By Rob Moseley

Editor, GoDucks.com

Photo: Eric Evans

Venue: Outdoor practice fields

Format: Helmets only

Spring practice began for the Ducks on Tuesday, and unlike a year ago Oregon's graduate transfer quarterback was on hand and participating, on a chilly, overcast morning in Eugene.

Dakota Prukop has been enrolled, working out with and attending meetings with his new teammates since January. But Tuesday brought his first chance to do football drills with coaches on hand.

“I've been anxious,” Prukop said. “I've been waiting for this quite a while now. It was exciting. It was fun to get out there with the guys finally.”

Prukop transferred from Montana State with the idea of replacing last season's starter, Vernon Adams Jr. Adams had to get up to speed quickly after arriving a few days into preseason camp, much less of a head start to the season than Prukop will get.

That said, Prukop said he's still “getting there” in terms of his command of the offense. He made plenty of throws over the course of the morning, though there was also a missed receiver here, a bobbled exchange there.

“I feel comfortable, but it's fast,” Prukop said. “They're at a whole 'nother speed. It's like hyper speed – and we're not even in pads yet, so we're probably going in slow motion for everyone else.”

Prukop and the other quarterbacks practiced under the watch of new position coach David Yost, who replaced the departed Scott Frost. Yost got considerable reps today for his younger players, including Prukop, redshirt freshman Travis Jonsen and true freshman Terry Wilson, newly enrolled as of this week.

Yost called it “a good first day” for his group, and offered brief individual evaluations.

On Prukop: “Dakota, it was good to kind of break the glass and get things moving. He threw the ball pretty good, found completions. There were a couple times he came back and knew it right away; 'I looked this guy the wrong way, or I coulda went here.' But he was trying to find completions and doing those things.”

On Jonsen: “Having a lot of the fall off (last season due to injury), he has a good mastery of the offense – knowing what he's going, getting the ball out to the right guys. We've got to improve our deep-ball throws.”

On Wilson: “For a guy that started school yesterday, started calling plays this morning, I thought he'd be swimming a lot more than what he was. We helped him out as best we could, but he got a lot of the right things done.”

Veteran Jeff Lockie spent a considerable amount of time shadowing Wilson in team drills, and helping him get the calls down. Lockie and fellow veteran Taylor Alie also did all the drill work throughout the day.

The Ducks will be right back at it Wednesday, before settling into a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule over the next three weeks. The fifth and final week of practice culminates in the spring game, April 30.

“By the end of the 15 days, if I can look back and feel like I have command of the offense, I'm going to feel comfortable and I'm going to be happy with how it went,” Prukop said.

Highlights: First day, first period, first play was Taj Griffin getting the ball in the backfield and bursting into the open field. The tempo drill was thus reset, and the defense got a stop when Arrion Springs stepped up to break up a ball from Prukop to Evan Baylis. … In one-on-one drills, the very welcome sight of Pharaoh Brown taking a short pass and fighting off Tyree Robinson for significant yards after the catch. Robinson bounced back later in the drill to break up a ball in the direction of Johnny Mundt. …

Also in one-on-ones, Springs looked like he had another pass breakup. But after he broke on the ball and tipped it into the air, his momentum carried him upfield, while Charles Nelson stuck with it and made the catch. … We know Fotu Leiato can hit, and in 7-on-7 he showed he can cover as well. Early in the drill he intercepted a pass, and a couple reps later he broke up a ball intended for Tony Brooks-James. …

There were no pads today, but for what it's worth, Royce Freeman ran for a long gain on the first play of the first full team period of the spring. Later in the period, new defensive end Torrodney Prevot held contain and forced Freeman to cut inside, where Malik Lovette stopped him up. Also in that period, Troy Dye came up to stop Griffin in the backfield, and mammoth tackle tandem Rex Manu and Austin Maloata swallowed up Lane Roseberry at the line.

Other observations: Some notable position stuff: Tyrell Crosby worked at left tackle with the first offense. The linebacker group for the first 11-on-11 reps featured Danny Mattingly and Johnny Ragin III inside, with Jimmie Swain outside. … Converted offensive lineman Elijah George got some reps at defensive tackle. … The first period of position drills defensively focused on wrapping up while tackling. … A former staff member attended practice, and in chatting with him, he thought both the defensive communication and overall energy level were particularly good for a first day of camp. Mark Helfrich's comments in the post-practice huddle reflected as much, with a caveat. "Everybody's good day one. Everybody's excited day one. Everybody's fresh," Helfrich said. "Now, can we address every detail like it's fourth-and-three for the national championship?"