Oregon Football: Running game among things to watch in spring game

Oregon football will host its spring game on Saturday with plenty of alumni in attendance. With new faces, the run game will be a key focal point.

The format of the game will be similar to what Oregon fans have seen in the past with two teams being competitive on the field. There are some players that may not be on the field as they are still recuperating from last season’s injuries. Others will not be there at all as they chase their NFL dreams and hope to be drafted or picked up as a free agent later this month.

The main area of interest for me on Saturday is the offense. The offensive line has quite a few return players from a year ago. Seven McGee who played mostly running back last season is converting to wide receiver for this season leaving an entirely new backfield of talent to show up and show out on Saturday.

Sean Dollars who has been injured so far in his Oregon career should take center stage on Saturday. With both CJ Verdell and Travis Dye departed. Verdell to the possibility of the pros and Dye departing for USC, there will certainly be competition at running back moving forward through Saturday and into fall camp as well.

Byron Cardwell, who made some late-season noise returns along with Noah Whittington. I expect Dollars and Whittington to get carries on Saturday for their respective ‘teams’.

The Quarterbacks are also an area to watch with transfer Bo Nix who has been working in the offseason away from Eugene, and now sophomore Ty Thompson who was recently invited to the Manning Passing Academy. With new coaches and coordinators all around, fans should be excited about what they will see.

The spring game has become more of an event in recent seasons and that will take another step this year. Lanning has made it a point to keep in contact with former Oregon players, some of which will be on hand. De’Anthony Thomas, LaMichael James, Arik Armstead, and Haloti Ngata will be honorary coaches on Saturday and there will also be plenty of former players on hand.

Following the game, there will be a concert which is a first. Common Kings will perform following the game at 3 p.m. PST. Fans also have the chance to walk over to PK Park to watch Oregon baseball take on Washington State, also set for a 3 p.m. PST start.

The Oregon spring game starts at 1 p.m. Pacific at Autzen Stadium.