The spring game is just one practice, sure, but it’s the last one of the season and a chance to cap off a solid camp in a public setting. One season ago, Marcus Mariota won the starting job in the court of public opinion — though it’s important to note he didn’t win the job until the fall — but this year’s spring game leaves us with as many questions as it does answers.
The biggest question going into the game involves the inside linebacker position. The Ducks lost Kiko Alonso and Michael Clay — now a Buffalo Bill and a Miami Dolphin, respectively — and one potential replacement, Tyson Coleman, didn’t even play in the game due to injury. After the game, the position remains a mystery. The 802 yards of offense the white team racked up is a strange statistic. It was the only team to play offense, and its members were always on offense, so yes, they’re going to gain a lot of yards. But it was the ease with which Mariota and even Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodrigues led touchdown drives that is troubling.
“It’s probably not fair to look at the film,” defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said. “I’m a little bit frustrated at not seeing enough effort, energy, finish, by enough backup guys.”
That’s not good, because with Aliotti’s defensive rotation some of those backups could see the field in 2013.
Bralon Addison accounted for 136 of those yards on eight catches. The Ducks haven’t had a true go-to receiver since Jeff Maehl, but with Mariota appearing an even more accurate quarterback than he was in the fall and a new head coach who loves to throw the ball it could be the receivers’ time to shine. A skeptic would ask if Addison and Mariota can repeat those numbers when they’re not going against a second team defense, and only time will tell.
On an encouraging note, is that head coach Mark Helfrich said Addison’s day looked a lot like the rest of spring practice. But Addison knows he hasn’t proven anything.
“We’ve got a lot of guys on this team that can make plays,” Addison said. “Coach Helfrich knows that, and that’s his main goal, just get the ball to guys in space.”
Lastly, the strangest position battle in football — who will kick for the Ducks next year. Even in an offense that scores touchdowns at ease, field goals have been a struggle for the Ducks and Jackson Rice leaves a big void at punter, too. Kickers Alejandro Maldonado, Eric Solis and Hayden Crook and punter Dylan Ausherman all saw action in the spring game, but they may all be battling Matt Wogan for a job when he gets to Eugene in the fall.