Oregon Week 4 practice observations: Ducks appear mostly healthy ahead of showdown with Colorado
With No. 10 Oregon’s marquee matchup with No. 19 Colorado just four days away, the Ducks were back on the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex outdoor practice fields on Wednesday.
The opening 20 minutes of this morning’s practice were open to reporters and photographers, during which the Ducks went through stretching and warmups, special teams work, and individual position drills.
Here are some notes and observations from those periods.
Injuries and absences
Oregon’s roster remains mostly healthy ahead of Saturday’s showdown with the Buffs. The majority of the Ducks’ scholarship players participated in practice, in some capacity, on Wednesday.
For the second day in a row, just two scholarship players were absent: Freshman offensive lineman Lipe Moala and junior placekicker Andrew Boyle. Both have been sidelined for the majority of the season.
Junior offensive lineman Nishad Strother participated in a combo-blocking drill during the third period of practice. He repped at left guard during the drill. This marks the first time since August that the East Carolina transfer has been seen participating in a contact drill, as he has been dealing with a right arm injury for nearly a month.
Junior linebacker Jestin Jacobs was in full pads and cleats but was once again a limited participant.
Practice observations
Ross James took the first punt of the day once again and lifted some long punts with good hangtime throughout the special teams portion of practice.
James and Luke Dunne punted to a return group that featured Tez Johnson, Troy Franklin, Gary Bryant Jr., Kris Hutson.
The Ducks’ group of kick returners on Wednesday featured Bucky Irving, Noah Whittington, Jordan James, Nikko Reed, and Rodrick Pleasant.
During the third period of practice, Oregon’s skill position players faced off with the defensive backs and linebackers in a Memphis drill that featured a quarterback throwing a short pass to a receiver in a 1-on-1 matchup while a running back worked to stop a blitzing defender.
Tuesday marked the first time this season that Oregon has gone through the drill during an open portion of practice. Bo Nix and Ty Thompson worked with one group, while Brock Thomas worked with another.
Some of the more notable reps during the drill were as follows:
Gary Bryant Jr. won his rep against Nikko Reed and made a nice catch along the sidelineBryce Boettcher blanketed Noah Whittington in coverage to win his first repTraeshon Holden beat Tysheem Johnson to win his repWhittington beat Blake Purchase to win his second repJordan James ran a crisp route to beat Mase Funa and win his second rep
Post-practice media
Wednesday’s practice is scheduled to conclude at approximately 11:40 a.m. PT. Afterward, head coach Dna Lanning, LB Jeffrey Bassa, OL Ajani Cornelius, DB Steve Stephens IV, RB Noah Whittington are scheduled to speak with reporters.
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