During pre-game warmups, Oregon quarterback Taylor Alie jogged off the field and headed towards the gate at section 35 of Autzen Stadium. There waiting for him was his father, Jeff. The two hugged and parted ways, a tradition between the father and son that stems back to his days at Sheldon High School.
“It’s just something that we do before every game,” Alie said. “Hopefully it’ll continue through college.”
The moment was one that had been built up for a long time.
Last year, Alie watched the spring game from the comfort of the stands at Autzen Stadium. This year, the Eugene native got to participate. The nerves from competing in front of 37,000 people showed early for the redshirt freshman quarterback.
On his first play, Alie received the shotgun snap and handed the ball to Byron Marshall. However, somewhere in the exchange, the ball hit the ground. Marshall recovered the football and the drive eventually stalled. On the first play of his second drive, Allie rolled right and fired an errant pass that landed directly in the hands of Tyree Robinson for an interception. At the half, Alie had 2 yards on 2-of-6 passing and an interception.
“I didn’t have a great of a start as I wanted to,” Alie said.
Coming into the game, Alie was one of the most talked about guys on the team. Players and coaches raved about how far he had improved from last year to this year.
“Taylor had a great spring,” Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said. “I’m excited about his development.”
On Alie’s final drive he showed a glimpse of what the rest of team had seen throughout spring practices. Following rushes of five and eight yards, Alie hit Darren Carrington down the left sideline for a 20-yard touchdown.
“Like a lot of the other quarterbacks, he kind of pressed a little bit,” starting quarterback Marcus Mariota said. “Once he settled down I thought he had a good drive, his last drive. I think it’s a learning point. I think he’s going to take it and learn from it.”
The performances in a spring game can be overemphasized due to it being the only look people not associated with the team get to see out of the Ducks. However, it should be noted that the game is just a conclusion of an entire spring practice schedule. It’s more important to the coaches how a player performed in the entire spring, rather than just one game.
“The spring game is like a partially weighted final exam,” Helfrich said. “Part of that is getting in front of fans for the first time.”
While Alie admits he didn’t get the performance he wanted out the spring game, he knows there is plenty of more practices ahead of him.
“I don’t think I did as well as I wanted to,” Alie said. “I think I could’ve done better and I should’ve done better. That’s why there are two midterms. Got to study and get better.”
Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @jhoyt42