⚑ GAMEDAY
THE SENIOR CORNERBACK has had a rollercoaster of a career at Oregon, but that hasn’t changed his bright and one of a kind personality.
ARRION SPRINGS’
FINAL RIDE
P L AY E R S T O WAT C H V S W Y O M I N G
H O W A LT I T U D E M I G H T A F F E C T S AT U R D AY ’ S G A M E
C AT C H I N G U P W I T H D U C K S I N T H E N F L
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ON THE COVER
2825 Willamette • Eugene, Oregon • 541-342-5191 PA G E 2
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Arrion Springs at practice on September 13, 2017. Photograph by Adam Eberhardt
GAMEDAY
PLAYERS TO WATCH BY: Jack Butler @Butler97
Wyoming Quarterback: Josh Allen Allen has the prototypical size for an NFL quarterback. He stands at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, and is a projected first-round NFL draft pick. Last season, he completed 56 percent of his passes, averaged 228.8 yards per game and threw 28 touchdowns. So far this season, in games against Iowa and Gardner-Webb, he has completed 63 percent of his passes for an average of 251 yards and two touchdowns. In 18 career starts he has 30 touchdowns, but 17 interceptions. He’s a turnover prone quarterback who struggles against Power-5 opponents. Against Iowa and Nebraska he threw one touchdown and seven interceptions.
Safety: Andrew Wingard Wingard leads Wyoming in tackles through two games. As a safety, he even has one tackle for loss. Wyoming is not afraid to stack the box with another safety to try and stop the run. Wingard also has one interception this season. He’s started 25 consecutive games, so he’s seen it all and he’s durable. He’s also been named to three prestigious preseason college football award watch lists.
Oregon
Defense: Troy Dye
Outside linebacker: Jonah Moi Moi had a sack at a crucial time in the game against Nebraska. He also tipped the ball in the air for what would be the game-winning interception by Ugo Amadi. The redshirtsenior rotates at the outside linebacker position based on what package defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt wants to use. The pass-rush package will be very important against Allen, and Moi is a big part of that. Allen can make every throw, so if he’s given time in the pocket he can burn Oregon’s secondary. Moi and the pass-rush will be important in stopping Allen.
Wide reciever: Johnny Johnson III The freshman receiver is on the mind of Oregon fans after making a spectacular diving catch against Nebraska. He is a deep-threat who is an emerging weapon for quarterback Justin Herbert to use. Wyoming faced two run-heavy offenses against Iowa and Gardner-Webb, so they haven’t faced a quarterback as good as Herbert. The passing game will be crucial in exposing the Wyoming defense. He’s second on the team in receptions, and he’s averaging close to 20 yards per catch. He had four receptions for 80 yards against Nebraska, and he shows no signs of slowing down. T H U R S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 7
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GAMEDAY
WYOMING WILL TEST OREGON’S
SECONDARY BY: Aaron Alter @AaronAlter PHOTO: Adam Eberhardt &Theo Mechain
Oregon cornerback Ugochukwu Amadi (7) returns the ball after making an interception during game against Southern Utah.
Oregon cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. (4) returns the ball after making an interception during game against Nebraska.
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After a difficult 2016 season, Oregon’s secondary was one of the team’s most watched units coming into the 2017 season. While the unit looks much improved after two games, they’ll face their stiffest challenge yet – Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen – this weekend. While the secondary looked good in the season opener against Southern Utah, it was fair to wonder how they would handle the tougher challenge presented by Nebraska. They rose to the occasion and held off a Nebraska comeback with no help from the Ducks’ offense. The unit picked off Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee four times, with the final gamewinning interception coming from junior cornerback Ugochukwu Amadi. “We just knew the defense had to make plays,” Amadi said. “We have to have a single mind, to have a short term memory. We make a bad play this time, but next play we’re gonna come back and execute. That’s what the goal was — to execute and finish.” The Ducks’ defensive backs must now prepare to face a quarterback that many have pinned as a future first-round pick in the NFL Draft. Measuring 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, Josh Allen looks like a prototypical NFL quarterback. He has a powerful arm – he threw for 28 touchdowns and averaged 8.6 yards per attempt in 2016. Allen also has the mobility to keep defenses on guard. He rushed for 512 yards and seven touchdowns last season. “He’s a big-time player,” Ducks head coach Willie Taggart said. “He can make all the throws. We’re gonna have
to do a good job of pressuring him. He does a great job when he gets out of the pocket of finding open guys. So our DBs gotta do a great job of plastering and staying with the receivers.” While Allen’s skills and numbers are impressive, he’s not flawless. He threw 15 interceptions last season. More recently, he was locked down by Iowa in Wyoming’s season opener, going 23-for-40 for 174 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. In that game, Iowa’s secondary shut down Wyoming’s deep-ball receivers which deprived Allen of one of his strongest assets. As a result, he was forced to rely on short crossing routes for small gains. Oregon’s defensive backs will have to do the same if they want to keep Allen in check. Allen bounced back the following week against Gardner-Webb, going 22of-32 for 328 yards with two touchdowns and no picks, so he’s hardly in a tailspin. The Ducks’ offense will likely remain potent, so the matchup with Allen and Wyoming puts the defense in the spotlight once again. For his part, senior cornerback Arrion Springs is just fine with that role. “It was fun that it had to be on the defense [to close out Nebraska],” Springs said. “We’ve been working on a lot of ball drills. We studied the route concepts, and the guys were in position to make plays.” If they’re going to take down Allen and his team, the Ducks will need that playmaking to be on full display this Saturday.
