The competition among Oregon's cornerbacks so far this preseason has been tight, and true freshman Verone McKinley III made a case for early playing time in practice Friday.

Venue: Outdoor practice fields

Format: Full pads

Friday's Oregon football practice was heavy on situational work, including 1-on-1 pass drills held in the red zone.

Midway through the drill, junior receiver Dillon Mitchell lined up across from freshman cornerback Verone McKinley III . Mitchell drove hard off the line, then cut to his right, and McKinley stayed right on his hip. But then Mitchell cut again, back to the left; McKinley couldn't adjust quickly enough, and Mitchell was open in the end zone for a touchdown catch.

"Good route, Mitch," the defender said. "Good route."

Under different circumstances – say, shortly after he arrived at Oregon, this past spring – that rep might have caused McKinley to drop his head. But after maximizing the opportunity to mature during his introduction to college in the spring, McKinley is carrying himself like a veteran this preseason camp, as he showed in his reaction to the rep Friday against Mitchell.

The fact that, moments earlier, McKinley had picked off a Justin Herbert pass in the same drill helped, too. At Friday's practice, McKinley was one of the most consistent playmakers on the field, a positive sign at a position where there hasn't appeared to be much separation between the veterans and newcomers so far in August.

"I'm a step ahead," McKinley said of his development after enrolling in the spring. "To be honest with you, I don't even feel like a freshman. I'm a whole six months ahead, mentally, physically, emotionally. Coming along with the process, it's a good thing."

The Ducks return one full-time starter from 2017, sophomore Thomas Graham Jr. , and another sophomore in Deommodore Lenoir who made considerable strides late last fall and asserted himself again in the spring. But McKinley and fellow true freshman Kahlef Hailassie have shown encouraging signs so far in August, JC transfer Haki Woods has an NFL body he's looking to get the most out of, and walk-on Charles Sudduth has an undeniable nose for the ball.

"I definitely think I'm pushing for a starting job, to be honest with you," said McKinley, who so far this month has primarily teamed with Woods on the second unit. "Competing all the time in the DB room. So I'm feel I'm pushing, making everybody better, competing every day."

Friday's practice ended with 11-on-11 work in the red zone; the first, second and third units each faced off in an overtime-style scenario, the offense needing to go 25 yards to score. The No. 1 and No. 3 offenses both scored, but the No. 2 defense held; on fourth down, Braxton Burmeister fired a pass while on the run to Demetri Burch in the front corner of the end zone, which McKinley was able to swat away.

Just as encouraging was a play earlier in the afternoon, when McKinley put to good use the 17 pounds of muscle he said he's added since arriving in Eugene. On a swing pass to his side of the field, McKinley was able to defeat a receiver's block, then make the tackle of a slot receiver.

Skills like that would serve McKinley well as a nickel defender. And he's learning that position, too, playing there with the No. 2 nickel group behind No. 1 nickel and starting safety Ugochukwu Amadi .

"Spring helped me a lot with that; I definitely feel comfortable in there," McKinley said.

Spring helped McKinley in so many ways. As some summer enrollees are experiencing now, the first week or two of a player's first collegiate camp can be a head-spinning experience. During the opening practices of this spring, McKinley was firmly in that category.

But the Ducks employed an unconventional spring schedule, which ended up playing a significant factor in McKinley's development. Practices began late in winter quarter; the team thentook two weeks off for spring break, before reconvening early in spring quarter. During a mid-April scrimmage following the break, McKinley had a pick-six, and he tied for the team lead with two pass breakups in the spring game.

"As I went on, and then went for spring break and came back, I just worked on myself, and mentally prepared myself to play fast and play smart," McKinley said. "I think that helped me out a lot. I went into the spring game feeling confident and ready to go."

As McKinley showed Friday, that confidence carried over through the summer and into this preseason. For a team looking to solidify the depth among a young group of cornerbacks, that's been a most welcome development.





Other highlights: With the ones on the field for that practice-capping red-zone drill, Tony Brooks-James moved the chains with a couple of run plays, and then Herbert fired a touchdown pass to Mitchell. With the twos on the field, Burmeister made a clutch throw on third-and-nine to Daewood Davis for 10 yards, moving the chains. But on third down from the 9-yard line, Graham broke up a pass to Brenden Schooler in the end zone, and then McKinley had his breakup on fourth down. The threes had a one-play possession, when Tyler Shough hit Ryan Bay over the top of the defense for a 25-yard touchdown. …

The previous team period was all third-down situations. Action was pretty even in that drill; Herbert moved the chains with completions to Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd , but also spiked the ball into the ground to avoid taking a sack by Gus Cumberlander . With the twos up, Davis slipped a tackle to convert on a completion by Burmeister. And Shough moved the chains for the threes with completions to Brooks-James and Bryan Addison , though he also was picked off when Sudduth batted a ball away from a receiver and Billy Gibson hauled it in for an interception. …

Brady Breeze also had a tipped ball interception, off Herbert in 7-on-7. During that drill the linemen were in 1-on-1 pass drills; La'Mar Winston Jr. got the defense all fired up when he managed to get really strong push against big freshman Penei Sewell . … Addison caught a TD pass from Herbert in 1-on-1 work in the red zone, and Johnson won a battle for the ball with Lenoir. … Hunter Kampmoyer showed off his blocking prowess during two different drills in the same period. He began at the 7-on-7 run-game pod, and teamed with fellow tight end Ryan Bay to help spring Taj Griffin for a long run. Kampmoyer than ran down the field to join the 3-on-2 perimeter passing and blocking drill, and teamed with Johnson to set blocks that Redd split for a long gain.





Other observations: Penalties continue to be a concern for Mario Cristobal and his staff, after Oregon was the most-penalized team in the country last year. At the start of the 11-on-11 third-down drill, the officials on hand threw flags on each of the first two reps. Cristobal brought the team together at midfield and admonished coaches and players alike before re-starting the drill. "We had made progress; today we kind of stale-mated, took a step back," Cristobal told media after practice. "Every single day we've got to continue to hammer that point, that we do not hurt ourselves. … We have a good relationship with our players, where we can confront and demand." …

Freshman linebacker Andrew Johnson attended practice after arriving in Eugene on Thursday night. He will spend this year redshirting to rehab a pre-existing injury. … Tabari Hines did his most extensive drill work yet, though it was limited to a few reps in individual periods. While he's a few days away from full participation, it was a welcome sight at a receiver position where drops were again a bit too frequent Friday. … Among the other players limited by injury Friday were running backs CJ Verdell and Travis Dye , tight end Kano Dillon and linebacker Keith Simms , but Cristobal indicated none had any long-term concerns.

Post-practice interviews:

Head coach Mario Cristobal

Up Next: The Ducks will practice with season-ticket holders on hand Saturday, and then scrimmage Sunday.