Duck Tape: Oregon Spring Game 2026

Oregon’s Spring Game scrimmage between the “Fighting Ducks” (white jerseys) and “Combat Ducks” (black jerseys) is the only opportunity the general public has to observe the football team during the off season. This makes it valuable for analysis as we can see which players are available to to scrimmage at this point, what positions each player is practicing at, and even compare them to their teammates in direct competition.

With that said, this scrimmage was far from game conditions. In the format the Ducks use each position group is split between the two teams to create as much competitive balance as possible. Substitutions are frequent as coaches want players up and down the depth chart to see the field. This means that offensive linemen are often playing next to teammates they don’t usually work next to in other scrimmages. Combined with very vanilla playcalling on both sides of the ball and frequent changes at quarterback, the defense usually appears to have the edge on the offense at this time of year.

With these factors in mind, I haven’t organized this film review the same way I did during the regular season. I wanted to highlight the development of the three non-starting quarterbacks, so created clip compilations for #12 Brock Thomas, #8 Dylan Raiola , and #11 Akili Smith Jr. Each of these compilations also highlights new and/or returning pass catchers, as well as successful reps for the offensive line in pass protection. To finish off the review of the offense I also included a video of successful rushing plays.

On defense I found it expedient to organize successful plays by position group. All of the clips chosen feature at least one player new to the team this year (whether transfer or recruit), or one I suspect will be be part the regular lineup during competitive play in the fall. Returning starters don’t feature prominently, you can refer back to the 2025 game write-ups to see them in action.

After reviewing and charting the film, I found no updates needed to hythloday’s in-person availability report from observing the team live at Autzen Stadium in regards to the trenches. There were no surprises for the skill players – with the exceptions of receiver #80 Dillon Gresham who seems to still be limited by injury and wasn’t available, and #3 Jeremiah McClellan and #13 Gatlin Bair who as noted were in street clothes for the game, every offensive skill player and defensive secondary member appeared in action.

Except where specifically noted, I haven’t mentioned the availability of former walk-ons or career reserves unless I have reason to believe they might find meaningful playing time in the fall.

With Gresham, McClellan, and Bair not playing, and 2026 recruit Jalen Lott not yet enrolled, the wide receivers had only six scholarship players for the two teams: So. #1 Dakorien Moore, R-Sr. #2 Iverson Hooks , and true freshman #83 Hudson Lewis in black while true freshman #15 Messiah Hampton, R-So. #88 Jack Ressler, and R.-Sr. #7 Even Stewart suited up for white. It was exciting to see Stewart get back to work after missing the entire 2025 season with an injury; he was in a no-tackle jersey for this scrimmage.

Returning tight ends R.-Jr. #9 Jamari Johnson and R-So. #45 Torrence Williams joined true freshmen #18 Kendre Harrison and #81 Dayton Raiola in black (though Williams and Raiola never saw the field despite being suited up) with returning R.-So. A.J. Pugliano teamed with transfers R.-Fr. #86 Alex Olesh and R.-Jr. #17 Markus Dixon in white.

There is no doubt that QB #5 Dante Moore (who suited up for black) is the starter in 2026. Last year’s backup R-Jr. #12 Brock Thomas spent most of the game playing with black, though the quarterbacks switched in the fourth quarter to practice with additional personnel. We didn’t get to see much of his running ability in this game as everyone at the position was in a no-tackle jersey. I thought he was generally accurate, though like all the quarterbacks he was struggling behind mixed offensive lines that were not doing well in pass protection.

Below is a sample of plays from Thomas .

(Reminder: You can use the gear icon in the upper right corner to adjust the play speed. I recommend viewing all the clips in this article in full screen mode as I needed to use clips that had interviews happening side-by-side with the game action on the broadcast.)

1. :00 – The linebackers are in man coverage, so Thomas knows he should have an easy dump off to Stewart making a break toward the middle of the field. The right tackle is struggling in pass protection, but with the ball out this quickly the pass rush has no chance to affect the play.

