Winners and Losers of the Oregon Football Spring Game

The Oregon Ducks 2012 spring game is now history. On a remarkably beautiful late April day in Eugene, the fans were treated to a very solid effort by the team.

Split into two teams—Mighty Oregon (yellow) and Fighting Ducks (green)—the teams on paper looked to be balanced. While some of the stats were even, MO, led by Marcus Mariota, won the stat that counts—the score, 41-14.

Bryan Bennett's team, FD, had 275 total yards. MO had 398 yards, big chunk of which came on Mariota's 82-yard run for a touchdown.

Let's take a quick look at the winners and losers.

Quarterback

While both QBs had flashes of brilliance, the clear winner today was redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota. He was 18-of-26 passing with one interception and one touchdown (and could have easily had two TDs running).

In addition, Mariota rushed five times for 99 yards, including one breathtaking TD run of 82 yards.

Bennett's numbers weren't bad, and in fact, you would take them most real games. He was 19-of-32 passing with two interceptions (both great defensive plays), and he ran the ball 18 times for a net 27 yards. Bennett's longest run was 12 yards.

Mariota's team was more exciting, and while both QBs did a good job, the consensus is that the day belonged to Mariota.

Scoreboard, baby.

Running Back

The official stats have Kenjon Barner with one carry and one yard. I could have sworn he touched the ball more, but I won't argue with the stats. It was clear that Barner and De'Anthony Thomas (three carries for 23 yards) weren't going to get much action today.

That left the stage to RBs further down the depth chart, and Ayele Forde and Kenny Bassett took advantage. Forde, in particular, looked fabulous. He ended up with 16 carries and 74 yards with one TD.

Kenny Bassett also was impressive—both rushing and receiving. He had nine carries for 24 yards and one TD. Bassett also caught two beautiful passes for 18 yards.

Based on today, Forde is Barner's backup—at least, until Byron Marshall arrives in the fall. Personally, I can live with that.

Wide Receiver

After Mariota, the big winners today were the receivers. What a relief. Several of the WRs looked very good—borderline great.

Rahsaan Vaughn, Daryle Hawkins and Blake Stanton were most impressive. They caught the ball well and made nice moves after bringing it in. Hawkins scored a touchdown and had the longest reception (35 yards).

Vaughn and Stanton also appeared to be in the right spot and open.

I've been very worried about this position, but I will sleep well tonight.

Kickers

The punting winner—by a mile—was Jackson Rice. He had three attempts for 156 yards with one boomer of a punt of 63 yards.

By comparison, Alejandro Maldonado had four punts for 152 total yards with his longest attempt of 40 yards. I refuse to call Maldonado a loser, however, because he did well on kickoffs—three for 180 yards with an average of 60 yards.

I do have to call Anthony Piganelli a loser on kickoffs, even though he, too, averaged 60 yards. But his kicks looked punchy and low to me—no style points whatsoever.

Defensive Winners and Losers

The big winner on the defensive side of the ball was linebacker Tyson Coleman. The redshirt freshman had 2.5 tackles, and he stole the show with a 38-yard interception return for a TD. He looked like a running back on that play.

Another winner was sophomore DB Erick Dargan with 5.5 tackles. He appeared to be everywhere at once—a good trait in a DB. If today was it, I would say that Dargan will back up John Boyett at safety (John Boyett for Heisman).

Sophomore Terrance Mitchell also looked good and had one nice interception, as did Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.

Disappointing on the defensive side was Arik Armstead with only one tackle, and I barely noticed him. But you have to start someplace.

Loser: Josh Huff

Josh Huff was nowhere to be seen today, as he did not suit up. While coach Chip Kelly has tried to sugarcoat it, it appears that he's not healthy and has not been practicing.

Obviously, this is bad news for Ducks fans, but the other receivers looked good. So nobody panic just yet, OK?

Loser: Tight End Position

I may be blind, but I didn't see any of the tight ends listed on the Ducks roster today.

Colt Lyerla, Evan Baylis, Christian French, Brian Teague—I didn't notice any of them. And none are listed in the final stats sheet.

So, if they played, they were invisible. I will watch the replay tonight and look specifically for them. But based on what I didn't see today, don't expect much from the TE position in 2012.

Wrap-Up

Overall, it was a great day to be a Duck. There were far more winners than losers.

I'm particularly jazzed about Marcus Mariota, Ayele Forde and all the wide receivers. I didn't see any glaring weaknesses, even though it's early in the process.

Miami on January 7, 2013—be there or be square.