What a historic day. First day of practice in the new era of Oregon football with Willie Taggart at the helm. Not only that, they now allow media inside practices for the first 30 minutes.
So I was there shooting away with my camera, enjoying the freedom of roaming the sidelines taking pictures just like the good ol' days. Of course with only 30 minutes to watch and most of that behind the lens, I did not get that much out of watching the drills but still have a few notes to pass along.
Zach Okun
So I was there shooting away with my camera, enjoying the freedom of roaming the sidelines taking pictures just like the good ol' days. Of course with only 30 minutes to watch and most of that behind the lens, I did not get that much out of watching the drills but still have a few notes to pass along.
- Energy. First thing I would say is it seems there is more energy from the coaches than before. Now keep in mind, "before" was back during Chip's first year, the last time media was allowed inside practices. No idea how the energy was under Helfrich. But the energy in there from the coaches was very good.
- Lots of simply learning the ropes today for everybody. It was not a super-efficient 30 minutes, nor should it be expected to be. Getting from drill to drill took a little time and it didn't seem like there were a ton of reps at each station. Still though, it the guys actually looked pretty good out there.
- Including Braxton Burmeister who was throwing with the other QB's. We will need to see what kind of arm he has because in the drills I watched he was not asked to throw deep balls. I would say Herbert was probably still No. 1 but really they did not have a practice order during the parts we watched. So there was no real telling who was with which string.
- New frosh DT Jordon Scott is very wide for his height...definitely a nose tackle/interior DL...not a DE. He is going to need to watch his nutrition over the years.
- Nobody was wearing single digits. Under Taggart you have to earn the right. Charles Nelson was wearing #18, Darren Carrington was #22. I asked Darren when he might wear 7 again and he said he thinks maybe fall camp. I asked Charles how he liked number 18 and he said "it's OK for now." Didn't seem like a big fan of it.
- I'll be back for another 30 minutes on Friday but not Saturday as I'll be down in Los Angeles covering the Rivals LA Camp.
- Interviews today were with Royce Freeman, Troy Dye and Darren Carrington plus Justin Herbert and Coach Cristobal did group interviews.
Zach Okun