2. :09 – There is a free rusher coming at Thomas again, but he is able to see it and knows he has to take the quickest throw available. Former walk-on ILB #34 Cruz Rushing is in conflict as he has to take the tight end Dixon at the snap, leaving just enough of a gap in the zone for Ressler to pick up a first down.

3. :17 – Rolling left makes this a tough throw for a right handed quarterback. Thomas still delivers an accurate ball to Stewart who has run his route to the perfect depth in between the layers of this Cover-3 zone. Note the receiver’s footwork to make sure he gets a foot in bounds.

4. :26 – It was only in the second half that the coaches ran any blitzes. The line picks this one up well; everyone takes the correct man and forms a comfortable pocket for Thomas to throw from. Whether due to nerves from the extra rusher or just general excitement the ball is too far for Lewis to have a chance to run under it.

It was widely understood the Nebraska transfer Jr. #8 Dylan Raiola would learn the offense behind Dante Moore this season, but he could be tapped as the primary backup depending on how things go in fall camp. Given the limited variety of play calls in this game, particularly with regards to quarterback runs, I cannot say exactly how the staff’s plan would be if Raiola saw meaningful playing time. His spring game action highlighted the live arm that made him such a highly sought after recruit coming out of high school.

Below is a sample of Raiola’s reps behind center.

1. :00 – The boundary safety bites on the play action fake and Raiola doesn’t hesitate to give Stewart a chance one-on-one with the corner in press coverage. It’s wonderful to see Stewart running full speed again and this deep ball hits him in perfect stride. I raised an eyebrow when I saw CB #14 Aaron Scott lined up in press at outside corner. That’s where he had played at Ohio State, but my review of his earlier film indicated this is exactly the sort of thing that might happen if he was left on an island.

2. :26 – Raiola has a good pocket to work with on this play and takes another shot down the sideline. Hampton actually gets more separation than Stewart did in the previous clip, but the throw isn’t anywhere near him.

3. :33 – The nickel safety (toward the top of the screen) is rushing unblocked but has so far to go the quarterback has time to get the throw away. The weak side linebacker mis-plays this as he doesn’t realize both receivers to the offense’s left are running in breaking routes and he needs to stay in the middle of the field. Former walk-on WR #82 Nathan McCoy picks up nine yards on first down when Raiola sees the gap in coverage.

4. :42 – Even if this were a tie game with under two minutes to go in the regular season, I’d say this throwaway is a smart move by the quarterback. It’s only second and ten so there are two more chances to move the chains and no need to risk a sack. Take the clock stoppage and try again.

Oregon legacy R.-Fr. Akili Smith Jr. appeared in last year’s spring game as an early enrollee and looked every bit the part of an accomplished high school athlete in his first few months against D-1 competition. He was noticeably more composed this year, but was still hesitant and inconsistent compared to the upperclassmen at the position. I’ll be curious if the Ducks find themselves in an early season blowout situation if the staff tries to bring him in for live reps to accelerate his development.

Below are examples of Smith’s play this past Saturday.

1. :00 – The defense tries a run-stopping blitz on second and medium. This does leave an extra rusher coming at Ak. Smith, and the right tackle lets his man free, but there is just enough time to get the pass away. Even an accomplished defender like CB #4 Brandon Finney will have trouble against a fully healthy WR #1 Dak. Moore one-on-one, and though the pass is underthrown Moore adjusts to high point it where Finney cannot interfere. These two were matched up most of the day and Moore generally had the advantage. Knowing what I do of Finney, I expect he is anxious to even things out the next time they are both in full pads.

2. :22 – Part of this incompletion is on the protection as the right side of the offensive line is a turnstile. Ak. Smith does have better options if he recognizes the pressure quickly enough: there is room to check down to the crosser or even spin out to his right and either run himself or go to the back in the flat.

3. :31 – The protection holds up well this time and Ak. Smith sees that with the corner bailing deep in zone the comeback to former walk-on WR #30 Aaron Bidwell is wide open. The pass is right between the numbers, if the ball isn’t bobbled the play might get a few extra yards.

