By Rob Moseley

Editor, GoDucks.com

Venue: Outdoor practice fields

Format: Full pads

Wednesday's practice for the Ducks was heavy on red-zone situations, as usual. In a 10-minute period of work for the defense, backed up to the goal line, the scout-team offense scored just one touchdown over the first eight minutes.

On a play run from inside the 1-yard line, nose tackle Alex Balducci tossed aside a blocker and flattened a running back. Jalen Jelks and Jimmie Swain teamed up to stop another run play inside the 5-yard line.

In the passing game, Ty Griffin and Glen Ihenacho broke up passes in the end zone. The best highlight of all saw Joe Walker drift back, leap at the goal line and haul in an interception with one hand.

All of which is to say, the Ducks seem to be demonstrating progress at practice in some of the areas that have hurt them this season, including tackling and pass coverage. As defensive coordinator Don Pellum said afterward, the Ducks need to continue that progress every day throughout the season, but Saturday's game against Utah (5:45 p.m., FOX) is the next chance to prove they're doing so.

“We're excited to get back on the field in a competition and get some things right,” Pellum said.

Balducci's tackle for loss in the red-zone drill was indicative of what Pellum said has been a strong week overall for the senior defensive tackle. Oregon's front seven is preparing to face a Utah offensive line that is big and experienced, clearing space for talented running back Devontae Booker.

“He does it all,” defensive end DeForest Buckner said. “He's just really competitive, and an aggressive runner.”

Pellum said in his post-practice meeting with media that coaches have been focusing attention on leverage; that is, generally speaking, the angles of attack players take to influence ballcarriers and get as many Ducks around the ball as possible. One-on-one open-field tackling is another focus, but the Ducks want to give themselves opportunities to gang-tackle whenever possible.

“We know the hardest thing in football is to tackle,” safety Tyree Robinson said. “We have to polish that up as much as we can. If we tackle and get guys on the ground, real physically and not just soft, that will be good. Especially in the secondary, they want to test us because we're young. If we tackle and finish at the end of a route, we'll be OK.”

Other highlights: Four days after 11 guys caught a pass against Georgia State, no less than seven players caught touchdown passes while the offensive two-deep ran drills in the red zone. … In one-on-one pass drills earlier in practice, Royce Freeman and Jalen Brown each caught a couple of touchdown passes, while Khalil Oliver and Robinson broke up two apiece. Arrion Springs won two head-to-head battles with Darren Carrington, no easy task, and Dylan Kane grabbed yet another interception in the end zone. … The staff moved the “clutch” drill to the beginning of practice, and the offense hit the ground running. Passes to Charles Nelson and Byron Marshall moved the chains, before Marshall made a nice twisting grab of a Jeff Lockie pass for a “game-winning” touchdown.

Other observations: With Travis Jonsen not in the mix, offensive coordinator Scott Frost stepped up to throw passes during a positional drill run daily that featured all five quarterbacks throwing at the same time. … Vernon Adams Jr. is clearly getting comfortable in Oregon's offense; at one point today, he was the one reminding Carrington of an assignment. … Jake Hanson remains on track to redshirt, but he also remains the center with the No. 2 offense in practice, and his snaps have been noticeably more consistent over the past couple weeks. … Tip of the hat to the practice soundtrack for featuring “Hells Bells” as the defensive red-zone period began. Set a great tone for a physical drill.