Marinating Sarnie Steak
Junior wide receiver Sarnie
Parker leads the team
in receptions, but he says
he has more to take in
Adam Jude
Senior Sports Reporter
If Samie Parker lived in the wild
kingdom, you’d expect him to be
some kind of fast animal. Perhaps a
cheetah or a leopard. Something that
could outrun just about everything.
But the way Parker’s roommate,
tight end George Wrighster, ex
plains it, the Oregon wide receiver
sounds like something you’d find at
a butcher’s shop. Like a chicken or,
gulp, a fat cow.
Wrighster’s reasoning? Parker
likes to marinate.
“He’s just laying in bed marinating
like a big piece of meat, soaking up
all the juices,” Wrighster said.
The secret has been revealed. If
you want to be fast — not just fast, su
per fast —- marinate. Sleep. Save your
energy. Keep your legs fresh. Only
rise for a game day or a quick race.
OK, so it’s not quite that simple.
“I’m just a laid-back type of guy,”
Parker said. “I don’t like going out
there and being all wild and getting
overexcited or anything like that.
Some people get overexcited and get
tired. I just like to relax and let
things come to me.”
And then, like a wild beast eyeing
its dinner, attack the prey. That, in a
nutshell, seems to be Parker’s game
plan against opposing defensive backs.
At 5-foot-10,177 pounds, the jun
ior from Long Beach, Calif., doesn’t
look the part of an intimidating foot
ball player. But if he’s overlooked,
even for a second, he’ll be gone.
Eighty yards. Touchdown.
It’s happened before, most notably
on a 79-yard touchdown reception in
the Fiesta Bowl. It will happen again.
“I want to make acrobatic plays,”
Parker said. “I want to make plays
that energize the team and myself.”
With fellow starting receiver
Keenan Howry slowed by injuries at
the beginning of the season, Parker
has been first-year quarterback Ja
son Fife’s main target. And with a
team-high 38 receptions, Parker has
been the most consistent receiver.
Parker caught a touchdown pass
in each of the first four games this
season, including a nine-catch, 161
yard performance against Fresno
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Sarnie Parker has been Oregon's most productive receiver this season. He started the
2002 campaign with touchdown catches in each of the first four games.
State on Sept. 7, when he took a 20
yard Fife pass and ran past two de
fenders for a 70-yard score.
“I’ve been saying all year that we
have an awesome receiving corps,”
Fife said. “I mean, Sarnie’s the guy
that can run by people, Keenan’s the
guy that will make plays when you
need to and Jason Willis is kind of
the unsung hero that makes the
third-down conversion when you
least expect it.
“The big thing that distinguishes
all of them is that they all play with
heart.”
Besides his easy-going manner,
the big thing that separates Parker is
his breakaway speed.
So how fast is Parker?
He and backup tailback Allan
Amundson are clearly the fastest
Ducks, but Parker gives his elder a
bit more credit.
“I think I’d be a close call be
tween me and Allan. I’d give Allan
Turn to Parker, page 10B
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