By Rob Moseley

Editor, GoDucks.com

Venue: Outdoor practice fields

Format: Full pads

It would be hard for a safety to dominate a single practice period better than Paris Bostick did Tuesday during 7-on-7.

Bostick, less than a week into his transition from linebacker, was camped out in “centerfield” and intercepted a slightly overthrown ball to start his run of big plays. He later broke up a pass by blanketing a tight end, and moments after that went streaking toward the sideline to make a leaping interception and keep his feet inbounds.

Five veterans were ahead of Bostick for reps at inside linebacker, and he was struggling to put on weight for that position. So last week the Ducks moved him back to safety, where he last played in high school.

“At first it was like, it's been a while,” said Bostick, a redshirt sophomore who was a JC all-American for Santa Monica (Calif.) College last fall. “So I was kind of rusty last week. But this week I'm getting more into it. Getting more of my reads, getting my eyes fixed on what they need to be fixed on. Not so much looking at the quarterback, which most DBs tend to do.

“It feels good to be back out there and go be a ballhawk.”

Bostick, whose body type is a good fit for special teams as well, had three tackles in Oregon's victory over Eastern Washington. He moved to the secondary prior to the Michigan State game.

At linebacker, walk-ons Kaulana Apelu and De'Quan McDowell look capable of providing depth behind Rodney Hardrick, Joe Walker, Johnny Ragin III, Jimmie Swain and Danny Mattingly. At safety, Bostick could immediately contend with the likes of Khalil Oliver and Juwaan Williams for reps along with starters Reggie Daniels and Tyree Robinson.

“Definitely; we talk about it a lot,” Bostick said. “As long as I know what I'm doing, I think I'll be fine. And I get better every day.”

The 7-on-7 period Tuesday was no fluke. In an earlier 11-on-11 period, he wrapped up a tight end for a solo tackle at one point, and corralled a runner in the backfield long enough for a teammate to get there to make the stop. And in one of the final periods of practice, Bostick added a third interception on the day.

Bostick said the knowledge of the defense he needed in order to play linebacker has eased the transition to safety.

“It definitely does,” he said. “I find myself making a lot of calls in my head. A lot of times the DBs depend on the linebackers to make a call and tell them where to be. But me starting out as a linebacker, it helps me know where to be before the linebackers make the call.”

Bostick said UO coaches knew of his background at safety when he transferred from Santa Monica, after beginning his college career with a redshirt season at Georgia in 2013. His challenge was to gain weight in order to hold up in the front seven, but Bostick – who seems naturally blessed with very low body fat – could never get above about 218 pounds.

“It never really goes above 220,” he said. “I would have known by now. But at this point, it's pretty consistent at 215.”

Which, based on how quickly Bostick has been standing out at safety, could end up being a blessing for the Ducks.

Other highlights: Jeff Lockie had a lot of success with deep balls this morning. He hit Bralon Addison and Dwayne Stanford during the first team period against scouts, connected with Charles Nelson in 7-on-7 and found Jalen Brown behind the defense in the final 11-on-11 session. … Taj Griffin was another consistent standout this morning. Whether running between the tackles or attacking the edges, on rushes and short passes, he showed off his quickness to find the open field several times. …

Reggie Daniels wrapped up Tony Brooks-James for a tackle in space when the offense and defense went head-to-head. Brooks-James later evened the scales by stiff-arming a defensive back before heading up the sideline for a long gain. … Daniels had two potential interceptions slip through his hands during the same period midway through practice. Nice to see him around the ball; even better to finish the plays. … Hardrick, Austin Maloata and Williams all had “scoop-and-score” plays against the scouts. Cody Carriger added a “pick-six” interception.

Other observations: Hardrick had a couple reps on which he broke up passes intended for receivers. Oregon's linebackers struggled at times in pass coverage against Eastern Washington, so that looked like a positive development. … As he did last week, John Neal at one point grabbed the down marker from an equipment manager to emphasize down-and-distance to his guys. … Haniteli Lousi and Elijah George seem to be trading off in a “swing player” role between the scout team and travel squad. …

Canton Kaumatule teamed with Henry Mondeaux for a tackle at the line of scrimmage in the offense vs. defense period. Kaumatule had an eye-opening welcome to college football, making his debut on what proved to be Michigan State's game-winning touchdown drive last week, when the Spartans rushed three times for 65 yards on the drive. In an interview after practice today he sounded ready to build off that experience, and indeed at one point today he was getting reps with DeForest Buckner and Alex Balducci. … Malik Lovette got more work with the travel squad today.