Oregon Ducks

Ivan Maisel writes about the challenges facing Oregon first-year coach Mark Helfrich as he replaces Chip Kelly. The Ducks and their fans have gotten used to winning, and Helfrich plans to keep things going.

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OREGON DUCKS

2012 record: 12-1
2012 conference record: 8-1
Returning starters: Offense: 8; defense: 7; kicker

Top returners: QB Marcus Mariota, RB/WR De'Anthony Thomas, WR Josh Huff, C Hroniss Grasu, TE Colt Lyerla, CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, DE Taylor Hart

Key losses: RB Kenjon Barner, OLB Dion Jordan; LB Kiko Alonso, LB Michael Clay

2012 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Barner (1,767 yards)
Passing: Mariota* (2,677 yards)
Receiving: Huff* (493 yards)
Tackles: Clay (101)
Sacks: Hart* (8)
Interceptions: Erick Dargan* (5)

Spring answers

1. Little changed post-Kelly: The biggest story of the Oregon offseason -- the departure of coach Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles -- was played down by the Ducks, both coaches and players. After the initial weirdness -- new coach Mark Helfrich's term -- it was mostly business as usual. Little changed, in large part because the staff remained largely intact under Helfrich.

2. Mariota the man: While practices were closed, a brilliant spring game performance as well as the general scuttlebutt, related that QB Marcus Mariota was sharp on the field and took a step forward as a leader. Mariota enters the offseason as a top Heisman Trophy candidate, and that makes him the frontman for a team that has to replace some key leaders. Playing great is the best sort of leadership.

3. Passing fancy: The expectation is that the Ducks will throw more next year. For one, Mariota has considerable passing skills. Second, the Ducks are deep and experienced at receiver, even if De'Anthony Thomas becomes primarily a running back. But it's not only about Josh Huff and company. There's also a nice tandem at tight end with Colt Lyerla and the emerging Pharaoh Brown.

Fall questions

1. How will the offensive line stack up? The Ducks welcome back three starters on the O-line, but both guards need to be replaced, and that didn't get resolved this spring, mostly due to injuries.

2. The pecking order at RB, LB? The general feeling is that Thomas and Byron Marshall will step in to replace Kenjon Barner, but the wildcard is touted incoming freshman Thomas Tyner. If he's ready for primetime, and Marshall steps up, that would allow the offense to use Thomas in a more natural hybrid WR/RB role. The biggest holes on the team, of course, are at linebacker, and injuries clouded the picture this spring.

3. Will the Ducks really just keep motoring along under Helfrich? Oregon fans are right to be confident that Helfrich can keep the Ducks momentum going. After all, the "promote the offensive coordinator" model has worked great since the Ducks began their rise to national relevance. But because we haven't seen Helfrich as a head coach, and because the bar has set about as high as it possibly can be, the change at the top of the program is the primary issue heading into 2013.

New Oregon coach Mark Helfrich talks about his first spring practice leading the Ducks, QB Marcus Mariota and the new college football playoff."

Chip Kelly isn't terribly big. He's not notably loud, either. Nor is he typically expansive. Who he is, however, is -- was! -- the presence most often cited as transforming Oregon's football program from good to great. So his absence from the Ducks' first spring practice Tuesday was impossible to ignore.

Yet it's a tribute to the culture Kelly sought to create that it appears his players did a pretty darn good job of doing just that. Mostly.

"At first, a lot of the guys were talking about it," quarterback Marcus Mariota said. "It's a little different. But by the end of practice, it was good. Kind of the same. Once we got rolling, it was the same old game of football."

New coach Mark Helfrich, who was promoted from offensive coordinator, admitted to reporters that his first practice sans Kelly was "weird, at points." But Oregon moves too fast to stop for navel-gazing. It's "next man in" when a player or coach leaves or goes down, and so it will be for the beginning of the Helfrich era.

Without a doubt, the transition from Kelly to Helfrich is the point A of the Ducks' 2013 story. There's no question about point B, either: Mariota.

Somewhat lost in the regional shuffle of the Kelly-to-the-NFL talk and the national hullabaloo over Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel's brilliant Heisman Trophy season was Mariota's extraordinary performance as the Ducks' redshirt freshman starter.

Mariota was in the cockpit for a team that finished ranked No. 2 in the nation after whipping Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. He piloted an offense that ranked second in the nation in scoring (49.5 points per game) and was fifth in total offense (537.4 yards per game).

Individually, he ranked first in the Pac-12 and seventh in the nation in passing efficiency. In the Conference of Quarterbacks, he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors after completing 68.5 percent of his throws for 2,677 yards with 32 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 752 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 7.1 yards per carry.

He also got better as the year went along, despite the competition being decidedly tougher. As Rob Moseley of the Eugene Register-Guard pointed out, "[Mariota] had 11 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 152.74 rating in the first month of the season, and 21 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 171.10 rating after that."

That efficiency number would have ranked third in the nation. Further, keep in mind that Oregon's tendency to stomp opponents into submission by halftime meant Mariota was either on the bench or handing off during most fourth quarters.

While Mariota isn't the only reason many see the Ducks as national title contenders again in 2013, despite Kelly's departure, he is the biggest. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound Honolulu native is a seemingly unflappable player who combines A-list speed with notable passing accuracy.

There is little Mariota didn't do well in 2012, so the idea of him improving can foster many pleasant thoughts among Ducks fans. And there are areas in which he can improve. Mariota said his offseason focus has been footwork. New offensive coordinator Scott Frost, promoted from receivers coach, believes Mariota's established strengths can become even stronger.

"I think we can clean some things up and be even more efficient," Frost said. "There are some things we want to tweak to help him have more of an opportunity to impact the game. We wouldn't trade him for anybody. We think he can do some amazing things and win a lot of games. We're going to feature him as much as we can."

With the Ducks welcoming back their entire cast of receivers and being questionable at running back, it's almost certain Mariota will throw more next season. That will mean more opportunities for him to put up big numbers. If he hangs up impressive stats while the Ducks continue to roll up wins, Mariota will gain the esteem of Heisman Trophy voters.

Mariota, the Fiesta Bowl MVP, isn't a guy who seeks out the spotlight, but he also doesn't seem to be afraid of it.

"My parents raised me to handle whatever comes at you," he said. "I'm looking forward to it."

Then he added, "I'm really looking forward to spring practices."

That sounds very Chip Kelly. Or maybe we now should say that it sounds very Oregon.