Oregon Feature
Nick Medley/Emerald
Oregon linebacker Dietrich Moore drags down Southern California quarterback Carson Palmer in the third quarter of the Ducks’ 17-13 victory three weeks ago.
Less is MOORE
Oregon junior Dietrich Moore
proves that an undersized but
speedy linebacker can excel in
the Pacific-10 Conference
By Rob Moseley
Oregon Daily Emerald
The tattoo on Dietrich Moore’s left arm
is of a football, with a length of barbed
wire wrapped around the biceps connect
ing each end of the pigskin and a recog
nizable logo emblazoned on its laces.
The logo is the familiar "swoosh" of
Nike, the athletic apparel company that
took the name of the Greek goddess of vic
tory, who Nike says "inspired the most
courageous and chivalrous warriors at the
dawn of civilization.”
But for Moore, the symbolism of the
“swoosh” refers directly to the company,
although his success could certainly re
call the attributes of the goddess.
“If you look at the industry Nike’s in,
they’re on top,” says the 6-foot-2, 211
pound junior from Anchorage, Alaska.
“They’re the best at what they do, and I
strive to be that way myself.”
And to great success so far this season.
Moore is third on the Ducks with 71
tackles, including eight for a loss and two
sacks. Add to that two forced fumbles, a
pass broken up and one interception,
Mick Medley /Emerald
Moore has turned into a valuable defender against
the run after beginning his career at strong safety.
against Arizona State last week, that was
returned 78 yards for a touchdown and
Moore seems to be personifying the Nike
of mythology.
Moore, who was bom on Elmendorf Air
Force Base in Alaska, was a lightly recruit
ed strong safety at Anchorage’s Dimond
High School when he got his tattoo. He was
first contacted by Washington, his favorite
team as a child, but the Huskies backed off
after Moore tore ankle ligaments in the first
game of his senior season.
Only the Ducks and Washington State
continued their courtship, and Moore set
tled on Oregon, ironically the last school
to begin recruiting him.
“That was the main reason I came, be
cause I felt they believed in my abilities,”
Moore says.
Moore came to Eugene as a safety, but
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti quickly
noticed the player’s skills might be better
suited for the linebacker position.
"It’s been sort of a natural evolution
with his talents and skills,” Bellotti says.
"The closer we get him to the line of
scrimmage, the better he is. He’s not the
biggest linebacker there is, but he’s a great
tackier, a fierce competitor and obviously
he showed last week with the intercep
tion that he still has some foot speed.”
The interception in question is the 78
yard touchdown in the fourth quarter last
Saturday.
Arizona Mate was lacing third down
when quarterback Steve Campbell dropped
back to pass. Oregon was in a zone defense,
and as Campbell began to roll right, the de
fenders adjusted. Drifting to his right,
Moore found himself between two Sun
Devil receivers when Campbell lofted a
pass that Moore snared from the air.
That’s when Moore displayed the ath
leticism that led to 1,100 rushing yards in
his final two high school seasons.
“I saw a little crease and a lineman on
my right coming up,” Moore says. “I had
nowhere else to go — I was on the side
lines so I was pretty much pinned — so I
just took off running as fast as I could. I
think I saw him reach for me, and he did
n’t grab me, and I saw another lineman
coming from across the field, so I just
started running as fast as I could and fig
ured, hopefully I wouldn’t get caught.”
Seventy-eight yards of hoping later,
Moore had his first career touchdown.
“I’ve been telling him all year that he
was going to get one and go to the house,”
Oregon defensive coordinator Bob Foster
says. “So that’s him: Dietrich ‘To the
House’ Moore.”
Nick Medley/Emerald
Moore and Matt Smith have helped Oregon rebound
from being the Pac-10’s worst run defense in 1997.
It’s that speed that sets Moore apart
from the rest of the conference’s lineback
ers. While, at 211 pounds, Moore is con
siderably lighter than the typical bruising
linebacker, he makes up for it with speed
and quickness.
“Those guys, those prototype 250-, 260
pound guys, a lot of the time they have
speed, but it’s not fast speed. They have
speed for their size,” Moore says. “I have
speed for my size, which is faster than the
guys I’m going against.”
