Oregon football?s summer workouts identify leaders and build base for fall camp

It doesn?t take a calendar to tell Oregon football players where they are in their summer.

There?s another week of conditioning work for the Ducks, and then a week off to travel home or otherwise get refreshed before the first practice on Aug. 5.

And, yes, only six weeks away is that first game, against Nicholls State on Aug. 31.

?I feel like when you realize the season is coming up, you start getting that sense of urgency,? junior cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu said. ?Everybody starts buckling down and making sure they?re ready physically and mentally.?

?I think everybody is excited,? added linebacker Boseko Lokombo, explaining that with summer workouts ?winding down and getting closer to camp, and then all of a sudden, we?re going to be playing in a game.?

For the summer, the obvious competition on the new practice fields has been in seven-on-seven scrimmages, largely devoted to the passing game and directed by the quarterbacks. But even in weightlifting, center Hroniss Grasu offered the reminder that ?we?re all pretty competitive,? which prompts him to regularly check on how many pounds some of the defensive linemen are taking on as a challenge.

What?s also been happening during these summer workouts, with coaches not present, is that the new group of leaders among the players has continued to develop, and there seems no question that topping that list is sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota.

?Marcus has always been kind of a quiet, humble kid but he?s stepping up,? Lokombo said. ?I always hear him talking to the players and joking around.

?He?s a tremendous leader, a natural leader and (everything) kind of comes around him.?

A year ago, Mariota hadn?t played in a game for the Ducks, and hadn?t even been named the starting quarterback. My, how all that has changed this summer.

?It?s a little bit different from the standpoint that I have to step up as a leader, be more vocal and help out the younger guys,? Mariota said.

On leading with words as well as deeds, Mariota said ?it?s not something (the UO coaches) are forcing me to do, it?s just something that I kind of want to do, just so the guys can look at me and say, ?Hey, we can listen to him.???

Mariota spent last weekend not only working as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy, but getting up close with some very accomplished leaders in Eli and Peyton Manning, both quarterbacks of Super Bowl winners. The Mannings took part in a question-and-answer session for the college quarterbacks, along with offering advice on things as varied as film study to ?how you handle yourself off the field,? Mariota said.

?You can sit there and look at these guys and say they?ve played at the highest level and they?ve done it,? the UO quarterback added. ?It was a cool experience, and I feel I?ve learned a lot.?

There was also the opportunity for interaction with other college quarterbacks in attendance, one of them being AJ McCarron of national champion Alabama.

?It?s pretty cool to sit there and say, ?AJ has won it all,? and see how he handles it,? Mariota said.

While Mariota obviously has to take on more of a leading role with the Ducks in his second season as the starting quarterback, he was quick to mention others who have taken on more of that assignment. One of those is Grasu, who said, ?for me, the biggest thing, I?m always into leading by example but now I?ve got to get other guys doing what I?m doing.?

Defensively, several players were mentioned, from the secondary to the front line.

?We?re all leaders, we all have something different to bring to the table,? junior linebacker Derrick Malone Jr. said. ?I just feel like everyone is working hard.?

And also knowing the wait is nearly over for that first official practice, and eventually the start of a season.

?Every year I feel like it keeps coming faster and faster,? Malone said. ?It always feels like there?s not enough time to get ready ... (but) I?m excited to put the pads on and start hitting.?

Aug. 5: First practice of fall camp

Aug. 31: First game vs. Nicholls State

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rgsports/~3/h9OrW53lkd0/mariota-ducks-practice-quarterback-summer.html.csp

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