Oregon daily emerald., September 06, 2002, Page 5, Image 5

Diving
continued from page 1
— whew — they look fast. Our mot
to is respect all and fear none, and
that’s exactly what we do.”
The Ducks will aim to take
flight this week with a quarter
back just growing comfortable
with the Oregon system. Jason
Fife, who, ironically, was recruit
ed heavily by Fresno State, will
make his second career start on
Saturday. In his first career start,
Fife passed for 166 yards and
three touchdowns, and rushed 25
yards and another score.
“I feel very comfortable in prac
tice, a lot more than last week,” Fife
said. “I think the comfort level will
grow more and more every week
and each passing game. I feel more
relaxed, more at ease.”
As important as Fife’s emergence
against Mississippi State was the
emergence of several stars around
him. Tight end George Wrighster
caught four passes for 46 yards and
two touchdowns. Gornerbaek
"I think this will
be a dogfight"
Mike Belloti
head coach
Steven Moore settled into his role as
the next great Oregon cornerback,
and also had three punt returns for
46 yards. Lewis had six tackles and
one interception.
“There’s no better way to start,”
Lewis said of Oregon’s win.
Now, the Ducks will have to par
lay that success against Fresno
State. Since Mike Bellotti came to
Oregon in 1995, the Ducks have
lost only two nonconference regular
season games, to Michigan State in
1999 and to Wisconsin in 2000. Nei
ther game was at home.
Fresno State is likely to be the
last game resembling a test before
the Ducks play at UCLA on Oct. 12.
And even when the Bulldogs are
down — they have struggled early
this season and been wracked by in
jury — they always have the glow of
giant-killing wins to bask in.
“They have built confidence
over the years by beating people
that supposedly are better than
them,” Bellotti said. “But I don’t
put us in that class — I think this
will be a dogfight.”
In other words, Bellotti is telling
his team something.
Don’t trip.
Contact the sports editor
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
Wrighster
continued from page 3
For Wrighster, it was a decision
well made. After a year of turning
heads on the scout team, he spent
two seasons sharing time with
Justin Peele, who now plays for the
NFL’s San Diego Chargers. The two
tight ends still talk almost once a
week, and Wrighster said he is trying
to carry on Peele’s legacy as a tough
tight end with sticky catching hands.
“Justin’s a great player — he
works hard,” Wrighster said. “That’s
all you can ask of guys, to give 100
percent. When you give 100 percent
and have the talent to back it up,
that’s how guys get far.”
Wrighster had enough talent to be
a linebacker in high school, and a
pretty good linebacker at that. He
had 16 sacks, two interceptions and
four forced fumbles as a senior. But
the junior has never thought about
going back to defense.
“I think it helped me out, because
I knew what it took to beat me when
I was playing,” Wrighster said. “I
like playing offense better, though.”
Good thing, too. In his first game
as the-No. 1 tight end last week,
Wrighster caught four passes for 46
yards and two touchdowns. The first
touchdown came on a short four
yard strike from Jason Fife, but the
second was all Wrighster. Fife faked
a handoff and passed it 10 yards
across his body to Wrighster on the
left side of the field. The tight end
rumbled 15 yards before meeting a
Mississippi State defender, who
went low for the tackle while Wrigh
ster went high for the touchdown.
Wrighster’s obvious connection
with Fife is thanks, in small part, to
Peele’s example.
“Justin and Joey (Harrington)
worked together. I saw them all
three summers I was here, working
out together to get that chemistry,”
Wrighster said. “I did that with Fife
and Kellen (Clemens) this summer,
along with the other receivers. I
catch balls before practice and after
practice to improve my hands, be
cause if you’re not trying to improve,
then you’re moving backwards.”
Now, Wrighster hopes to move
backwards in a different way —
back to the Fiesta Bowl, which this
year is the site of the national cham
pionship game.
To get there, he may need to pull
out that vertical leap every now
and then. The 30-inch vertical
leap, of course.
Contact the sports editor
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
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