DUCK
CAPTAINS
Four Ducks, two on offense
and two on defense, were
chosen as this game’s team
captains. Each will be looked
upon to lead Oregon
to its third consecutive
conference win of the season.
J.D. Nelson
28 Free Safety/ Sophomore
Hometown: Mountain View, Calif.
Nelson got the nod for his first career start against Indiana and recorded 10
tackles in his debut performance to lead the team. He tallied nine solo tackles
in all of 2003 and is tied for third on the team this year with 15 and also has
one sack. The sophomore learned the tricks of the trade from former Duck
free safety Keith Lewis. Nelson recorded 15 total tackles last season, six on
special teams. He was a running back in high school and rushed for 1,200
yards and 15 touchdowns his senior year. Nelson was recognized as his
team's offensive MVP during his senior year at Mountain View High School in
California and was named to the Midwest Peninsula all-star team.
Nick Steitz
74 Left Guard/ Senior
Hometown: Los Banos, Calif.
Steitz is a regular on Oregon’s offensive line with 31-career starts at three
different positions over the last three seasons, which is more than any oth
er Duck on the roster. The versatile senior has put in time at tackle and his
athleticism may give him an opportunity to play center at some point. As a
junior, Stietz stayed healthy and plowed holes for the league’s fourth-best
rush offense. Steitz started 12 of 13 games in 2003. He contributed in 10
games and played in a season-best 29 snaps against Arizona State in
2001. Stietz squats the most weight of any offensive lineman (600 lbs.)
and is second with 425-lbs in the bench press.
I Anthony Trucks
I 84 Outside Linebacker/ Junior
■ Hometown: Antioch, Calif.
I Anthony Trucks has made a name for himself at the outside linebacker pa
I sition this year. The former East Bay Cream of the Crop pick has recovered
I from off-season shoulder surgery to become the Ducks' seventh leading
H tackier in 2004. More impressive are the three and a half sacks he has
recorded, which ranks second on the team. The Antioch High School grad
uate has developed from a prominent special teams player into one of the
_ fastest and most dangerous Imebackers on the Oregon squad.
Demetrius Williams
6 Wide Receiver/ Junior
6-2,185 lbs.
Hometown: Pittsburg, Calif.
Williams is another prestigious player that originated from De La Salle High
School. The poised junior wide receiver has fought through a minor foot in
jury to post three 100-yard outings this season. His seven 100-yard per
formances rank second all-time in school history. The most recent totaled
153 yards on nine catches and came in last week’s win at Autzen Stadium
against Arizona. Although he did not start the season opener versus Indi
ana, Williams still tallied 129 yards and has started in the last five games.
Williams leads the Ducks with 36 receptions for 491 yards.
Pac-10: WSU, OSU aspire to reach .500
Continued from page 9B
ton earned Pac-10 Player of the Week
honors last week as he rushed for 205
yards against UCLA. Arrington cur
rently leads the conference in rushing
yards and should have no problem
running the ball against Arizona.
Cal head coach Jeff Tedford still
feels that Arizona’s defense presents
a threat to any offense it faces.
“They play hard and fast,” Tedford
said. “They have a very strong sec
ondary, good tacklers and really fly
around the ball.”
Cal junior quarterback Aaron
Rodgers should have a good day, and
continue to challenge Matt Leinart of
USC for first-team all-conference
quarterback.
Arizona head coach Mike Stoops
continues to search for his first confer
ence victory since taking his position.
This week his squad continued to
practice red-zone offense, which
proved costly for the Wildcats last Sat
urday as they failed to score inside the
20-yard line on numerous occasions.
In last week’s loss against Ore
gon, the Wildcats produced a glim
mer of hope for the future as they
scored 14 points in the closing min
utes of the fourth quarter. In order
for Arizona to have any chance of
beating Cal and turning its season
around, it will need to play at that
same level for 60 minutes.
Washington (1-5, 0-3)
at No. 1 USC (6-0, 3-0)
Southern California concludes its
three-game homestand this weekend
when beleaguered Washington trav
els to the Coliseum in Los Angeles.
The Huskies have yet to win their
first conference game of the season
and may have better luck next week
end against Oregon. Undefeated USC
features two potential first team All
Americans who are also Heisman Tro
phy favorites. Junior quarterback
Leinart and sophomore tailback Reg
gie Bush may be planning a late-sea
son trip to the Downtown Athletic
Club in New York City, but this week
they will have to contend with the
Washington defensive line, which has
quietly topped the conference in red
zone defense. USC head coach Pete
Carroll understands the significance of
Saturday’s game in terms of starting
the second half of the season strong.
“This is an opportunity for us to get
things going,” Carroll said. “It’s real
important to our team how we finish.
This is kind of the beginning of the fin
ish for us.” The Husky offense, led by
sophomore tailback Kenny James, has
rushed for 412 yards in the past two
games combined and needs to estab
lish a running game early. Washing
ton’s defense must contain Bush and
keep the Tfojans out of the endzone.
Unfortunately for Leinart, the Huskies
rank second in the conference in pass
defense. Washington will need anoth
er solid game out of sophomore mid
dle linebacker Scott White to have any
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Arizona running back Mike Bell has been the bright spot in a struggling Wildcat offense,
The junior is fifth in the Pac-10 in rushing with 459 yards.
chance of stopping USC. White has
posted six tackles for a loss in the past
two games.
The 'frojan defense features senior
defensive tackle Shaun Cody, who has
been named a Lombardi Award semi
finalist and should have little trouble
shutting down the Husky offense.
Washington State
(3-3,1-2) at
- Oregon State (2-4, 1-2)
State faces a daunting task this
week in beating Oregon State in
Corvallis after losing its past two
games and sophomore starting
quarterback Josh Swogger for the
rest of the season.
With the passing game in ques
tion, the Cougars will need big plays
elsewhere from their offense
and defense. A solid rushing game
will be significant for Washington
State, which features tailback
Jerome Harrison.
Oregon State’s defense should test
the Cougar offense on the ground
with senior defensive end Bill Swan
cutt and through the air with senior
free safety Mitch Meeuwsen.
Meeuwsen now tops the Oregon
State all-time list for interceptions.
The Cougar defense will also
need to step up this week after pro
ducing yet another mediocre per
formance last week in the loss to
Stanford. The Cougars rank ninth in
the Pac-10 in red zone defense de
spite having sophomore linebacker
Scott Davis, who leads the confer
ence in forced fumbles and fumble
recoveries.
The Washington State pass de
fense, which ranks eighth in the
conference, will be tested all day by
a pass-heavy Oregon State offense.
The Beavers lead the conference in
passing offense with 1,723 passing
yards.
Beaver head coach Mike Riley feels
that special teams will weigh heavily
on the game’s outcome.
“We’ve got another great challenge
in our coverage teams,” Riley said. “A
game like this, special teams will play
a major factor.”
Scott J. Adams is a freelance
sports reporter for the Daily Emerald
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