Yesterday the Detroit Lions practiced against the New York Giants, and sports fans were privileged to observe a glimpse of two legends at work against each other:
Penei Sewell vs. Kayvon Thibodeaux. pic.twitter.com/TwnNzu8IsJ
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) August 9, 2023
Sewell shows persistence and great recovery skills to win this practice rep over Thibodeaux, but that's not what's most significant to Duck fans about the video clip.
First, it's incredibly valuable for recruiting that Oregon keeps sending players like this to the league. The Ducks have had four top ten draft picks in the last four seasons in Justin Herbert, Sewell, Thibodeaux and Christian Gonzalez, something that's powerful in recruiting. Young players want to go where they can be developed for the pros. All four of these guys are or are going to be stars at the next level, and none of them have forgotten their Oregon roots.
The other thing to note is that Dan Lanning's current squad has more top talent than the Ducks have ever had in one season. Media got to attend part of practice yesterday, and they witnessed Jordan Burch going up against Ajani Cornelius, Troy Franklin versus Trikwese Bridges, Jackson Powers-Johnson battling Casey Rogers.
The physical intensity and elite skills development creates a synergy at practice. It crackles.
Pundits point out that Oregon is replacing four starters on the offensive line, but they don't fully appreciate that the Ducks have brought in three players (Cornelius, Junior Angilau, Nishad Strother) with a combined 60 starts in college football, or that Oregon's offensive line has to battle every day against a deep, talented Front Seven.
Iron sharpens iron. In 2023, the Ducks have a lot of iron.
No comments:
Post a Comment