Lots of news from practice yesterday so let's get right to the quack this morning. Enjoy.
- The big news from practice yesterday was the return of Kenjon Barner and he made his presence felt when he turned a short pass from Nate Costa into a long TD. Ken Goe noted that Barner "looked to be in midseason form" and includes a few quotes from Chip Kelly. Meanwhile, Andy McNamara tabs the second-team linebacker group of Michael Clay, Bryson Littlejohn, and Boseko Lokombo as having won the day for how well they competed together. And, Chris Courtney writes that the QB battle was again relatively even between Nate Costa and Darron Thomas. Finally, Moseley offers his thoughts on how both QBs fared yesterday.
- Ken Goe writes on the competition for the second cornerback spot and says that John Neal may even rotate multiple players through the position. Either way, it looks like the Ducks will have a lot of capable players in case the defensive backfield goes through a similar rash of injuries as last year.
- Moseley also has an article on the search for the second starting cornerback and notes that Chip Kelly is looking for someone who will be dependable: "The biggest thing with the corners for us is, who can we trust back there, and who’s not going to get the ball thrown over his head? It’s not about making the spectacular play and the tackle in the flat, if you’re letting guys run by you".
- Jason Vondersmith wonders which players will step up to fill key reserve roles for the wide receiver position. Vondersmith (as well as Costa and Thomas) appear to favor Justin Hoffman and Josh Huff to make an impact this season.
- Ted Miller lists the big-play playmakers from each team and Oregon is the only team where two players get the nod.
- In basketball news, Coach Altman has decided to postpone the planned basketball tour of Italy until next season over concerns about having enough healthy bodies to compete. The Ducks would have made the trip with only nine players, including Joevan Catron who missed nearly all of last season and is just now starting to practice again. Honestly, I can't say I am surprised by this decision. Bob Clark brings up an interesting point in whether the Ducks will suffer any penalties from the NCAA for practicing for a trip that they called off days before they were set to depart.
- Finally, the Nashville Fox affiliate has a video story on Peter Sirmon serving as a graduate assistant on Tennessee's coaching staff.
Go Ducks!