Quack Fix: Spring Practice Begins, Mariota in the spotlight, Ducks bulk up

Tweet Of the Day

Coach Helfrich doesn't really understand Mike Riley's strategy of lowered expectations so you can crush them.

From my UO trip today 2 things Helfrich said stand out: -This is strongest UO team he has been around -On fast team, Mariota is fastest Duck

— Brock Huard (@BrockESPN) April 2, 2014

Video Of the Day

Mark Helfrich talks the first day of spring practice. Duck Territory has a recap of his comments.

Links

• Rob Moseley's first recap of spring football focused on the newcomers, and how they handled the speed of Oregon's practices. Dior Mathis and DeForrest Buckner made highlight level plays during the practice.
• With Mariota returning for his 4th season at Oregon (including his redshirt year), all eyes on are him as he leads what could be the best offense in Oregon history. He's fully healthy and garnering a ton of praise, but Mariota continues to be self-critical, and look at what happened in the end of last season and use those lessons for success this season. Here's some video of his comments after practice.
• Duck Territory looks at the weight changes at the start of spring practice. There will be a lot of bigger Ducks in 2014. After seeing this list, Helfrich's comments today make sense: "We are the biggest, and strongest, and fastest that we have ever been, and now we have to turn that into functional skill." Oregon's additional bulk was also the subject of Ryan Thorburn's piece today.
• Tyler Johnstone is in the midst of recovering from injuring his knee in the Alamo Bowl. Rehab sounds like it's going very well, and Johnstone's goal is to be ready for the opener. In the meantime, he's acting like another coach for the Ducks.
• In a little non-football news, George Horton got his 200th win as a Duck when Oregon took down Gonzaga.
• Meanwhile, the Oregon softball team, fresh off sweeping the Huskies, won both games of a doubleheader again UCSB to move to 32-4 on the season.