmage of spring 2023

“It was good to get get the guys out there and see them compete.”

After seven practices so far this spring, the Oregon Ducks finally took the show from the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex over to Autzen Stadium, where they hosted their first scrimmage of the spring season.

With select fans in attendance, Dan Lanning got his team to take more of a game form on Saturday, pitting offense against defense and working to see which players have improved the most so far this offseason.

While it was team against team, there was still a lot of learning and molding to be done.

After the scrimmage, we got to talk to Lanning about how things went and what took place. Here are some of the most notable quotes from that conversation.

Troy Franklin talks year two with Bo Nix, Ty Thompson growth, and Will Stein’s offense

Troy Franklin talked to media for the first time in months on Thursday. He dished about Will Stein’s offense, and which CBs have impressed him so far.

There’s a nice mix of returning faces and new additions for the Oregon Ducks this season. While almost half of the roster has been turned over, and over 40 recruits or transfers are now on the team, some of the top performers from the 2022 season will be in Eugene again this year.

Among them are QB Bo Nix, WR Troy Franklin, RB Bucky Irving, and TE Terrence Ferguson.

We got our first chance to talk to Franklin, Oregon’s leading WR from last season, on Thursday afternoon following the Ducks’ fourth spring practice of the year. It gave us a chance to discuss what Franklin had been working to improve over the offseason, how his chemistry with Nix is growing, and what his new role in the Will Stein offense.

It resulted in some great insights and quotes from the junior WR. Here are a few of the most notable things Franklin said.

Position Report Card: Grading Oregon position groups at start of spring football

Going into spring ball, how do we grade Oregon’s position groups? Here’s our pre-spring report card. Let’s revisit after the spring game.

After a two-week break, the Oregon Ducks are getting set to return to the football field this week, resuming spring practices as they get prepared for the annual Spring Game on April 29th.

There are endless storylines to follow over the coming weeks, and a number of questions to answer about the current roster and schemes. We’ve tried to dive into an early look at some of the biggest points over conversation already this spring, but as we get set for spring ball to get underway once again this week, I wanted to offer a grade for each position group based on early projections. We don’t have a big sample size for which we can go off of, but based on roster makeup and early expectations, this will be how I expect each group to grade out.

After the spring game, I will revisit these grades and update the report card for each position.

Let’s get started.

The 10 most important storylines to watch as spring football resumes for Oregon

Spring football resumes in a few days for Oregon. Here are the biggest storylines to watch as the Ducks get back to work.

We are just a few days away from the end of spring break, which will see the Oregon Ducks return to the gridiron and resume spring practices after a short hiatus.

Earlier in March, we got to see a pair of practices from Dan Lanning and Co., giving fans a quick glimpse at some of the newest faces on the team, a handful of returning players, and a couple of the most notable position battles taking part across the roster. We also saw several new coaches getting their feet wet in Eugene, including new offensive coordinator Will Stein, safeties coach Chris Hampton, and offensive line coach A’lique Terry.

While the first two practices acted as a nice appetizer before the two-week break, now we can really get into the meat of the spring season leading up to the annual spring game on April 29 in Autzen Stadium.

In order to make sure we are prepared and ready to dive back into the spring football season, I wanted to dust off some storylines and update everyone on what to be watching for in the coming weeks. With practice starting on April 4, and going Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday throughout the month, there will be a ton to talk about.

Here’s what I will be paying attention to the most.

Oregon Ducks positioned well in ESPN’s Future QB Power Rankings

With Bo Nix returning in 2023, plus Ty Thompson and Austin Novosad representing the future, the Ducks’ QB outlook is strong.

We all know that when it comes to projected quarterback play in the 2023 college football season, the Oregon Ducks are as well-situated as almost any team in the nation. With Bo Nix coming back for one final collegiate season, the Ducks’ offense should be as good as any in a loaded Pac-12 conference, with Nix picking up some early Heisman Trophy buzz after his career season in 2022.

While Oregon is set at the QB position for this season at the very least, they are also in an advantageous spot when it comes to the future, as well.

Redshirt sophomore Ty Thompson surprised a lot of people by not entering the transfer portal this offseason, instead sticking around to grow and develop behind Nix in Eugene. Going into the 2024 season, he will likely have a leg up on the competition for QB1, duking it out with current true freshman Austin Novosad, a 4-star passer from Texas who was rated as the No. 10 QB in the 2023 class. The Ducks are also in a decent spot when it comes to recruiting a QB out of the 2024 class, with No. 1 overall prospect Dylan Raiola coming to town for the annual spring game, and a number of other highly-rated passers either scheduled to be on campus in the coming months or have already taken a visit to check out the Ducks.

So with all of this in mind, where does Oregon rank among the top teams in the nation when it comes to future QB power rankings? That’s a question that ESPN recently asked, ranking the best situations in the country based on projections for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons.

“Assessments are based on current rosters and committed recruits, while taking into account the likelihood of transfers, both in and out of programs,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg wrote. “Programs that have continuity and success with coaching quarterbacks also received special consideration.”

Let’s take a look at where the Ducks’ QB room ranks when looking at the present and the future.

Spring Ball Takeaways: Dan Lanning stresses consistency in second practice for Ducks

The sun is out in Eugene, and a big group of recruits watched Oregon’s second spring practice. Our biggest takeaways from the morning session.

Energy was high for everyone on the Oregon Ducks team on Thursday morning as the team took the field for their first practice of the spring season. That was to be expected.

“I haven’t been around a lot of spring practices that weren’t good on day one,” Lanning said on Thursday after practice. “Everybody has juice and energy, a lot of enthusiasm.”

The key is making sure that you can keep that energy up throughout the month of March and into April as spring practice continues. Lanning stressed that on Thursday afternoon, telling his guys that they had no intention of being “one-hit wonders,” but rather that they needed to bring that energy day after day and make sure consistency was built.

It appeared that the consistency was there for the Ducks on Saturday morning as they made their way back out of the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex for their second spring practice of the year. Media members were allowed to watch the first 15-20 minutes of practice, where we once again saw some stretching, both static and dynamic, followed by special teams drills, ball security drills, and a quick individual period.

Here are some of the takeaways from the day.

Oregon Spring Ball Player Spotlight: Austin Novosad and the future of the Ducks’ QB position

There are a handful of Ducks we can’t wait to see once spring ball starts. QB Austin Novosad is near the top of the list.

The Oregon Ducks will be taking the practice field and getting the spring football season started a week from today. This fact has brought a ton of excitement to Eugene.

Why? Because after the successful and encouraging 2022 season under Dan Lanning, there seems to be more anticipation surrounding this program than we’ve seen in the past few seasons. The Ducks have a Heisman contender at quarterback, a potential Biletnikoff contender at wide receiver, and a running back group that could be among the best in the nation next season. On the defensive side of the ball, there are some key returning starters in the front seven, a couple of promising up-and-coming players in the secondary, and a handful of intriguing transfer-portal players who could end up making a massive difference for Oregon. On top of all of that, the Ducks are fresh off of back-to-back top-15 recruiting classes, stacking the roster with young, unproven talent.

It’s safe to say that there are a handful of guys that we can’t wait to see take the field in Eugene.

To kick off our preview of some of these players, we wanted to focus on QB Austin Novosad, a 4-star player from the 2023 class who flipped to Oregon late in the game, choosing Will Stein and the Ducks over the Baylor Bears.

Here’s our breakdown of the young QB who could end up giving a glimpse of what’s to come this spring in Eugene.