Summer workouts key for the Ducks
Oregon's Chris Vincent
and Justin Phinisee plan
workouts for fellow Duck
CLAYTON JONES
SPORTS REPORTER
Among the early-morning shadows
of an empty Autzen Stadium, there
are Ducks that have worked all sum
mer for a moment to shine this fall.
Oregon football players have been
beating feet up and down the
bleachers at Autzen Stadium at 6:3C
a.m. preparing themselves for a run
at a Pacific-10 Conference title.
There are no coaches to yell oi
fans to cheer. Just them.
Junior cornerback Justin Phinisee
and sophomore running back Chris
Vincent are two of the regulars at this
player-organized workout routine.
“It shows a good element of oui
team that we can be pull guys to
gether and be self-governed without
the coaches setting something up,”
Phinisee said.
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
Oregon’s Justin Phinisee and Chris Vincent got a head start to this season when they ran
up and down the bleachers at Autzen Stadium at 6:30 a.m. during the summer.
Phinisee and Vincent said they
believe the key to success at this lev
el and beyond is the extra work put
in outside of team practices.
“My body needs a lot of running
and I just can’t do the stuff that
coach puts out there for us and
think that will be enough,” Phinisee
said. “When I step out on the field 1
need to be a step above the rest.”
The players say that every year they
try to do something that gets them
prepared for the season. Last year they
ran hills, particularly the one on 30th
Avenue and Hilyard Street.
During workouts this year,
they made their way to the swim
ming pool.
“We swam some laps and for
everyone who doesn’t think that
swimming isn’t conditioning they
need to come pool with us,”
Phinisee said.
For some players, it was their
first time using swimming as
conditioning.
“We were pretty crazy out there
and we had the lifeguards laughing
at us but we had a good time,”
Phinisee said.
Phinisee and Vincent said staying
in good shape is key to keeping the
team’s momentum rolling.
“The train is already moving as
far as the team and we need to make
sure we can hop on the train and not
be behind the rest of the guys,”
Phinisee said.
The two are eager to show what
WORKOUTS, page 10
Kelly: Ducks
look to move
forward
Continued from page 3
who was under the influence of alco
hol, according to reports. One month
before, the wife of Dave Williford, an
Assistant Athletic Director for the
Oregon athletics department, died of
a heart attack. Williford’s wife,
Susan, was 49.
Last October, the mother of senior
linebacker Ramone Reed passed away.
Doctors told Reed that his mother, who
was 45, died of natural causes.
Other losses in Ducks families in
clude the mother of backup quarter
back Dennis Dixon, the father of de
fensive lineman Haloti Ngata and the
grandmothers of defensive backs Par
ris Moore and Ryan Gilliam.
“It’s definitely tough to deal with,”
tight end Tim Day said. “The best thing
to do is try to get past it and try to turn
to the people that lost a loved one.
Everyone on this team wants to dedi
cate the season to each one of them.”
alextam@ daily emerald, com
Hoosiers: Freshman corner
leads IU to first victory
Continued from page 5
world, Indiana proved in its debut
last week that its football team
will be one to watch in the Big Ten
Conference.
The Hoosiers (1-0 overall) easily
beat Central Michigan 41-10 in
Bloomington, Ind., last Saturday be
hind impressive defensive and spe
cial teams units play.
The man to watch in Indiana’s
secondary is cornerback TYacy
Porter, who intercepted two passes
in last week’s game — his first colle
giate match.
One of those interceptions was
returned 96 yards for a touchdown in
the third quarter to give Indiana a 27
3 lead. It was the fourth-longest inter
ception return for a touchdown in
Hoosier history. It was the also
longest interception return for a
touchdown for the Hoosiers since Al
fonzo Thurman went 97 yards against
Miami-Ohio on Sept. 10,1994.
“I was not expecting that to hap
pen, but I was right there and I made
the play,” Porter said. “The whole
way I kept thinking that someone
was behind me, and that kept my
speed up.”
Porter’s other interception oc
curred in the first quarter and led the
Hoosiers to their first touchdown of
the game and a 6-0 lead.
Porter, a 5-foot-10-inch freshman,
said he didn’t expect to play so much
in his first year, but is relishing his
role and making the most out of the
playing time given to him.
“I was put in this position and am
getting playing time, and I just want
to go out there and make plays, try
ing to make some positive plays for
us,” Porter said.
Indiana head coach Gerry Dinardo
said he felt Porter was immediately
ready to play after consulting with as
sistant coach TYoy Douglas during the
weeks leading up to the season.
“Teams know we have a freshman
corner. [Central Michigan] might not
have known he was playing, but it is
different once they see things on
tape,” Dinardo said. “But I am very
happy the way he played.”
Porter’s two interceptions were the
most by a Hoosier since Greg Yeldell
intercepted three passes against
Michigan on Oct. 14,1998.
In his two interceptions, Porter to
taled 98 return yards, which ties him
for second most in a game in school
Courtesy Indiana Ammo Department
Indiana safety Will Meyers is one of the key
players on Indiana’s defense this weekend.
history with Tim Wilbur. Wilbur had
98 return yards against Michigan
State on Oct. 10,1978.
Other Notes
Indiana’s 41 points against Cen
tral Michigan were the Hoosiers’
most since they scored 56 against
Northwestern on Nov. 3, 2001. ...
Their 31-point victory was the
biggest season opening win since a
40-6 win at Toledo in 1996. ... Indi
ana’s kicker Adam Braucher re
turned to the Hoosiers lineup after
missing each of the last two seasons
due to a knee injury. In his first PAT
in the first quarter last weekend,
Braucher missed the attempt. How
ever, Braucher recovered and suc
cessfully made his next four extra
points. He did not attempt a field
goal in the game.
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