Oregon Spring Game a showcase of Ducks rising

On a day Oregon had a record ten players chosen in the NFL draft, fourth in all of college football behind Ohio State, Georgia and Texas, the Ducks held their Spring Game before a crowd estimated at 40,000.

With split squads and patchwork offensive lines it's fruitless to nitpick or conduct deep dives into position battles or playoff potential. Spring games are about hope and broad impressions. It's best to take in the show, appreciate the moments and try to see how it could come together.

There were plenty of moments. This is a fast, deep, physical, athletic team and they have the potential to be very good if 1) they identify a starting quarterback and give him the right mental tool kit, 2) develop a strong core unit of eight effective, reliable offensive linemen and 3) find a punter who can pin an opponent and flip the field when necessary.

Shanking one out of bounds at your own end is suboptimal.

But man, watching an Oregon kicker drive a field goal through the uprights from 54 yards in game conditions, that's deathbed-wish territory. Gage Hurych, the redshirt freshman from West Linn, Jackson Shelstad's and Payton Pritchard's old school, did exactly that.

Atticus Sappington returns and he did a great job for the Ducks last year, but the youngster has a leg. Being able to hit a kick from that distance can save a season. It's a weapon that can get a team three points before half or provide a margin of opportunity at the end of games.

Hurych hit another one from 47. You could count on one hand the number of kicks Oregon's made from that distance since Jared Siegel.

Spring games are predictably ragged and uneven. It's a theater of absurd mismatches, cobbled-together rosters and dress rehearsal flubs. But there were enough moments of superb, scintillating football to hold a person through the 18 Saturdays until the real thing.

Erik Skopil of 247Sports posted the key stats on X:

Defensive stats from today:

Aaron Flowers: 8 tackles / 1 INT

Jerry Mixon: 7 tackles / 2.5 TFLs / 1.0 sack

Blake Purchase: 4 tackles / 2.5 TFLs / 1.5 sacks / 1 TD

Brayden Platt: 5 tackles / 2.0 TFLs / 1.0 sacks

Matayo Uiagalelei: 4 tackles / 1.0 TFL / 1.0 sack

Final stats from today's spring game:

Dante Moore: 12-of-20 for 140 / 1 INT

Austin Novosad: 5-of-9 for 58

Luke Moga: 6-of-13 for 112 / 1 TD

Jayden Limar: 5 rushes 48 yards

Jay Harris: 8 for 25 / 2 TDs

Dillon Gresham: 3 for 96 / 1 TD

Kenyon Sadiq: 7 for 102

Dakorien Moore: 3 for 47

Four big takeaways:

1. The defensive line will be deep and disruptive.

Tosh Lupoi's bunch got pressure from Uiagalelei, Rushing, Purchase, Mixon, Platt and Teitum Tuioti. The big boys were mixing it up inside. They were physical.

2. There is a lot of talent in the secondary

It's a different level of talent: Long, fast and THEY PLAY THE BALL! It was exciting to see Dillon Theinemen, Trey McNutt and Na'eem Offord take on talented receivers one-on-one and knock the ball away.

Aaron Flowers is a hit stick. He had a couple of tackles that rattled up to row 42.

No useless grabbing and getting turned around. They matched up athletically and made lockdown plays. Here are three, the first being a form tackle to force a fumble on a running play:

3. The Autzen crowd is a recruiting weapon.

This was a tremendous showcase today. The Ducks had an incredible group of recruits on hand for this game, and the atmosphere was head and shoulders above some of the spring tug-of-wars and cone drills they're running in the Midwest and South. Or in Seattle.

4. The quarterback room has a bright future

Keep in mind, the spring portal closed yesterday. These guys are committed to being here and competing and all FIVE of them had moments and threw the football with timing and accuracy, completing some big plays.

Yes, it got ragged, and offensively the game didn't reach full throttle until the fourth quarter, but when you see multiple quarterbacks air the ball out for big plays or layer one between the cornerback and safety, the one who emerges from this competition is going to be one of the most effective in the Big Ten.

Particularly with this group of receivers, running backs and Poncho Laloulu leading the offensive line.

Dante Moore threw a pro-level ball to Jurrion Dickey, who came down with it in traffic.

Seven catches for 102 yards was a sterling example of how potent Kenyon Sadiq can be in Will Stein's offense. He's going to be a problem, and he and Moore already appear to have some chemistry as a passing combination.

It may have been window dressing but Stein had him and Jabari Johnson flexed out often in formations, a testament to their versatility. Sadiq is a matchup nightmare in that role, dangerous after the catch, a threat to use his body in the Red Zone and post up on people.

Luke Moga has moxie. He's just a scrapper and at times he moved the team better than anyone. Akili Smith had some nice moments for a true freshman, a couple of scrambles for first downs and a laser to the chest that freshman tight end Vander Ploog hauled in.

If Dante Moore wins the starting job, it's a certainty that Moga, Smith, and Austin Novosad pushed him to the limit. He'll have to earn it, and that's the best possible scenario.

Dakorien Moore is as advertised, a day-one elite receiver with speed, body control and hands. Dillon Gresham had a fabulous day, and fans saw some strong receiver plays from Jeremiah McClellan and a great catch at the one-yard-line by Justius Lowe.

Receiver numbers in a spring game can be unreliable-- by the fourth quarter there are some matchups of threes and fours. Even so, it was great to see Gresham take advantage of the opportunity to show what he can do. He and Moga connected on a couple of big plays.

Competition and development throughout the roster has been a theme. Lanning told the reporter room:

“Excited about the entire group. I mean this program is about growth, right? And you never know exactly what your opportunity will look like and when that’ll necessarily come, but you want to be ready for that opportunity. I think we’ve seen a lot of guys take big steps this off season but I’m watching for the same things you guys watch for. There’s a lot of room for improvement on both sides of the ball.

When USC was a dominant program in the Pete Carroll years, they had this kind of talent pushing talent every day in practice. That's what the best teams do, create competition that prepares cornerbacks, receivers, quarterbacks and offensive linemen for anything they could face.

Today Duck fans got a glimpse of a team that could become great, provided they maintain that standard of work.

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