EUGENE -- One thing new Oregon running backs coach Jim Mastro wanted to make clear was that the pistol isn't new to Mario Cristobal or Marcus Arroyo.
Cristobal, Oregon's head coach, experienced it during his time at Alabama. Arroyo, the team's offensive coordinator, used it at Oklahoma State. The Ducks aren't exactly reinventing the wheel by bringing in Mastro, who helped create and popularize the formation during his time at Nevada.
But here in the last week of Oregon's spring practices, Mastro has helped lead the charge in turning the formation, occasionally used by the Ducks in the past, into a primary weapon, adding a new wrinkle to a program whose offense has often set the tone for college football over the last decade.