Claiborne
Continued from Page9A
was receiving dozens of recruit
ing letters in the mail each day.
College coaches were calling
him at home. Sports Illustrated
put him in its “Faces in the
Crowd” segment which high
lights exceptional amateur ath
letes.
The experience brought Clai
borne closer to his family.
“My mom has always sup
ported me in what I’ve done,”
Claiborne says. “My parents
would give me words of wisdom
and pep talks to get me through
it. My dad would just tell me to
prepare myself and all things
will happen in time.”
And sometimes things hap
pen quicker than expected.
Claiborne’s 251 career tackles
already ranks in the top 15 on
the Trojans’ all-time list. This
season he ranks sixth in the Pac
10 in tackles with 59 and has
started all seven games for USC.
People continue to talk.
"I think Claiborne is the best
of the bunch [including Seau
and McGinest],” Oregon head
coach Mike Bellotti says. “I
don’t want to say anything bad
about Junior Seau, but Claiborne
is as good as any we’ve seen or
played against. He combines
such great speed with great size
and strength.
“He makes some plays in
stinctively that you have to
coach people a long time to do,
and he gets there with an atti
tude.”
Although a lot of it is natural
ability, Claiborne credits his
coaches for helping him refine
his game.
"I’ve been lucky in my career
to have had great coaching,”
Claiborne says. “[Linebackers
coach Shawn Slocum] has al
lowed me to be a better defen
sive player. He let’s me be a free
hitter and let’s me hit the gap.”
As with those who wore No.
55 before him, Claiborne eventu
ally expects to land in the NFL.
“It’s always been a dream of
mine,” he says. “I’ll just have to
play hard and do my job and it
should take care of itself.”
Which means old No. 55 will
soon be looking for another
body to possess.
Claiborne File
■ FROM:
Riverside,
California
■ SIZE:
6'3”
230 lbs
■ STATS:
Ranks
sixth In the
Pac-10 this season with 59
tackles ....nominated for
Butkus Award this season....
first-team all-Pac-10 in 1997
and Football News all-Ameri
can honorable mention ....
started nines games as true
freshman in 1996
ss^^ ;:\odote vourT
Go^° j /o%
Sponsored by ASK), Committee to Re-establish OSPIRG
16V KKBIUIAISV INT , ,
YIJ W
1-800-557-7392
http://www.ed.gov/DirectLoan
Sports
Continued from Page 9A
Here is a look at a few
dub sports that will be un
dergoing this fall:
Rugby
Expectations are high for
Oregon rugby after an 18-3
campaign last season that
yielded a No. 2 national
ranking in Division n. The
team’s best season since the
early 1980s resulted in the
team being bumped up to
Division I this season. Ore
gon’s biggest test this fall
will come on Halloween
weekend, when it travels to
Washington to take on the
Huskies and Western
Washington.
Men’s Soccer
After losing a heartbreak
er in a shootout with North
Carolina at nationals last
fall, the men’s soccer team
looks to step it up to the
next level this season. Ore
gon will have its chance
during the weekend pre
ceding Thanksgiving when
it travels to Georgia to play
in a national tournament.
Water Polo
The men’s and women’s
water polo teams have their
eye on a first place finish in
the Northwest Conference
Tournament, held at the
end of fall term. Both teams
will have plenty of prepara
tion for the tournament,
with matches against rivals
Washington, Washington
State and Oregon State.
&ue/i wG#uHe/i iff qxui a/ie mcJ&Uuf, the bdt cowiAxzxzejxtiue choice?
Learn about additional choices at the
2:00 PM
receive information and talk to professionals about:
Depo Provera • male/female condoms • herpes/genital warts • lubes • Norplant •
.. IUD • birth control pill • morning after pills • Annuals • PAPs ;
l/Uut a $50 cesiiLfjiccite to tf-ace the MuAic
t
X. $
UNIVERSITY
HEALTH CENTER
We’re a matter of degrees <
Open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesdays (9 a.m.) and Sundays (10 a.m.).
Appointments and after houra: 346-2770 • Web: darkwing.uoregon.edu/-uo6hc