Oregon Football Spring Practice Observations: Offense Runs Through Royce Freeman

Oregon Ducks Head Coach Willie Taggart is still working on the pieces for his team, but it is clear that Royce Freeman will be a big key for 2017.

The Oregon Football team has spent the last month in Spring Practice getting set for the annual Spring Scrimmage. It is the first year in many that the media has been able to cover practice for about thirty minutes each day.

The first weeks have been spent on fundamentals in a big way, how to carry the ball, where your hands should be on a handoff, where your feet should be, etc. I’ve heard things yelled at Quarterbacks like ‘Aim small, miss small.’ Justin Herbert has taken the lead in my mind as the Starter. He is showing poise with a new throwing motion and better footwork.

Running Back Royce Freeman has shown he has regained his form after an injury-plagued season last year. On Thursday he spent time working on blocking with the Offensive Line. They were joking that Freeman would make a good Lineman, if he added about 100 pounds to his frame. I’m sure he will remain the team’s Running Back.

The Offensive Line is working on being more physical and Mario Cristobal is leading the charge on the field. The drills are specific, he watches their hands and their feet and helps with corrections, if necessary on the spot.

On Thursday, Braxton Burmeister was with the ones on their first field drill of the day. He had a nice pass to Charles Nelson down the left side after dropping the ball and composing himself to get rid of the ball. It was nice to see him on the field with the first team Offense. I expect we will get to see more of him Saturday.

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The Oregon Spring Game is set for Saturday at 11am inside Autzen Stadium. It will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network.