Ducks
Continued from Page 1B
Huskies’ leading rusher against
the Ducks in 1997.
“It’s scary,” Bellotti said.
“They have two veteran quarter
backs. Brock Huard is a great
passer, and Marques Tuiasosopo
is a great athlete who is leading
their team in rushing, so he’s ob
Smith
Continued from Page 2B
Do you think about playing in the NFL?
It's been a goal of mine ever
since I was a little kid; I always
tried to watch all the games on
Sunday, but my dad always made
me go to church.
Did the incident at the Mill Camp give
people the wrong impression of you?
Yes, it did. And I had to work
real hard to rebuild my character. I
talked to a lot of people about that,
my coaches and my teammates,
about trying to get my respect
back. It was just a matter of putting
my focus back into football, and
show everybody that you’re work
ing hard and serious about going
to a bowl game.
What did you first think when you saw
[Register-Guard sports editor] John
Conrad's misquote ot you after the Las
Vegas Bowl last season?
I was a little upset, but I knew in
my heart that I never said [that Air
Force had a pretty good “white”
I I defense in
I
SMITH
stead of
“WAC” de
fense], As a
matter of fact I
was at home
over the
Christmas
holiday when
some of my
friends and
coach Mike
Bellotti called
me to tell me what happened. I
was stunned. I couldn’t believe he
would write something like that.
Ever since that happened, things
just seemed to go downhill for me.
What did you think about the public’s
reaction?
It was really pretty much an
overreaction. Donald Haynes was
out here, and he had a female
come up to him, and the first thing
she said was, “Did you see what
Akili said in the paper?” I was like,
“Wow.” I was a little upset at first
because people were beginning to
see me in a whole new light. I’m
not a racist at all, and I was glad
that Bellotti and my teammates
stuck up for me.
There are at least 10 black quarter
backs who start now for college foot
ball teams ranked in the top 25. That’s
a pretty remarkable fact, considering
the stereotypes that existed not too
long ago about black quarterbacks. Is
this just the evolution of the game?
1 hat s what it is—a revolution.
African-Americans are now being
sought after at quarterback be
cause of their athletic ability. The
position in college and in the NFL
has changed so much, you’ve got
to be mobile in that pocket.
When people talk about you they usu
ally say you’re the “best athlete” to
ever play quarterback at Oregon. Do
you feel that African-American quar
terbacks are stereotyped in that way?
People referto them as athletes more
so than quarterbacks.
We are stereotyped as athletes
instead of quarterbacks. To be an
African-American quarterback
you have to be prepared to fight
those stereotypes. Back in the day,
the quarterback was always the
tall white guy with the strong arm
who was smart. But now the game
is changing. You have to be quick.
viously a very dangerous threat.”
Tuiasosopo does in fact lead
the team in rushing with 307
yards on 37 carries. A quarter
back leading a team in rushing
usually signals problems at tail
back, something Bellotti is expe
riencing himself.
Since Reuben Droughns went
out with a broken leg suffered
against UCLA on Oct. 17, Oregon
tailbacks have averaged just 3.2
yards per carry against Southern
California and Arizona.
Junior Derien Latimer is again
listed as the starter, although
freshman Herman Ho-Ching
could see action Saturday. Ho
Ching has been sidelined for
nearly two months with a knee
injury but has been practicing at
full speed recently in hopes he
can play against Washington.
The pressure will also be on
Smith, especially considering the
strength of the Huskies’ pass
rush. Washington is first in the
Pac-10 in quarterback sacks with
47 this season, 18 ahead of sec
ond-place Arizona, which has
played one more game than the
Huskies. The Wildcats led the
Pac-lO last season with 47 sacks
in 11 games.
Saturday’s game time was
moved up a half-hour for ABC.
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