Following a competition day on Monday which saw the offense win for a second time in a row, the Ducks finished Tuesday afternoon’s practice simulating drives in the red zone and perfecting their skills in two minute scenarios, according to Oregon head coach Chip Kelly. Of competition days, in general, Kelly says he doesn’t put much stock in to which team wins and which teams loses. For Kelly, it’s about getting a chance to see how his team responds both when they have the lead and when they are fighting to make up points.

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly

“One of the reasons we keep score is because it makes practices really competitive,” said Kelly. “It’s not, ‘The last three plays of [a sequence] are sloppy,’ it’s, ‘Hey, they’re for points!’ It’s the same thing in a game. A critical play in the second quarter could eventually be the difference in the outcome of the game.”

As far as preparing for their season opener at home versus Arkansas State on September 1, Kelly says that no game-planning for the Red Wolves will take place until Saturday, which officially kicks off game week preparation for the Ducks.

“We’ve had the same schedule since I took over,” said Kelly. “Nothing’s changed, we’re pretty consistent. We’ll start introducing whoever our opponent is -- whether it was Boise State in the opener [in 2009], whether it was LSU, or whether it was Houston, and now this one is Arkansas State -- we won’t do any [game preparation] until Saturday. It’ll be our first game practice.”

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The progression of sophomore tight end Colt Lyerla was also a topic of conversation following practice this afternoon. After joining the team approximately one week in to fall camp after attending to personal matters, Lyerla is “doing some nice things,” according to Kelly.

“He’s kind of what you expected,” Kelly claimed. “He’s a big, physical kid, he gets a little bit of push at the point of attack -- we’ve got a little more size there I think with guys like Colt and Koa (Ka’ai); a little bit bigger at the point of attack and then you add the young freshmen -- but he’s doing some nice things.

“He’s really sharp, in terms of assignments and things like that. He’s a little bit behind because he missed the first couple days of practice compared to those other guys I’d say, but is catching up pretty quick.”

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Monday, Adam Jude of The Oregonian Tweeted that junior safety Brian Jackson has all but “locked up” the starting rover position over junior Avery Patterson, per Jude’s conversation with Oregon secondary coach following Monday afternoon’s practice. While Jackson claimed he hasn’t been notified of any decision at rover as of Tuesday, he says he isn’t necessarily worrying about it either.

“When it comes to position battles, I just got to get out there and do what I got to do,” said Jackson. “I feel like, whatever the coaches decide, they’ll focus on the game tape and they’ll look on what we’ve done in practice. And if I’ve been performing, then I would get the chance to go out there and play at safety.”

If Jackson is in fact named the Ducks’ starting rover to enter the season, it would be a notable accomplishment for the Hoover (Ala.) native who has made his name predominantly as a special teams stalwart the past two seasons. For Jackson, he believes his standout performance and subsequent experience on special teams has allowed him to make a smooth transition to a greater role on defense.

“Playing on special teams, you get used to being on the field,” said Jackson. “It’s a good way to ease in to it, so I think that that did help a lot. Now that it’s time for me to play on defense, I’m just looking forward to going out there and making more impacts.

“I’ll still play on special teams. I’m just looking to make impacts the best way that I can. If I have to play on punt team and then defense right after, I’m willing to do that. I’ll play any and every position that the team wants me to.”