SPRING FOOTBALL GAME DAY;
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SPRING FOOTBALL 2013;
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SPRING FOOTBALL 2013;
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SPRING FOOTBALL 2013; The
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Oregon head coach Chip Kelly emphasized again on Saturday afternoon in his post spring game comments that completing a depth chart for the fall wasn’t in his immediate plans. In fact, Kelly said he and his coaching staff won’t even begin considering a depth chart until a week before the Ducks first game on September 1st.
That might be true, but redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota certainly felt he needed to leave a lasting impression on Kelly and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich over these next few months when coaches and players aren’t allowed to have official contact until fall camp.
Mariota not only made a lasting impression on Saturday, he just might have secured a starting role when the Ducks begin the 2012 season against Arkansas State. Ok, he may not have won the job, but by most accounts he certainly won the day. ”Obviously, Marcus did a really good job,” Kelly said in his post game remarks.
Nearly 24 hours after Oregon’s annual spring football game, the fans and media members are left to wonder what’s ahead for this 2012 edition of the Duck football team. Was Saturday’s game an accurate representation of what lies ahead. Not likely simply because Oregon’s squad as a whole was sectioned off into two teams through a coaching draft process with what seemed to be an imbalance of talent.
Now, Kelly and his coaching staff will hit the recruiting trail with video in hand to evaluate what they saw on the field and how to clean up any mistakes and scheme breakdowns come fall camp. “Overall I think it’s developing depth” said Kelly in his post game comments when asked what he’d like to see moving forward. “I never make a quick rash decision. I’m gonna watch tape,..take a look at and get an opportunity to see the learning experiences we can get out of this,…what our teaching experiences opportunities are for these kids. I would say it was a positive experience overall.”
Watch Kelly’s complete post game press conference above.
Watch Kelly’s complete post game press conference above.
The “Mighty Oregon” tan squad led by redshirt freshman QB Marcus Mariota made it clear Saturday afternoon they weren’t about to lose to their talent laden brethren on the “Fighting Ducks” dark squad. And they didn’t. Mariota led his spring squad to an impressive 41-14 win in front of a spring game record crowd of 44,129 in Autzen Stadium.For the last month during spring practice, a vail of un-penatrable secrecy surrounded Chip Kelly’s squad
leaving the media and fans wondering what the makeup of this 2012 squad would actually look like come fall camp. And certainly one of the biggest questions surrounded the quarterback position. Today, fans and media alike got a good look at Chip Kelly’s brand new ferrari – and the name on the jersey was Marcus Mariota.
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Mariota ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in his Autzen Stadium debut. And while Mariota shined, sophomore quarterback Bryan Bennett seemed to struggle. Bennett threw 2 interceptions and fumbled once on a QB sack ending his spring game 19 of 32 for 209 yards and 1 touchdown. Bennett also carried the ball 18 times for only 27 yards and no scores. Mariota on the other hand was 18 of 26 for 202 yards and 1 score through the air. On the ground, Mariota had just 5 carries for 106 yards The highlight for Mariota though came at the 10:17 mark of the second quarter when Mariota faked an inside handoff and ran 82 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Even more impressive was Mariota’s speed as he out-ran the secondary including CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.
Texarkana, Texas is certainly swelling with pride on this Friday evening. Texas sized pride as one of their own, LaMichael James, is headed to the San Francisco 49′ers as the 61st pick in the 2012 NFL draft.
James was projected anywhere from the early 2nd round to the 3rd round of this years draft by many experts. With only one selection remaining in the 2nd round, James was taken by 49′er head coach Jim Harbaugh to add speed to his backfield, slot and return game.
Of course, Harbaugh is well acquainted with James and his speed and athletic ability when he coached against James and the Ducks while at Stanford. In 2010 when Harbaugh was still coaching at Stanford, James won the Doak Walker Award and was also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy Award. That same year, James led the nation with an average 144 yards per game and totaled 1,731 with 24 touchdowns.
NFL analyst Mike Mayock was extremely complimentary of James and what he adds to the 49ers. “This guy gives them the rare ability to hit a homerun anywhere in the park.” James joins Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins as a member of the 2012 San Francisco 49ers.