GAMEDAY Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) leaps over several Wyoming Cowboys while scoring a touchdown during the second half. The No. 2 Oregon Ducks play the University of Wyoming Cowboys at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on Sept, 13, 2014.
DEEP DIVE:
GETTING
TO KNOW THE
COWBOYS BY: Jack Butler @Butler97 | PHOTO: Taylor Wilder Before the season, those who scouted Oregon’s schedule circled the upcoming game at Wyoming as a potential upset. The quality quarterback, aggressive defense and altitude could make this a tough game for the Ducks. Wyoming (1-1) is a Mountain West team that lost to Power-5 opponent Iowa 24-3 in week one. In week two, Wyoming got the victory over GardnerWebb, an FCS opponent. Offensively, Wyoming has a possible first-round NFL draft pick at quarterback in Josh Allen. “In all the years I’ve been coaching, I don’t know if I’ve seen a quarterback this good,” Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt said. “He makes all the throws. He’s strong. He can move. … He’s just so talented.” At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, Allen has the size of a professional quarterback. He can make every throw, and Oregon’s defense needs to be ready for him. Wyoming throws the ball a lot. In two games this season the Cowboys averaged 36 attempts per game compared to 29 rushing attempts per game.
The Cowboys’ passing offense is potent, but also turnover prone, while their rushing offense is bad. Wyoming is averaging 62 total rushing yards per game. Its offense is carried almost entirely by its passing game. Defensively, Wyoming is good, but they have yet to face an offense as potent as Oregon’s. Iowa and Gardner-Webb are teams that favor running the ball. In two games, Wyoming’s defense only faced 22 pass attempts, yet they allowed 14 yards per catch and three touchdowns. When Oregon was dominating Nebraska in the first half, quarterback Justin Herbert had 25 attempts. Wyoming has shown it’s able to force interceptions, with one a game on average, but they haven’t faced a team that has offensive weapons like Oregon. However, the Cowboys do have a front-seven that loves to get after opposing offensive lines. “They just cause chaos and confusion,” offensive line coach Mario Cristobal said. “They understand protections and how to dissect them and how to expose them.”
Last season, Wyoming recorded 30 sacks with a defense that started a lot of young players. They return eight starters and hope to get after Herbert and force him into errant throws. The defense needs to improve their third down defense if they want to stop Oregon. They’ve allowed their opponents to convert almost 50 percent on the crucial down. On fourth down, they’re 1-of-3 on stopping opponents. Oregon will also be battling the altitude. Laramie, Wyoming sits at roughly 7,200 feet above sea level, which is 2,000 feet higher than Pac-12 opponents Colorado and Utah. Wyoming is 15-10 at home over the last four seasons. But the Ducks can only do so much. “It’ll affect the ball a little bit,” Taggart said. “It’s going to affect you if you’ve never played in it. Again, it is what it is.” Oregon will be facing one of the best quarterbacks in the country and an aggressive defense in their first game on the road. The Ducks are a young team, so we’ll learn how they handle the unfamiliar environment.