While his speed may be an obvious fac
tor in his success, a more subtle attribute
may be just as key.
In person, Moore comes across as an af
fable, soft-spoken gentleman who hap
pens to play one of the world’s most vio
lent spectator sports.
“I’m kind of a quiet person at times, but
football brings out the side of me people
don’t normally see,” Moore says. “People
who know me personally, I want them to
think, ‘That Dietrich Moore, he’s a nice
guy, but on the football field he’s a reck
less man.’
“My mom always tells me, T don’t
know how you play that game some
times,' and if you think about it, the pain
and anguish we go through ... in the end,
it’s worth it. With the dividends you get,
I think it’s worth it.”
No surprise from a man who values vic
tory and success so much, he has a per
manent reminder of it tattooed on his arm.
Civil War no
longer the
rivalry it was
even said it's one of the top two or three col
lege football rivalries in thecountry.
So what does that make the Civil War?
Easy — an embarrassment i f the Ducks
lose.
Frankly, this rivalry means more to Ore
gon's players, coaches and fans because a
loss would mean ridicule at the local level,
the State level and the national level. With
four consecuti ve Beaver pelts under their
belt, the Civil War to the Ducks has become
like getting into a pillow fight with your sis
uch has been made in the past
few weeks of the ferocious rival
ry between Oregon and Wash
ington. ESPN's Chris Fowler
ter. ii s lose-iose. it uregon
wins, it's considered the bul
lying big brother. If Oregon
loses, Cod help us all.
However, this season does
offer some interesting
match-ups for the Ducks.
Tailback Ken Simonton,
who has rushed for a team
high 920 yards and nine
touchdowns this season, is
one of the most productive
Oregon State rushers this
decade. Walk-on turned
Opinion
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itf.
Joel
Hood
starting quarterback Jonathan Smith has
thrown for more than 1,200 yards in only
five appearances this season.
Still, Oregon State's offensive attack is
more poo poo than potent. The Beavers still
rank near the bottom of the Pacific-10 Con
ference in nearly every major statistical cat
egory on offense. And while Oregon State in
one of the conference's best teams in
turnover differential, it's offense will, like
clockwork, give up the ball in the most cru
cial of times. Smith was responsible for six
turnovers in the Beavers' 20-19 loss to Cali
fornia at Parker Stadium two weeks ago.
It’s been a season of close shaves for Ore
gon State, with loses in the closing minutes
of each of their last three games. And it’s a
sign that things are looking up in Beaver
land that that is no longer enough. In less
than two full seasons at the helm, head
coach Mike Riley has put together a tough,
hard-nosed team that believes it can play
with any team in the Pac-10. So far this sea
son Oregon State has.
On the other side of the coin, Oregon
doesn’t have as much to play for in this
(i If Oregon
ivins, it’s
considered the
bullying big
brother. If
Oregon loses,
God help us
all. »
game as in season s
past. Win or lose, the
Ducks will play in a
second-tier bowl
game. That’s much
different than the pre
vious two seasons,
when Oregon needed
to win to warrant
bowl consideration.
For that reason alone,
this game will be
closer than in sea
son’s past — maybe
too close for Duck
fans.
Duck fans have been eerily silent in the
week building to Saturday’s game. There
haven’t been a lot of the Beaver jokes and
put downs as in seasons past. Maybe it’s
silent confidence, or maybe Oregon knows
it will have to prepare for the Civil War is if
its the most important game of the season,
which it would surely feel like if the Ducks
are trailing in the fourth quarter.
That may happen down the road, but it
won’t happen this year. This is the final reg
ular season game for Akili Smith, Jed
Weaver, Damon Griffin, Stefan deVries,
Josh Bidwell and 16 otherOregon seniors.
I his group is 3-0 against Oregon State in
their careers and have taken all the drama
and all the fun out of this rivalry.
Duck fans wouldn’t have it any other way.
JoeI Hood is the Sports Editor for the Emerald.
He can be reached via e-mail at hood@glad
stone. uoregon edu.