Spring Game surprise player

[Mops]

I thought a few guys had good games.

Jeremiah Masoli-Showed pretty good grit and effort and he threw two touchdowns to no interceptions which is exactly what we need out of him. He'd have more rushing yards if the red jersey protection was taken off

Aaron Pflugrad-Looks to have improved his overall speed and agility. Really made a good cut and cut-back on the touchdown drive, which he finished with power as he bowled his way into the endzone. I thought he also did a nice job blocking down field on running plays.

Blake Cantu-Cantu was a guy he were being told could play as a true frosh when he got here and had the body to handle it. Then he hurt his shoulder. I think this guy will really do well in the fall.

Simi Toeania-Simi has been playing really well all spring. Maybe he's realized its his last year or coach Azz has whipped him into gear. Whatever it is, it's nice having a 6'4 315 pound mountain on the D-line.

Chad Peppers-Played really well on special teams in a bunch of different areas.

Walter Thurmond III-Lockdown. Holland didn't have a good game because he was covered by the pac-10's best DB.

[Destroyer77]

Jamere Holland.... although I don't think one would be suprised after all we've been hearing.

Surprising as in he didn't do much? He had 3 catches for 8 yds. Or were you talking about Spring as a whole?

Look past the stat sheet. He was burning DB's deep all afternoon and got overthrown twice on 2 sure-thing 50+ yard TD's. He got a couple passes over the middle where he looked like he was twice as fast as everyone else on the field. If he can stay healthy this year, he will have as big or bigger year than Terrance Scott did last year.

[lukeyrid13]

I agree that Holland did pretty good. Teams are going to have to have their FS always staying deep to cover him which opens up Maehl over the middle and our running game will have more lanes. He was open deep everytime they had him go deep. Pflu and Cantu both played really well and I thought Harper other then his catch was pretty disappointing. I love Maehl but I really thought Harper would overtake him to start in the slot but I would be shocked if that happened now. He also looked slow and didn't have great vision as a RB. Barner was excellent wherever they put him and Peppars as well. Where would Peppars play, CB?

Both Masoli and Roper were solid and I would say that we might turn our focus more to the passing game this year with how stacked we are at WR and all the injuries at RB. DT was inconsistent and while he shows great flashes I think a redshirt year is needed. LT also looked good and if he gets any open space he can take it to the house.

Was Will Tukuafu hurt because I didn't see him at all? Rowe was in on some plays and Toeina and Bair and Montgomery looked solid as well. The LB's all looked decent and Littlejohn looks like he'll be a player.

The game wasn't as exciting as last years but we showed some good promise. Definitely a lot of work before Boise

[dthomas=ddixon]

Jamere Holland.... although I don't think one would be suprised after all we've been hearing.

Surprising as in he didn't do much? He had 3 catches for 8 yds. Or were you talking about Spring as a whole?

Look past the stat sheet. He was burning DB's deep all afternoon and got overthrown twice on 2 sure-thing 50+ yard TD's. He got a couple passes over the middle where he looked like he was twice as fast as everyone else on the field. If he can stay healthy this year, he will have as big or bigger year than Terrance Scott did last year.

Read through the thread. I corrected myself.

[VinnyKnuckles]

Where would Peppars play, CB?

Peppars began his Oregon career at CB, but he was moved to safety this spring. If the Spring Game is any indication, it looks like a pretty good position switch.

[Tray Dub]

I personally wasn't impressed with Holland. He didn't get overthrown twice, it was just once. The other time, the ball was right in front of him it looked like to me. He made some good open field moves on one pass, but otherwise was really quiet. Probly has a lot to do with who was covering him (WT3) but still, I was hoping for more out of him.

I thought Pflugrad was surprising just because I didn't realize he had gotten that fast. I think he's a legit starter at this point.

Does anybody know if there's something wrong with Maehl? Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, but I haven't heard much about him all Spring and I don't remember hearing his name called during the game.

[karlhungis]

I personally wasn't impressed with Holland. He didn't get overthrown twice, it was just once. The other time, the ball was right in front of him it looked like to me. He made some good open field moves on one pass, but otherwise was really quiet. Probly has a lot to do with who was covering him (WT3) but still, I was hoping for more out of him.

I thought Pflugrad was surprising just because I didn't realize he had gotten that fast. I think he's a legit starter at this point.

Does anybody know if there's something wrong with Maehl? Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, but I haven't heard much about him all Spring and I don't remember hearing his name called during the game.

The pass that was right in front of Holland was only there because he had to adjust his pattern. It looked like it was thrown over the wrong shoulder to me.