4. :50 – With nobody open downfield and a free rusher closing on him as he rolls out Ak. Smith makes the smart decision to check the ball down to RB #26 Brandon Smith (no relation). He fails to align his hips properly on the move, which results in an incomplete pass.

As a group in transition, hythloday and I took particular note of who showed up along the offensive line for each squad on Saturday. Held out in street clothes were R-Sr. OL #74 Dave Iuli, R-Jr. OL Gernorris Wilson, and R-Jr. OL Bryce Boulton.

The tackle spots were played by R-Fr. OL #58 Ziyare Addison (left) and Yale transfer R-Sr. OL #75 Michael Bennett III (right) for the black team. There was more rotation outside along the white line with R.-So. OT #59 Fox Crader at left tackle, R-Fr. OT #57 usually on the right but switching to left on one drive when true freshman OL #77 Tommy Tofi played right tackle (Tofi also lined up at both guard spots).

Three players were only seen exclusively at center: Sr. OL #72 Iapani Laloulu for black, with R.-So. OL #53 Devin Brooks and true freshman OL #70 Koloi Keli for white. The second center for the black team was R-Fr. #55 Douglas Utu, but he also lined up at both guard spots. Rounding out the participants were those who were only seen at guard: R-Fr. OL #50 Demetri Manning (white), R.-So. OL Trent Ferguson (black), and R-Sr. OL #73 Kawika Rogers (white), though Rogers has played tackle when needs must before.

The entire tackle lineup struggled with the speed opposite them in pass protection, and the interior wasn’t much better at creating pockets to step up into. The run game, which requires more timing and coordination between blockers, was even more problematic. This is typical for spring games with the offensive linemen being constantly mixed and matched at different positions.

The ball carriers for the black team were So. RB #0 Jordon Davison, transfer R.-Sr. RB #22 Simeon Price , and true freshman RB #26 Brandon Smith. The backfield for white consisted of So. RB #6 Dierre Hill, R.-So. #21 Da’Juan Riggs, and true freshman RB #4 Tradarian Ball. Ball had some impressive reps for a true freshman, but at this point I still expect Price and Riggs to see the most action behind the two entrenched starters in the fall.

Here are some examples of successful rushing plays .

1. :00 – Utu, playing RG here, does a nice job taking his man inside at the snap but cannot maintain his block. A nice double team from Ja. Johnson and Bennett takes away the OLB, while the ILB over-commits outside leaving a wide open lane. Price gets moving downhill in a hurry for a solid gain on first down.

2. :08 – This inside zone run has Riggs initially aiming at the B-gap on the offense’s left. Once the backside linebacker over pursues and allows the center Keli to get an angle on him it gives the runner a chance to bend back toward the open lane on his right.

3. :17 – This is a standard variation of inside zone with the tight end Olesh pulling around to take the backside linebacker, but the defender fails to pursue and is out of the play. Stascausky does well to wall off the outside linebacker and a well executed chip-and-up combo from Brooks at center and Manning at guard lets Ball get north-and-south immediately.

4. :26 – Last season I saw several variations on counter from Oregon’s offense, but I haven’t noticed a straight forward power play like this in some time. There isn’t much to work with at the point of attack, but Br. Smith sees none of the defenders have leverage on the gap Utu vacated when he pulled from his left guard spot and makes a nifty move in the hole to generate a successful rush.

Both squads rotated three players at the two outside cornerback positions. White paired returning starters So. CB #4 Brandon Finney Jr. and R. So.-#7 Ify Obidegwu along with returner R.-Fr. #18 Dorian Brew (although Brew missed most of last season with injury). The black team had So. CB #2 Na’eem Offord along with transfers Jr. CB #14 Aaron Scott Jr. and former JUCO Jr. CB #17 Tre Watson.

At nickel freshman DB #5 Davon Benjamin played for white while Baylor transfer R.-Jr. Carl Williams IV and true freshman DB #17 Azel Banang split time for black.

