Midway through practice Monday morning at the Moshofsky Center, Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly posed a question to his team.
“How fast can we play?” he yelled.
Already operating at a breakneck pace through the first eight games of the season, the prospect of an even faster Oregon football team is downright scary. But that’s exactly what Kelly is aiming for as the Ducks prepare for a matchup with Washington.
“As the season’s gone along, we’ve gotten faster,” Kelly said. “So we’re continuing to kind of experiment with how we can do things, and guys are getting better and they understand the value of it … if it’s a weapon for us, we’ll continue to do it.”
For quarterback Darron Thomas and the rest of the team, it can be difficult to keep up with Kelly’s pace. Still, Thomas knows it has helped the team improve every week.
“It’s a little tiring,” Thomas said. “But every day practicing and practicing repetition, it’s getting guys more in shape. The offense linemen are even getting in better shape.”
The Ducks worked on kickoffs and punts before filing into seven-on-seven drills later in the practice. Running back Kenjon Barner was suited up and active, returning some punts and taking snaps in the backfield with the offense. It is unknown exactly when Barner, who is recovering from a concussion, will be able to return, but his time on the practice field has increased week by week.
Safety Eddie Pleasant and right guard C.E. Kaiser did not practice on Monday, and wide receiver Josh Huff changed into a red jersey midway through practice after a discussion with a trainer. Kelly’s only comment was that Pleasant is day-to-day.
The Ducks also practiced for the first time on Monday as the BCS number one ranked team in the country. For Kelly, this changed nothing in terms of the team’s approach. Still, that didn’t mean the players couldn’t enjoy their moment in the sun.
“It’s a blessing,” Thomas said. “We’ve come out and worked ever since offseason, spring ball, this is one of our goals, so we’re just coming out, doing what we gotta do.”
Linebacker Casey Matthews felt similarly.
“I’ve thought about it,” Matthews said. “Obviously it’s exciting, but we still have four games left … as long as we keep doing what we’re doing, we should hold on to that, if we take it one game at a time.”
The players and Kelly alike know that practice is part of what has gotten this team so far. To its credit, Kelly felt the team came out strong on Monday after a big win over the weekend against USC.
“They were good,” Kelly said. “They understand that we’re winning because of how we practice, and if you practice really hard during the week, you’re going to play really hard on Saturday, and that’s been a formula. They came out again today and practiced well.”
As usual, practice ended with the clutch drill. The Baja Men’s “Who Let The Dogs Out?” was chosen as this week’s theme song (presumably because of the matchup with the Huskies), and the first teamers squared off.
Thomas completed two passes but the drive quickly stalled, and Rob Beard was forced to kick a long field goal. When Nate Costa and the second team hit the field, the first play went to Barner, who caught a screen pass and motored down the sideline before being caught near the end zone. Costa finished the drive with a touchdown pass to Will Murphy.
When the final whistle blew, Kelly raised both hands in the air to indicate a touchdown. Apparently, his players had been fast enough on Monday.