[lukeyrid13]

Yeah Holland ran a post on that play but Masoli threw a deep out. He adjusted but just a little too late for that one. I think Peppars might be able to take over the open safety spot. His growth looks similar to the development of Ward's last year coming out of nowhere.

[VinnyKnuckles]

I personally wasn't impressed with Holland. He didn't get overthrown twice, it was just once. The other time, the ball was right in front of him it looked like to me.

If you watch the television replay, on the second one Holland was breaking wide open for an easy touchdown if the ball was thrown out in from him towards the middle of the field. There was either miscommunication on the route being run or Masoli simply misfired since he threw the ball towards the sideline, forcing Holland to twist the opposite direction and look over his other shoulder. The depth perception of the television replay is also misleading since, despite what Joe Giansante said on the broadcast (he pretty much blew the call of the play in every aspect), if you saw it live from the stands you could see the ball was too far out in front of Holland for it to be caught.

[Tray Dub]

Alright I was in the upper sections and I guess I didn't catch that. Still though, I was hoping for a little more Holland action. But I guess it wasn't his fault.

[UOducksTK1]

I thought a few guys had good games.

Jeremiah Masoli-Showed pretty good grit and effort and he threw two touchdowns to no interceptions which is exactly what we need out of him. He'd have more rushing yards if the red jersey protection was taken off

Aaron Pflugrad-Looks to have improved his overall speed and agility. Really made a good cut and cut-back on the touchdown drive, which he finished with power as he bowled his way into the endzone. I thought he also did a nice job blocking down field on running plays.

Blake Cantu-Cantu was a guy he were being told could play as a true frosh when he got here and had the body to handle it. Then he hurt his shoulder. I think this guy will really do well in the fall.

Simi Toeania-Simi has been playing really well all spring. Maybe he's realized its his last year or coach Azz has whipped him into gear. Whatever it is, it's nice having a 6'4 315 pound mountain on the D-line.

Chad Peppers-Played really well on special teams in a bunch of different areas.

Walter Thurmond III-Lockdown. Holland didn't have a good game because he was covered by the pac-10's best DB.

Agree with all of em. I also thought Barner showed some serious potential @ RB. I'd like to see him get some more reps and maybe eventually make that his permanent position. Also don't forget Roper.

[Tray Dub]

I thought a few guys had good games.

Jeremiah Masoli-Showed pretty good grit and effort and he threw two touchdowns to no interceptions which is exactly what we need out of him. He'd have more rushing yards if the red jersey protection was taken off

Aaron Pflugrad-Looks to have improved his overall speed and agility. Really made a good cut and cut-back on the touchdown drive, which he finished with power as he bowled his way into the endzone. I thought he also did a nice job blocking down field on running plays.

Blake Cantu-Cantu was a guy he were being told could play as a true frosh when he got here and had the body to handle it. Then he hurt his shoulder. I think this guy will really do well in the fall.

Simi Toeania-Simi has been playing really well all spring. Maybe he's realized its his last year or coach Azz has whipped him into gear. Whatever it is, it's nice having a 6'4 315 pound mountain on the D-line.

Chad Peppers-Played really well on special teams in a bunch of different areas.

Walter Thurmond III-Lockdown. Holland didn't have a good game because he was covered by the pac-10's best DB.

Agree with all of em. I also thought Barner showed some serious potential @ RB. I'd like to see him get some more reps and maybe eventually make that his permanent position. Also don't forget Roper.

Ya it looked like Barner was maybe a bit small but definitely could play the position if needed. I really wish we could've seen LMJ though. And Gaines would've been an interesting player this Spring.

[stewbertwilloughby]

The first over throw on the long pass to Holland was crazy to me. I saw Holland get in between the corner and safety, and saw him take off, knew he was gone. Right at that moment Masoli threw the ball and at about mid flight, it looked like it was way, WAY overthrown, especially with the strong wind at his back. It almost seemed like Holland kicked it into another gear and nearly caught up to the ball. If he would have dove, the ball would have at least hit off his hands. If the wind wasn't as crazy, that would have been a touchdown. At least that's how it looked from my seat.

[brich75]

so this is all good but what do we do till the games start now? its going to be a long summer, hope its a very productive one!

[Duckxing]

Darron Thomas suprised me, but in the wrong way. I thought he would have been more polished at this stage in his development, but he needs to redshirt this year. He is coming along but he needs more time, and it would be foolish to waste another year just for a few plays here and there.

Chad Peppars was hitting people all over the field. He should excel on special teams this year.

While the LB's were making plays at the line of scrimmage it seemed that they struggled in coverage. I hope the play-action passing isn't going to be a problem again this year. Littlejohn put a few good hits on some people and looks like a good addition to the team.

Overall I think our running game will be down compared to last year, but our passing game could become much better.