The Latest Details for 2022 Oregon Ducks Football Spring Game
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For the first time in three years, the Oregon Ducks will host their annual spring game in front of a packed Autzen Stadium. The spring game takes place on Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m.
Tens of thousands of Ducks fans will fill the bleachers for what looks to be a dry day in Eugene. Joining them will be plenty of elite recruits and Oregon football alumni anxious to see what the new brand of Ducks football will look like.
The format of the game will be more similar to a normal game, Head Coach Dan Lanning said on Tuesday. The teams will be split into the "green team" and the "yellow team."
Rosters for each team began to trickle out on Tuesday with the wide receivers and cornerbacks revealed for each team, followed by the trenches on Wednesday.
But there will be a slight twist to the spring game's format this year. The Oregon coaching staff will call plays for the first three quarters, while four Oregon legends will call plays for their respective teams in the fourth quarter.
De'Anthony Thomas (offensive coordinator) and Haloti Ngata (defensive coordinator) will serve as honorary coaches for the yellow team, while La'Michael James (offensive coordinator) and Arik Armstead (defensive coordinator) will represent the green team.
De'Anthony Thomas
© Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Lanning spoke about choosing honorary coaches for the spring game, staying true to his values of reconnecting with the alumni that built the program.
"I know this program was built on players like those guys," Lanning said. "Legends that have really put in blood, sweat, and tears for Duck football, and we want to do everything we can to reconnect those people with our program. We want them back around our program as much as possible."
So what will Lanning's role be in his first spring game as a head coach?
"Definitely overseeing the whole thing," he said. "It's gonna be big-picture view. I gotta do a great job of making sure our coaches and our players know what my expectation is and what that looks like."
Dan Lanning
Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest
The honorary coaches won't be the only alumni back at Autzen Stadium on Saturday. The team announced that Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Ed Dickson, Alex Molden, Walter Thurmond III, Jeff Maehl, Dino Philyaw, and Ugo Amadi will also be in attendance.
There will be other on-field activities that will get fans involved in the game, such as pinning five fans in a 40-yard race (with a 10-yard head start) against cornerback Darren Barkins at halftime.
One element of the spring game that will remain untouched is the football program's support for Food For Lane County. While admission to the spring game is free, fans are encouraged to donate non-perishable food items and canned foods for the organization. The goal is to raise 60,000 meals in food and funds for the Eugene community.
2021 Oregon Spring Game
Oregon Athletics
The football program has supported Food For Lane County every year since 2004. According to the nonprofit, the 18-year drive has raised over 735,000 pounds of food for families in the Eugene area.
The spring game will be one of several athletic events that make up an action-packed day that the athletics department is calling "Duck Day." Hayward Field will host the Oregon Relays beginning at 10 a.m., and the soccer team will play Seattle in an 11 a.m. exhibition at Papé Field.
Directly following the spring game will be a live performance by Common Kings at Autzen Stadium. At 3 p.m., the No. 23 Oregon baseball team takes on Washington State at PK Park, followed by the softball team battling against Washington at 5 p.m at Jane Sanders Stadium.
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