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ARRION SPRINGS BRINGS LE BY: Gus Morris @JustGusMorris | PHOTO:
Oregon cornerback Arrion Springs (13) practices on September 13, 2017 in preparation for the Ducks’ game against Wyoming. PA G E 6
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If you ask any of Arrion Springs’ teammates what their best story about Springs is, they’ll all probably react the same way. They’ll pause. They’ll smile. They’ll hold back a laugh. And then they’ll pause again, while they really wrack their memory for just one story that stands above the rest. The challenge isn’t remembering; it’s picking the best one. “He’s just a funny dude,” linebacker Troy Dye said. “I can come up with a bunch of stories.” Those stories range from how Springs acts during practice and conditioning sessions to the time he bought a pair of geckos off of Craigslist (more on that later), and everything in between. As he would explain it, Springs has had a “rollercoaster” of a career at Oregon. He’s gone to a National Championship game and through a 4-8 season, which saw the only college head coach he’d played for get fired. He’s played under three defensive coordinators. He’s won, lost, and won back a starting job. He’ll graduate from Oregon after this season, with his eyes trained ahead onto what’s next. He’s hoping it’s the NFL. But to truly get an idea of who Springs is and how he ended up at this point, you need to start over 2,000 miles southeast of Eugene, in San Antonio, Texas. Before he learned how to play football correctly, he had to learn how to walk correctly — a task that may seem menial, but for Springs it took months. He had a medical condition in his legs that caused extreme bowleggedness. He was so pigeon-toed that doctors had to fit him with metal leg braces that forced his legs to straighten while he slept. As the years passed, Springs’ condition improved and quickly became a non-issue. By the time he entered high school, a healthy Springs was solely devoted to football. Today, his size and agility make him an ideal cornerback. But back in high school, his size proved to be his biggest hindrance. It was also the deciding factor for him to switch from quarterback to defensive back. The switch worked as he excelled as a defensive back. The recruiting letters began to pour in from blue blood football programs like Florida State, Texas, Oklahoma, USC and Clemson, just to name a few. By his junior year of high school, Oregon had jumped into the mix. Former Oregon secondary coach John Neal took the lead on recruiting Springs, and the two meshed well. But Neal revealed that he almost dropped Springs from his recruiting boards his junior year when Neal perceived there to be an issue with Springs’ grades. It turned out that Springs was enrolled in several college-level classes his junior year. His grades began to slip because of the advanced workload. Neal, unaware of the advanced classes that Springs was taking, thought that he was simply slacking off in his classes. But with a couple phone calls, and a discussion with the counselor at Roosevelt High School, Springs set the record straight. “It gave me a lot of confidence in him that he was in there with all the straight-A students and he was
LEADERSHIP AND CHARISMA Adam Eberhardt & Phillip Quinn competing and had enough courage to call me and explain that to me,” Neal said. “This is a kid that’s going into his senior year in high school when all this is being figured out, and I almost made a huge mistake on him, but he was the one who straightened me out. I’ve always thanked him for that because that was a really cool thing he did as a really confident kid.” Springs arrived in Eugene in 2014, a season removed from an 11-2 season where Oregon posted the 13th best scoring defense in the country. But even before he could make his presence felt on the field, he was making an interesting impression off of it. Defensive lineman Jalen Jelks, who was part of the same recruiting class as Springs, remembers how Springs got his two geckos. Jelks said that Springs really wanted to get a pet shortly after the two arrived on campus, and had somehow stumbled across two leopard geckos for sale on Craigslist. So, naturally, he bought both. None of Springs’ teammates know what happened to the geckos — Springs apparently didn’t have them long — but they do know that they vanished as strangely as they had arrived. “I don’t know what happened to them things,” said Royce Freeman, who lived with Springs at the time. “I came back one day and they were gone. Guess it didn’t work out.” But what did work out, at least for Springs, was his adjustment to a deep and experienced Oregon secondary his freshman year. He stepped into an Oregon defense that had racked up 17 interceptions in 2013, the 23rd best in the country. He was expected to compete for playing time with players like Troy Hill, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Erick Dargan. The odds were against him, but that hadn’t stopped him before. He played in nine games his freshman year, including the Rose Bowl, and showcased the skills that Neal had seen back in high school. Granted, Springs took his lumps — Neal called him a “typical freshman,” one who had starting potential but lacked the maturity and consistency to earn hefty playing time. “All this stuff is a process,” Neal said. “It’s a mental process, it’s a physical process, it’s an emotional process, and all of a sudden you’re thrown into the fire and all that stuff is going on all at once.” Springs soaked up all he could that year from players like Washington, Ekpre-Olomu and even Deforest Buckner and Arik Armstead. He gives them a lot of credit for helping him adjust to college football. “It was just really fun to be a part of,” Springs said. “I had those guys pushing me. I thought I could play but [those guys] were just taking it to the next level, like what it really takes to play at this level and play really good.” It certainly showed the following season when he started all 13 games for the Ducks and finished seventh on the team in total tackles. While Springs thought he had turned a corner that season, 2016 would serve as a harsh wake-up call. Springs started in Oregon’s first eight games of the season but was replaced by sophomore Ugo Amadi for
“YOU GOTTA LEARN HOW TO BOUNCE BACK AND TAKE EACH GAME AS A DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU.”
