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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2002)
The Wrigh-Stuff Junior tight end George Wrighster has stepped out ofjustin Peeled shadow eariy and often this season Peter Hockaday Sports Editor In the 2002 Oregon football media guide, under George Wrighster’s name, it says that the tight end “im proved leaping ability with 28-inch vertical jump during off-season test ing as well as lower-body strength, bettering squat best 60 lbs. to 405.” Anybody who saw Wrighster leap over an unfortunate Mississippi State defender for a touchdown last week knows that the vertical-leap number might be slightly unforgiving. “That figure is wrong,” Wrighster said. “My vertical is bigger than that. It’s, like, 30 (inches), I think.” The junior from Van Nuys, Calif., needed every inch of that vertical leap to score his second touchdown of the contest on Saturday, and he’s needed every inch of his 6-foot-4, 249-pound frame to handle the full time duties of being the starting tight end for the Ducks. But it’s a chal lenge faced head-on by Wrighster, who could become the best in a line of standout Oregon tight ends. And if it hadn’t been for George Wrighster Sr., George Wrighster Jr. may never have made it to Eugene. Wrighster’s father got all over him af ter a call from an Oregon coach, who said he was going to send over some Duck information during Oregon’s recruiting period. Wrighster, a top prospect in the nation at that point, got the Ducks’ package but left it in his locker. His father pestered and pestered. “I didn’t really care,” Wrighster I_! Adam Amato Emerald George Wrighster runs for one of his two touchdowns against Mississippi State last Saturday. The junior tight end picked up where NFL-bound Justin Peele left off. said. “It was from Oregon, and I did n’t know anything about Oregon. They were never on television. The only thing I knew about them was that they played in the Rose Bowl against Penn State in ’94. My dad told me that if I didn’t bring that in formation home, he wasn’t going to let me drive. “Then he took my car.” That did it. Wrighster’s father read him the information, which prompt ed Wrighster to take his next recruit ing trip to Oregon, where he bought into the Ducks’ team philosophy and was sold right away on the program. Still, with offers on the table from “everywhere,” as Wrighster put it, the tight end still needed a sign pointing north. “I was sitting on the plane (back from the recruiting trip), and I prayed about it,” Wrighster said. “And I shook my head, and my mom said, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ be cause my mom and dad came on my trip. And I said, ‘I think I’m going to Oregon.’ And she said, ‘That’s what I think, too.’” Turn to Wrighster, page 5 I Good Times, Great Foodl (selected appetizers) 3 pm - 6 pm (S' 9 pm - Close /~<guA>v \^jx>o(( . .~ 3024 Gateway St., Springfield phone: (54 I ) 744-1 364 fax: (54 I ) 744-1 482 Located right off Gateway St. and the Gateway Mall entrance COLLEGE ID REQUIRED NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFER ALL COLLEGE IDS ACCEPTED 2 PIZZAS MAX PER I.D. COLLEGE STUDENT SPECIAL (no coupon required) OFF ANY LARGE PIZZA 014494 Furniture Household items Mattresses free delivery in August/September You won’t find lower prices! 2065 W. 7th Ave., Eugene • 343-3341 346 Main 5t., Springfield • 747-2665 Las Brasas Burrito on?v5*75 with rice; beans, guacamole, sour cream and cheese melted on top. Large Selection of Btirritos Lunch and Dinner Combos Imported Beers Mexican and Tropical Drinks authentic Mexican Cuisine 6"'Ave. IL ao Brad a authentic Mexican Cuisine 541 Blair Blvd. Eugene • 338-0807 We Accept Credit Cards Eugene s Best Kept Secret
