There is always a different sound to the first day back in pads.
You can hear it before you really see it. The pop is sharper. The edge is a little different. The tempo gets meaner in the best possible way. For Oregon, that sound returned Tuesday as the Ducks got back to spring practice and finally got to do what spring football is really for. Not talk about what they might be, not project what they could become, but line up, hit somebody and start finding out.
“Good first day in pads,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said afterward. “You come off a little bit of a break and you’re anxious to see what the guys look like. And it was competitive. Some pads popping, some guys really getting after it. And, you know, got to control our emotions at times better. But that’s going to happen when you throw the pads on.”
