Oregon Football 2012: Latest News, Updates and More from Spring Practice

Last season, the Oregon Ducks once again earned a double-digit number of wins and reached a BCS bowl game. Under head coach Chip Kelly, that seems to be what's expected, especially with teams as talented as the ones he coaches.

This season may be slightly more difficult than in the past, as the Ducks have a few questions they have to answer before the regular season starts. Oregon is missing five starters on the offensive side of the ball and lost several key defensive players as well.

Luckily for the Ducks, they have spring practice—which begins on April 3—to get a better feel for their team. They will play their spring game on April 28.

Stay tuned for all of your latest news, updates and more involving your Oregon Ducks.

Both Sides of the Ball Playing Well

While the first spring scrimmage for Oregon featured a lot of silly turnovers, the most recent scrimmage was much cleaner and was played well by both sides.

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There were some highlights on both sides of the ball. UO coach Chip Kelly said via The Register Guard. It’s not one of those deals where one side of the ball is dominating and the other side’s not playing well. ... It’s going back and forth, which is real good to see in spring.

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Linebacker Michael Clay also thought the tackling was a lot better than it was early on as well.

“Our tackling got a lot better this time. Our first one was the first real live action, and this was a lot cleaner.” Clay said.

Ducks Are Ready to Begin Practice

Most teams have already begun spring practice and some teams have even completed their spring games already. The Ducks will begin their spring practice tomorrow on the third of April. And while they may have several shoes to fill, head coach Chip Kelly is only focused on the players he has now, not who he's trying to replace.

“We understand how we’re successful,” Kelly said. “We’re successful because of our preparation. We don’t show up and win football games. We win because of our preparation.”

Kelly also went on to say that there will be no depth chart released until the week before the season opener on September 1.

“You’re not trying to see who’s going to play in your defensive line rotation, and you’re not trying to see who’s playing in your tight end rotation,” Kelly said. “It’s how do those guys get better from practice one, two to three to four, and on and on and on.”

He is 34-6 as a head coach of the Oregon Ducks and has reached a BCS bowl each year; he must be doing something right.

QB Battle Ready to Kick Off

Oregon gets ready to kick off spring practice early next week, and the quarterback battle is what everybody will be paying the most attention to.

With Darron Thomas surprisingly leaving for the NFL, it leaves the competition down to Bryan Bennett and Marcus Mariota.

Despite the lack of experience, head coach Chip Kelly is comfortable with his options.

“I think we feel real confident as a staff in our quarterback situation,” Kelly told The Register-Guard. "They just haven’t played significant amounts of snaps in games, but I’m real confident no matter who ends up, out of those guys, pulling the trigger.”

You can read more on the quarterback battle going into the spring here.

Nobody Is Safe

Head coach Chip Kelly has turned Oregon into one of the top programs in college football over the years, and a lot of that has to do with playing the best players.

He doesn't care if they're freshmen or if one player may have more experience than the next guy. Whoever shows that they want the starting spot more and proves they have what it takes in practice will become the starter once the regular season rolls around.

“Everything’s wide open — doesn’t matter what position you play on our team,” Kelly told The Register-Guard. “It’s always been that way, since day one, and it’ll always be that way. Our program’s founded on competition, so we don’t go in saying who’s what at every position.”

That means you shouldn't expect a depth chart anytime soon and should expect an extremely competitive practice, as nobody's starting spot is safe on this team.

Updates

This slideshow will continue to be updated with the latest news, quotes, position battles and more throughout spring practice. Stay tuned for everything involving your Oregon Ducks.