At safety, the black team featured returners R.-So. DB #21 Aaron Flowers and Jr. DB #12 Peyton Woodyard along with true freshmen DB #24 Jett Washington and DB #20 Xavier Lherisse. For white, along with transfer Jr. DB #3 Koi Perich , former walk-on R.-Sr. DB #33 Zach Grisham was curiously in the first group ahead of the younger, more highly touted recruits, a healthy R.-Fr. DB #8 Trey McNutt and true freshman DB #33 Devin Jackson (not to be confused with the senior linebacker of a similar name).

Whether this was a reward for exemplary service at practice, an indication Grisham could see the field in the fall, or just being cautious in spring with McNutt and the young Jackson is uncertain. I compiled a sample of successfully defended plays featuring secondary defenders .

1. :00 – Former Golden Gopher Perich is playing eight yards from the LoS at the boundary safety position and sniffs out this RPO-screen to the tight end coming across the formation. He showcases his speed to limit this to a short three yard gain, which is a win for the defense. He does show the same “shoulder dive” tackle that hythloday noted was counter-productive when reviewing his tape from Minnesota so I hope the Oregon staff make wrapping up a point of emphasis for him going forward.

2. :09 – Walk-on CB #29 Arlo Henderson is lined up over the outside receiver and fellow walk-on WR #89 Brady Bidwell to the offenses left. Henderson lets Bidwell behind him but he knows he has help over the top from the freshman Lherisse. The safety does an excellent job tracking the ball in the air to break up the pass.

3. :18 – The true freshman Benjamin is over the slot receiver lined up on the offense’s right. There is a linebacker assigned to the short middle of the field in zone coverage so Benjamin can play with outside leverage. He doesn’t let the receiver shed him at the top of route and undercuts the throw to earn a PBU.

4. :26 – Watch Woodyard lined up over the inside receiver on the offense’s right. He has responsibility for the flat in zone coverage, so he undercuts this quick throw to the sideline. It looks like he might alter the ball’s trajectory, but even if he just served to distract the receiver he prevents a catch.

The true edge defenders in Oregon’s scheme (I’ve grouped the dedicated “big” ends with the defensive tackles) got the better of their counterparts at offensive tackle most of the day. Returning starter Sr. OLB #10 Mateo Uiagalelei played some snaps for black but most of the reps went to a trio of true freshmen: OLB #28 Anthony “Tank” Jones Jr., OLB #41 Dutch Horisk, and OLB #51 Prince Tavizon. White featured less youth overall with former Beaver R-Fr. OLB #27 Bleau Dantzler, So. OLB #31 Nasir Wyatt (who played despite a club on his hand), and R.-So. OLB #47 Elijah Rushing.

I could have made two entire clip compilations just of the “sacks” (tags in this game) made by edge defenders, but tried to have a more representative sample , shown below.

1. :00 – Wyatt, lined up on the offense’s right, has a free path to the quarterback but this play is made by Rushing who begins on the offense’s left. At the snap the left tackle moves in to double team the DT and the tight end shuffles outside without even chipping him, and Rushing realizes the offense is trying to set up a screen. He moves to engage the tight end behind to line of scrimmage and Dante Moore has to dirt the ball.

2. :07 – There were plenty of chances to get after the quarterback on Saturday (10 combined sacks between both teams), but Dantzler flashed as frequently as any other defender rushing the passer. His speed is simply too much for the left tackle to handle. If this had a been a live game Dante Moore would be picking rubber pellets from the turf out from between his teeth.

3. :13 – I’m not sure a defender even touches Raiola here, but it’s obvious this needs to count as a tag-down. Jones splits the guard and center as Horisk is able to shove the right tackle back into the QB using only one arm.

4. :21 – The protection does better on this play and Horisk is picked up by the right guard Manning coming over the top on a T/E stunt. Realizing he won’t make it to the quarterback, he keeps his eyes up and times a jump to get into the throwing lane and bat down a short throw.