the last four. Both with and without Springs on the field, Oregon’s defense was one of the worst in the country that season. But like most important things in his life, Springs used this low point as motivation to improve. “You gotta learn how to bounce back and take each game as a different opportunity for you and don’t let the last game beat you,” he said. “Just learn how to bounce back.” Springs started the 2017 season on a better note. His three pass breakups against Nebraska gave him 30 for his career, tied for eighth best in Oregon school history with Cliff Harris. He leads the Ducks with five brokenup passes this season, three more than anyone else on the team. His teammates also say that he’s grown more mature and confident. What’s impressed them the most, though, is how he’s always stayed true to himself throughout his ups and downs at Oregon. “He definitely has a big personality, has a lot of selfconfidence and he does a really good job of staying true to who he is,” safety Mattrell McGraw said. “He doesn’t let anyone change him, regardless of whether the situation is going bad, going good. “He’s going to always be Arrion.” That approach has gotten him this far. Why stop now?
ARRION SPRINGS
Oregon corner back Arrion Springs (13) defends a pass against UC Davis receiver Keelan Ross. The No. 24 Oregon Ducks play the UC Davis Aggies for the season opener at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on Sept. 3, 2016. T H U R S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 7
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GAMEDAY The Oregon Ducks practice in Eugene, Ore. on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017.
OREGON’S DEFENSE PREPARES FOR WYOMING QUARTERBACK JOSH ALLEN BY: Shawn Medow @ShawnMedow PHOTO: Adam Eberhardt
The Ducks travel to Laramie, Wyoming, to take on the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday at 4 p.m., and the biggest threat the Ducks will face, besides the over 7,000-foot elevation, is Cowboys’ quarterback Josh Allen. “He can make all the throws,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “When you can throw the ball from the hash mark 30 yards down the field to the opposite sideline…that’s pretty impressive and he can do that.” Oregon’s defense managed well with Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee the weekend before at Autzen, but Allen will be a different test, one that some have never seen. “In all the years I’ve been coaching, I don’t know if I’ve seen a quarterback this good,” defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt said. Dealing with a quarterback like Allen is something the Ducks will have to get used to ahead of going into Pac-12 play where good quarterbacks are common. Allen is an NFL-caliber quarterback who could be
among the highest picked players in the upcoming NFL draft. For Oregon, it’s a chance to see how they can shape up against someone who will probably go on to play professionally. “It’s a good test,” Taggart said. “This guy’s got arm talent to play on Sundays. It’s a great opportunity to go out and compete with a guy who’s going to be playing on Sundays.” The Ducks’ pass-rush will have to play a big role in stopping Allen and the Cowboys, and that stems from the linebackers. “He’s a really good quarterback,” outside linebacker Jonah Moi said. “It’s really nice to play against a guy like that.” The Ducks defense knows what they’re up against and knows just how important it is to keep him contained. Leavitt’s defense will have to be organized against Allen, which won’t be easy. But, the Ducks have a game plan. “He breaks a lot of tackles,” Moi said. “He’s a big guy so if we hit him, we’ve got to hit him hard.”
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GAMEDAY
DUCKS IN THE NFL BY: Kylee O’Connor @kyleethemightee | PHOTO: Adam Eberhardt
In 2016, former Oregon tight end Johnny Mundt was awarded the Dudley Randolph Clarke Memorial Award for the team’s most improved player. Now, recently signed to the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad, Mundt looks to improve even more and eventually make the 53-man roster – again. During the first week of September, Mundt made the Rams’ 53-man roster. But a late trade for Washington Redskins’ tight end Derek Carrier forced the he Rams to waive Mundt the very next day. Mundt’s path to the practice squad has not been an easy one. When he attended the Rams’ rookie minicamp in May, he broke his ankle on the first day. From there, he thought his dreams of playing in the NFL might be over before they began. “It was extremely hard,” Mundt said. “When it initially happened, I didn’t even know what to think. I was afraid that they were going to release me then and there.” Mundt was able to do physical therapy with the Rams’ trainers, as well as learn the offense and go to team meetings during Organized Team Activities, also known as OTAs. That, he said, contributed to his successful return.
