Oregon Football Practice Report: Dec. 18
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Venue: Moshofsky Center
Format: Full pads
Mark Helfrich made a rare departure Thursday from Oregon’s policy of not commenting on injuries, acknowledging the validity of reports that circulated a day earlier regarding a season-ending injury to all-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.
The senior was injured in a non-contact drill Tuesday, and will miss the Ducks’ playoff semifinal against Florida State at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 (2:20 p.m. PT, ESPN), as well as the national championship game were Oregon to advance.
“He’s already been ‘Ifo’ in terms of leadership, already made a difference in terms of how he handled getting dinged up,” Helfrich said. “I expect our team to handle it the way they’ve handled everything else.”
Ekpre-Olomu was receiving treatment in the Casanova Center while the Ducks practiced. In a brief conversation to check on his spirits, he said he was optimistic about a speedy recovery from surgery – not in regards to how quickly he’d be back on the field, but how quickly he’d be able to join the team in Los Angeles for Rose Bowl week. When Helfrich talks about Ekpre-Olomu being ‘Ifo,’ that sort of selfless mindset is exactly what he means.
With Ekpre-Olomu out, redshirt freshman Chris Seisay got the majority of the reps with the first team in practice. Confirmation bias is always potentially in play in a situation like this, but Seisay made some plays. He broke up a pass to B.J. Kelley in 1-on-1s, and later had an interception in team drills.
Seisay made a splash off the bench in Oregon’s win over Michigan State earlier this year. He was thrown at quite a bit late in the Ducks’ win at UCLA, and Seisay said all those experiences have been valuable.
“I’m way more comfortable than I was first time out there in front of that crowd,” Seisay said. “I’m feeling a lot more comfortable now.”
Another potential option, senior Dior Mathis, ran step for step with speedy Devon Allen on an incompletion in 1-on-1s. Mathis also had an interception in that period, and another in 11-on-11, hauling in a ball tipped by Danny Mattingly. Safety Erick Dargan has also played some corner the last couple years and could be in the mix.
A member of the media asked season-long starter Troy Hill if he was “next man up” in the wake of Ekpre-Olomu’s injury. “Am I next man up?” Hill asked. “I’ve been up. I don’t know what you mean.”
“We feel good,” Hill went on to say. “Seisay and Dior, we’ve got a lot of confidence in them. They’ve played a lot; they’re veterans. We feel real good about what they’re going to bring to the table. We know we’ve got to mesh a lot harder because Ifo’s presence is going to be out of the game, but that’s going to bring us stronger. Ifo left his presence with us, he left his work ethic and everything with us, and he’s still coming to talk to us and being there with us. So it’s like he never left. He’s still out there with us, and we’ve still got him in the back of our heads.”
Highlights: With the Ducks in full pads for the first time since the Pac-12 title game, coaches jump-started the day with a sumo-style drill right off the bat. Players were matched 1-on-1 in the “O” logo at midfield, trying to push each other out of the circle. Kelley bested Glen Ihenacho, and Eddie Heard won a rep against Jake McCreath. Braden Eggert and Jalen Jelks fought to a draw the first rep of the drill, so they were called back in for the last one, and after another drawn-out, even battle, Eggert ended up on top. … After a week of watching Marcus Mariota endure interviews, autograph requests and photo ops, it was great to watch him play football again. He began one team period with a long run and then a strike to Dwayne Stanford, showing no ill effects from the grueling awards week trip. …
Byron Marshall exploded through a big hole for a long run to kick off a team period matching the travel squad against itself. Charles Nelson also had a long run, getting a key block from Royce Freeman. Defensively, Tony Washington beat the block of a tight end to make a tackle for loss, Sam Kamp stopped a run play at the line and Joe Walker and Johnny Ragin III teamed up to corral another back. … In pass-rush drills, Tyrell Crosby and Cameron Hunt locked up rushers, while Henry Mondeaux showed off his quickness by beating two different tackles, including starter Jake Fisher.
Other observations: Helfrich said the offense started the day well, and the defense finished strong. Obviously the goal is to both start and finish well, so the Ducks will continue sharpening up over the next two weeks. … Helfrich said the Rose Bowl game plan should be in by Saturday when the Ducks break for the holidays. He said at this point in bowl prep, coaches tend to try some “exotic” things that can lead to some of the inconsistency by players. As coaches hone the game plan, that should help players get dialed in. … Special teams periods were spent on the kickoff return and punt teams.