UO Football Opens Camp in Eugene, Aug. 9

UO release – A year after preseason camp didn’t begin until October, the Oregon football team got back to work under more typical circumstances Friday with the first practice of the 2021 season. The Ducks held their first of 25 workouts prior to their Sept. 4 season opener against Fresno State in Autzen Stadium. Practice began under cool, partly cloudy skies but by late morning the temperature on the practice fields was quite warm; with knowing smiles on their faces, veterans reminded freshmen to be diligent about hydration as camp progresses. “Football shape is a little different than weight-room shape; you can see there’s a gap there we have to close, and that’s part of camp,” said UO coach Mario Cristobal, who is kicking off his fourth season as head coach of the two-time Pac-12 champs. “But a lot of guys just doing a really good job with technique and fundamentals; we still have a ways to go, but overall execution on the first day was solid.” An NCAA rule change has lengthened the build-up to full pads in preseason camp, so the Ducks were in small “spider” pads Friday and will be until the sixth practice of camp, on Thursday. By that point, Cristobal said, the coaching staff would like to have the bulk of its schemes installed. The Ducks will scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 14, and then will have another week to review those schemes and tweak them before transitioning to game prep the week of the Fresno State game.