Oregon Ducks tight end Johnny Mundt (83) dives to try and make a catch as Oregon State Beavers linebacker Caleb Saulo (35) defends him. The Oregon Ducks play the Oregon State Beavers in the 120th Civil war at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016. PA G E 1 0
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Mundt was cleared to play in the final preseason game of the year and made the game count, scoring an 18-yard touchdown. The NFL is home to the top 1,696 football players in the world and only 1.5 percent of college athletes make it to the NFL. For now, Mundt must prove himself to make that roster spot Mundt believes he’s just getting started. “I’m fired up,” Mundt said. “I get to go against the first defense. So if I’m making plays on the practice squad all the coaches are seeing it, I’m putting good stuff on film. I’m still developing as a tight end, I feel like I have my best football ahead of me.” Other Ducks in the mix: Pharaoh Brown is another former Oregon tight end who attended the Raiders’ training camp. After a devastating injury against Utah in November 2014, he redshirted the 2015 season and returned last year for a successful end to his college career. He did not survive the final Oakland roster cuts and was released. Marcus Mariota continues to improve with the Tennessee Titans after an impressive 9-7 record last year. The addition of Corey Davis
(drafted No. 5 overall in 2017) and Eric Decker (signed to a one-year deal in May) will offer him new targets downfield. That, accompanied with DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry in the backfield, offers potential for this rising offense. Hroniss Grasu is listed as the back-up center for the Chicago Bears. Grasu seemingly captured the starting role during training camp last year, but tore his ACL in August 2016. Since then, Grasu has had to go through physical therapy and fight for a starting role. While he was rehabilitating, Cody Whitehair impressed the coaches and has since claimed that top position. Grasu reunited with Mariota, his former teammate, on August 28, in the Chicago Bears’ preseason game against the Titans. Despite drafting Stanford star Christian McCaffrey No. 8 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, Jonathan Stewart continues to be the starting running back for the Carolina Panthers. In the first game of the regular season, Stewart rushed for 65 yards on 18 attempts, but McCaffrey wasn’t far behind with 47 yards on 13 attempts. McCaffrey, a dual-threat in college, also had 38 yards on five receptions, compared to Stewart’s 17 yards on 2 receptions.
GAMEDAY
ALTITUDE: OREGON’S OTHER OPPONENT BY: Zak Laster @zlast3445
When the Oregon football team takes the field Saturday against the Wyoming Cowboys, it isn’t just projected first-round pick and quarterback Josh Allen that they’ll have to be ready for. They’ll also need to be prepared to play at War Memorial Stadium which sits at 7,220-feet above sea level. It’s a dramatic increase from Autzen Stadium, which is only 418 feet above sea level. “[The elevation] plays as big of a factor as you let it be,” co-offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal said. The Ducks have played at high elevations five times since the Pac-12 added the Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes in 2011, and they’re undefeated in road games against the two schools. Oregon has outscored the Buffaloes 14342 in three games in Boulder, and scored 81 points in two games against the Utes. However, War Memorial Stadium is over 2,000 feet higher than both Utah and Colorado. But according to wide receiver Charles Nelson, the adjustment isn’t as drastic as you would think. “You lose your breath a little bit in the beginning,” Nelson said. “But once you get used to it, it’s easy and just another game of football.” Being in top cardio shape can help players work through the issues that playing at higher elevations present. The Ducks play at a fast tempo and their athleticism could give them an advantage compared to other teams making their first trip to Wyoming. “It really didn’t affect me that much because it was at the end of the season, we were all pretty
conditioned and in football shape,” wide receiver Brenden Schooler said of the game at Utah. The Ducks benefit from having a trio of coaches on its coaching staff who have experience coaching football at higher altitudes. Defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt and cornerbacks coach Charles Clark both coached for Colorado. Co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo was an assistant early in his career at Wyoming. “You can’t acclimate in a few hours,” Arroyo said. “Go out there, work through the first little bit of it and don’t let it mentally get to you.” One area of the game that could be impacted is in the kicking game. The air is less dense at higher elevations, meaning the ball won’t face as much resistance when kicked. It’s likely that this game will feature field goals that fly further and more kickoffs resulting in touchbacks. Oregon kicker Aidan Schneider’s longest field goal of his career is 47 yards. This week, Schneider could extend his field goal range, and set a new career high. While most players and coaches insist that the elevation isn’t going to be a problem for the Ducks on Saturday, playing at higher elevations might require certain in-game adjustments that the players wouldn’t otherwise have to make when playing elsewhere. What impact that has on the game remains to be seen. “Football is football wherever you go,” quarterback Justin Herbert said. “We can adjust to it when the game comes.
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