'A lot of mistakes to correct': Oregon football resumes spring practices with several new players

Spring break is over for the Oregon football team.

The Ducks returned to the fields outside the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex Tuesday morning as spring practices resumed for Oregon, which last convened on March 18.

“There was some really good energy at times today but it also felt like we were a team that came back from two weeks where we weren’t really do as much active work, so it shows up,” coach Dan Lanning said. “A lot of mistakes to correct. Right now spring ball is not about scheme, it’s about playing ball, playing fast, figuring out who can play, figuring out who our players are.”

Speaking of which, several new players joined the Ducks now that the spring academic term has started.

Among them was safety Tysheem Johnson, a transfer from Mississippi who led the Rebels with 78 tackles as a sophomore last season — six more than any of Oregon’s defenders — and often lined up as a nickel safety.

“(He’s) a guy that’s around the ball, makes a lot of plays,” Lanning said. “I don’t think we have to exclusively look at him as a nickel … we can use him at multiple positions. He’s a playmaker, plays with great effort, physical tackler, has a bunch of ability, so I think all those things are really appealing.”

Linebacker Jerry Mixon, defensive back Solomon Davis and safety Kodi DeCambra, three members of the 2023 freshmen class, also were with the team Tuesday.

Ducks bring in another quarterback

Lanning also added one more player to his quarterback room in walk-on Matt Rush, formerly of Division-III Washington University in St. Louis.

The 6-foot, 181-pound senior threw for 54 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 5,043 yards as a starter the last two seasons for the Bears.

That’s an impressive resume for a walk-on joining a group that includes returning starter Bo Nix, returning No. 2 Ty Thompson, four-star freshman Austin Novosad, as well as second-year walk-on Marcus Sanders.

“There’s times you find guys that are around, that are on campus that can help you,” Lanning said. “From a numbers standpoint, I felt like we had room for another guy to be out there that can help us, that’s had some experience as a player.”

Transfer Burch has been impressive

Jordan Burch was the centerpiece offseason addition for the Ducks in their effort to build a defensive line that can create more havoc than what Oregon got from the unit last season.

The 6-6, 275-pound edge rusher who transferred from South Carolina was consensus five-star recruit in the class of 2020. He’s been impressive so far during his first couple of months in Eugene, Lanning said.

“You talk about changing a defense and it starts with having guys with great size up front that have the ability to play and play at a high level,” Lanning said. “Jordan’s done that. … We’re really excited about what he can do for our team. There’s a demeanor about him and I think when you see him at practice you see how he moves and ‘Ok, that’s what it’s suppose to look like.’”

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon Ducks football resume spring practices with several new players