Breakout performances highlight Oregon's 2023 spring game
Last year we saw the offense light up the scoreboard but after a scoreless first quarter, it became clear Saturday that each team’s defense was much more in sync than either offense during Oregon's spring game.
Yes, it’s still spring football and offensive players in particular take more time to get fully acclimated to their groupings, but questions about how the defense stacks up to the offense at this point, have been answered.
Though it might’ve not been the most exciting game to watch in the first half, the defensive physicality that head coach Dan Lanning has emphasized as a difference between his first spring as head coach and this one really did show up.
A lot of eyes were drawn to Jordan Burch coming off of the edge, and for good reason.
The South Carolina transfer has been lauded by his coaches and teammates for his sheer stature and how he attacks rushing the quarterback, and he put all the talk to show on Saturday by generating at least two “would-be” sacks and affected quarterback Ty Thompson’s decision-making on more than one occasion.
The yellow team had its own powerful rusher coming off the edge in freshman Matayo Uiagalelei, who also would have had a couple of sacks it was a full-contact game.
Uiagalelei recorded a 4-yard tackle for loss and his tendency to find his way to the quarterback made him easy to find all game long.
He not only got the media’s attention but also fellow underclassmen with lofty expectations, such as Josh Conerly Jr.
“Young Matayo, man. He’s going to be a dude,” Conerly said. “His ability to bend, he can give you power, he can give you speed moves. He’s got it all in his bag.”
Freshman DB Cole Martin (son of DB’s coach Demetrice Martin), is a name that hasn't been talked about enough this spring, and on Saturday he truly notified the Oregon fanbase about his presence on this team.
He recorded a pass breakup and three much-needed tackles, one of which was a jarring hit that brought fans at Autzen to their feet after the lack of offense in the first quarter.
Of course, it’s still early, but don’t be surprised if the coach’s son walks into game one as a starter at cornerback.
“Cole is a good player. I think he’s exactly who we thought he was going to be,” Lanning said. “I think what makes Cole special is he’s the guy that’s gonna be up here at 6 a.m. getting an ice bath – he knows what's required.”
“We do have some freshmen here. If they’re ready, they’ll play,” Lanning said.
Multi-sport athlete Bryce Boettcher put on a show for Ducks fans at two locations Saturday.
After making three tackles and breaking up two passes (one of which was in the end zone on third down), Boettcher made his way across the parking lot to PK Park to finish off Oregon’s baseball game against Arizona State (which the Ducks won 16-10).
His dedication to Oregon does not go unnoticed.
“Talk about impressive people – He’s had a great baseball season and he’s certainly a valuable Duck,” Lanning said.
“I really want to shout out Bryce because he does a lot for this team, he brings a lot of juice to this team as well,” Trikweze Bridges said. “He made a lot of plays today. Like if you talking about the most valuable player of the game today, I would give it to Bryce – he played a shutout game today and I’m rooting for him in his baseball game.”