WEDNESDAY
August 21,1996
Oregon Football
Ready for
Redemption
i
Oregon quarterback Tony Graziani says he |
wants to wipe away memories of last year’s
Cotton Bowl defeat by leading the Ducks to
the Rose Bowl and a National Championship
By Ryan Frank
Freelance Reporter
Quarterback Tony Graziani spent New Year’s day 1996 watch
ing his dream of a bowl game victory get trampled by the Colorado
Buffaloes.
Now it’s pay back time.
Graziani returns for his senior year, and
second as a starter, to a team that just might
have something to prove after a 38-6 loss to
the Buffaloes in the Cotton Bowl.
“I’ve kind of put it behind me, but it
leaves a sour taste in my mouth,” Graziani
said of the bowl game. “I want to get back
to a New Year’s day bowl and the Rose
Bowl.”
GRAZIANI
CAREER STATS
■ YEAR: Senior
■ GAMES
PLAYED: 22
■ PASSING:
270/489 (.552)
■ YARDS: 3,145
■ PER
COMPLETION:
11.6 yards
■ LONGEST: 71
yards
■ TOs: 17
■ INTERCEP
TIONS: 18
Getting back to the Rose Bowl could be a
challenge, however. Oregon lost 12 players
to graduation in 1995 — including two of
Graziani’s most potent offensive weapons,
wide receiver Cristin McLemore and run
ning back Ricky Whittle.
But don’t tell the Oregon quarterback
that.
“It is not going to be difficult to repeat,”
he said. “At Oregon we don’t rebuild, we
reload.”
With a recruiting class stocked with blue
chip athletes and a slew of redshirt fresh
man, Graziani doesn’t feel he should be
worried.
“I think we have some young guys who
are going to have to play, but these guys
have so much talent that it’s just unbeliev
able,” he said. "I’m not too nervous about
who’s going to play and who’s not. I think
whoever plays is going to get the job done.”
Getting the job done is nothing new to
Graziani. As a sophomore he led the Ducks
— who were on their way to a trip to the
Rose Bowl — to a win at Southern
Cal and as a junior he fin
ished eighth in the nation in ~*mmm
total offense.
But to him, there is more to accom
plish in a Duck uniform than records and statistics.
Turn to GRAZIANI, Page 12
Tony Graziani took
over the Ducks’
offense last season,
after Rose Bowl co
MVP Danny O’Neil’s
departure, and led
Oregon to Its
second consecutive
New Year’s Day
bowl berth.
Top recruits
hope to be
Graz’s target
■ NEWCOMERS: Freshmen LaCorey
Collins and Tony Hartley have been
impressive; looking for a starting
position on Oregon roster
By Ryan Frank
Freelance Reporter
In the past, freshmen have not seen signif
icant playing time at Oregon.
A duo of decorated receivers could
change all that.
LaCorey Collins and Tony Hartley come
into their freshman season flowered with
praise, and they will most likely have a
chance to prove themselves early.
“I believe that probably in the incoming
freshman class, there will be 5 or 6 players
who will play football for us,” head coach
Mike Bellotti said.
Both Collins and Hartley are at least 6
foot tall, taller than any receiver that played
for the Ducks last season.
“I can’t emphasize enough the fact that
those guys are taller than any receiver that
played for us last year. But they also bring
athleticism and the ability to catch the foot
ball,” Bellotti said.
Collins comes in as the more decorated of
the duo.
While at Skyline High School in Oakland,
Calif, he was a Parade All-American, the
Gatorade Player of the Year in Northern Cal
ifornia and a member of the Best in the West
list by Long Beach Press - Telegram. He
also was an all-city, all-state and all-Bay
Area pick, including being selected as the
No. 1 prospect in the East Bay region.
“I think he has the potential to be a
Keyshawn Johnson type,” Bellotti said. “I
think obviously that is a big name to
compare him to, but he runs well, catches
the ball and is tough. He has a lot to learn,
but also has the skills to step in and play
very early in his career.”
Collins has already figured out what he
wants to accomplish in his first season.
“I want to come out and be able to play,
get a feel for the game,” he said. “If I do the
things that I know I can do, I should be able
to play.
“Then during the time I play, I
want to become the Pac-10
Freshman of the Year. If I don’t
reach that goal, so be it. But
that is the goal right now.”
In addition to his offensive
Turn to NEWCOMERS, Page 13
Oregon soccer readies
for inaugural opener
■ SOCCER: First
year head coach
Bill Steffen
believes Oregon’s
future in the
sport looks bright
By Ryan Frank
Freelance Reporter
Bill Steffen came to Oregon in February
to head the new women’s soccer program,
in less than two weeks his seven-month
wait will be over.
The Ducks will open their inaugural sea
son at home against UC-Irvine on Sept. 3, in
what will prove to be a good test for Oregon.
“We start off with UC-Irvine, a very re
spectable program, which is good,” Steffen
said. “Let’s gauge ourselves, lets find out
where we stand, and that will be a good test
for us.”
Steffen and his 34 team members will
Turn to SOCCER, Page 12
Ems hold lead; taking one game at a time
MARK McTYRE/Emerald
The Ems’ Brian Rust was red-hot during the
team’s run to the top of the South Division.
By Chris Hansen
Freelance Reporter
The coaching philosophy of Eu
gene Emerald’s manager Jim Saul has
remained the same through out the
season — take it one game at a time.
A simple enough approach, but
one that could be very ineffective if
preached to an easily deterred group
of players.
But in the case of the Emeralds,
Saul’s philosophy struck a cord early
and during last weekend’s series
sweep of the Southern Oregon Tim
berjacks in Medford, the Ems took
over sole possession of first place in
the Northwest League’s South Divi
sion.
The rise to the top is a showing of
Turn to BASEBALL, Page 12
■ BASEBALL:
The Eugene
Emeralds took
the helm of first
place, but now
must defend it for
the remainder of
the season