The next snap on the defensive field saw receiver Demetri Burch haul in a pass at the front corner of the end zone, just in front of a cornerback. On the offensive field during the red-zone period, Breeze intercepted a pass in the red zone. … Willie Taggart's "good-on-good" philosophy with the scout team is making life difficult for the projected two-deep already. He tipped a pass at the line, spun around trying to locate the ball and spotted it just in time to haul it in for the pick. Other highlights: Williams' tip interception came during a red-zone drill late in practice, and Jalen Jelks had a similar play in the same period. "Not necessarily nervous, but anxious to get on the field." "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," McGraw said. That has him poised on Saturday to make his first career start for the Ducks, inducing nervousness the junior safety can't ignore. Throughout August, McGraw has answered the challenge. "They told me I was going to be great, or I was going to quit they weren't going to let me short-change myself." "They told me I had a great opportunity," McGraw said. And they made it clear from the start how much they intended to push him. This offseason, Leavitt and safeties coach Keith Heyward became McGraw's new mentors. Neither served to win him playing time as a young college player, and McGraw toiled on the bench his first two years in Eugene before making two brief appearances last fall. "I just want to make sure a take full advantage."Ī former top recruit from the Southeast, McGraw endeared himself to UO fans with an outgoing personality and gregarious social-media presence. "It's a big opportunity at hand," McGraw said prior to Wednesday's practice. Senior Tyree Robinson and hard-hitting redshirt freshman Brady Breeze are steadily recovering from injuries, and senior Juwaan Williams made his presence felt in a red-zone drill Wednesday by tipping away a pass in the back of the end zone, then hauling it in for an interception.īut entering Saturday's opener against the Thunderbirds, McGraw is penciled in atop the depth chart, and looking to stay there as long as he can. McGraw isn't letting himself get overly confident, knowing he could lose the starting role just as quickly as he earned it. "He's a heck of an athlete, and he's playing with some confidence." "He's had great focus," UO defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt said. A fourth-year player with just two brief appearances under his belt last season, McGraw stepped up when other UO safeties were injured during training camp, and he hasn't relinquished first-team reps over the ensuing couple weeks. PT, Pac-12 Network), listed as one of the Ducks' starting safeties none other than McGraw. That two-deep, for Oregon's 2017 season opener Saturday against Southern Utah (5:15 p.m. "I didn't know what was going on," McGraw recounted. Its screen alerted him to some 200 notifications, across various apps. Mattrell McGraw was napping Monday, the Ducks' day off from team activities this week, when the buzzing of his cellphone interrupted his slumber.Īs he roused himself from sleep, the junior safety from Louisiana picked up the phone.
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