The Ducks Will Always Look Great In Spring Practice, But It’s All About October and November

By 750 THE GAME STAFF

Momentum in Eugene is real. The Oregon Ducks have a lot of momentum heading into their spring game and ultimately into the next season. Spring practice has been full of competition and hard work according to head coach Dan Lanning.

Tyson Alger of the I-5 Corridor has been covering the Ducks and joined the Bald Faced Truth to discuss the team. Alger says that new quarterback Dillon Gabriel is already fitting in. Gabriel has played a lot of college football, and because of that Alger thinks that the transition between Nix and Gabriel is going to be very smooth.

“I hate to say plug and play with Nix to Gabriel,” Alger said on 750 The Game, “but if you’re looking for someone who is going to be able to run an offense and do it in a way where you can take advantage of the skilled players that you have like Oregon does, I think Gabriel slots right in. I don’t think there’s going to be a whole lot of adjustment period to get this season going. I think the Ducks are going to come out running.”

Oregon has a reputation, fair or unfair, that they can’t win the big game. And coach Dan Lanning hasn’t helped that reputation as he is 0-3 against rival Washington. While it’s nice to see how good the team looks, Alger says ultimately it doesn’t matter what the team looks like in the spring. We will find out about the Ducks in the regular season.

“They’re going to look really good this spring. We’re going to hear about how Gabriel is just as good as Nix. We’re going to hear about Jordan James is really running with it taking the ball from Bucky Irving, but at the end of the day we’re not really going to know what we really need to think about this team until it’s October and November and you’re late in the fourth quarter in a high end situation.”

It’s an ongoing story with the Ducks. Last season they looked great. Then they lost to Washington twice. Alger says the Ducks – outside of the rivalry losses – will always look good.

“Outside of that Oregon was excellent last season. It was just in several key spots they weren’t able to flip the switch, and I don’t know if that’s something you can learn in the Spring or if it’s something you can start building this Spring. But it’s certainly something we aren’t going to know until much later down the road.”

Listen to the full interview with I-5 Corridor’s Tyson Alger by clicking the podcast below. Catch the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano weekdays 3-6 p.m. in Portland exclusively on 750 The Game.

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