While injuries are just a part of football, that doesn’t make them any easier to deal with. What does help, however, are bye weeks — and now defensive lineman Arik Armstead is looking forward to getting back on the field to face Colorado.
Tyler Robinson of FishDuck.com was at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex to catch up with Armstead after practice today.
Armstead has battled injuries all season, after hurting his ankle against Arizona and having to leave the game against Stanford with a leg injury. This hasn’t slowed him down, though. When asked about how he is approaching playing with the injuries, he said he isn’t holding back. “Every game is important,” he said. “I’m gonna be out there trying to help us win.”
Arik Armstead is ready to get back to football this weekend.
The Ducks will be happy to have him on Saturday against a Colorado offense that is sporting the 17th-most passing yards per game in the country. Colorado’s 2-8 record is no reason for the Ducks to take the match-up lightly. Armstead told us what the Ducks will be looking for from quarterback Sefo Liufau – “[Liufau] is playing well, and he’s pretty mobile, too.”
The defense will have to prepare for Liufau’s legs as well as his arm, along with junior wide-out Nelson Spruce running routes in the Ducks’ secondary. Spruce has already broken the 1,000-yard receiving mark this season and is a single reception away from 100.
Armstead told us how the Colorado offense tries to work. “They move a lot of guys around,” he told us. “They try to confuse your eyes.” With the determination the Ducks defense has been playing with this season, the Buffaloes are going to have a hard time confusing them. Armstead and the defense are prepared for the tricks Colorado will try to play. Armstead predicts, “It’s gonna be fundamental football that’s gonna win.”
With only two games left until the Pac-12 title game, the Ducks will try to keep their momentum and positivity going into the playoffs. “We are looking forward to getting out there and getting ready to play,” Armstead said.
Top Photo by Kevin Cline
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My name is Max Thornberry, and I am a sophomore at the University of Oregon studying journalism. I am from Ventura, CA but fell in love with Oregon when I visited last year and came to the Oregon vs. Cal game. I love sports and my hobbies mainly include fantasy baseball and football as well as playing sports video games. Growing up watching sports center and espn news I always wondered what I had to do in order to get a job where I got to talk sports every day, so when I saw an opportunity to intern for a sports news website (FishDuck.com) I couldn’t wait to get involved.