Classifying the interior line defenders Oregon used was a bit difficult as the same players frequently lined up in 1-tech, 3-tech, or even 5-tech positions depending on the offensive formation and where the OLBs were deployed. Most frequently we saw Sr. DL #52 A’Mauri Washington (white) and transfer R.-Sr. DL #99 Jerome Simmons (black) at nose tackle, though Simmons made the latest appearance in the game of any of the interior linemen with Washington barely coming off the field until the 3rd quarter.

The 3-tech defensive tackle spot was usually held R.-Sr. #1 DL Bear Alexander (black), R.-So. DL #42 Aydin Breland (white), and transfer Jr. DL #0 D’Antre Robinson (black), though each of these players occasionally shifted over to 1-tech. I occasionally even saw the “ends” at 1-tech, though both R.-Fr. DL #55 Matthew Johnson and transfer R-Sr. DL #91 Derrick Brown saw most action at the 3-tech spot or sometimes even at 5-tech against the offensive tackles.

Below are examples of successful defensive plays from the interior defensive linemen .

1. :00 – Having been mostly a pass-rush specialist in the regular season, I was eager to get a chance to see Breland play DT in more general down-and-distance situations. He seemed to have put on a bit of muscle over the winter as he shows off here holding against a double team and working his helmet play side of the guard. He gets a grip on the runner and slows the back enough for ILB #6 Jerry Mixon and CB #7 Ify Obidegwu to arrive and make the stop.

2. :09 – Lined up at 3-tech to the offense’s right, Robinson shows off textbook 2-gap play against this inside zone run. He engages the guard cheek-to-cheek, extends his arms to control the blocker, then sheds the offensive linemen to make the play once the back has committed to a gap.

3. :18 – Another sack, but the pressure is coming right up the gut this time. Breland gets underneath the pads of the left guard and shoves him out of the way.

4. :25 – This outside zone run gets turned back by Johnson, whose slid inside to the 1-tech position on the offense’s left. The entire line kick steps to their left, and Johnson moves laterally to stay in his assigned gap but doesn’t allow the double team to push him backwards. When the center moves off to engage the linebacker, Johnson has inside leverage on the guard and darts inside to wrap up the running back even as Robinson and DB #24 J. Washington arrive to assist.

The area of the defense that probably has the least depth is the inside linebacker room. No transfers were brought in this cycle (or last year), and with R.-So. ILB #23 Brayden Platt nowhere to be seen on Saturday that left only four returning scholarship players to participate in the Spring Game. White had Sr. ILB #6 Jerry Mixon and R.-Fr. ILB #13 Gavin Nix while black had R-Sr. ILB #9 Devon Jackson and R.-So. ILB #11 Dylan Williams.

True freshman ILB #25 Tristan Phillips also saw snaps for the black team but fellow freshman ILB #19 Braylon Hodge was on the sideline in street clothes. The white team saw early play from longtime reserve ILB #38 Will Stratton, and the black team used #34 ILB Cruz Rushing (brother of the edge player) in relief.

Some examples of successfully defended plays by the linebackers :

1. :00 – I didn’t find many usable clips where the linebackers made first contact with the ball carriers (the defensive line was usually getting off their blocks), so a walk-on gets his flowers here. The defensive tackles are making a mess in the middle, but it’s ILB #34 Cruz Rushing who stands up the left tackle and comes in to stop the runner’s progress.

2. :07 – Thomas doesn’t see anyone open downfield immediately and the pocket is collapsing, so he checks down to Riggs sneaking the backfield. Williams is responsible for this area in zone and reacts quickly with a sure tackle to hold the play to a short gain.

3. :14 – At defensive tackle this is another great rep for Breland on the back side of this power play, but watch Nix on the front side. He side steps both the right tackle and the pulling guard (who mixes up his assignment) and forces the runner to cut back before helping with the tackle.

4. :24 – Stopping the run is always a full team effort, and CB #14 Scott does his part with an excellent tackle when the back is spilled outside to him. This wouldn’t be possible without the pursuit from Phillips who avoids the center trying to block him and never lets the runner get north-and-south.