Offense: Team focuses on becoming more familiar with Crowton's new style
Continued from page 3
the field to put as much pressure on
the defense as it can. It will usually
feature one running back with two
wide receivers, a tight end and an
H-back, a hybrid position combin
ing the skills of a fullback, tight end
and wide receiver.
Bellotti describes it as, “the meld
ing of the Oregon, BYU, Texas Tech,
Utah, Northwestern, Bowling Green
and I can go on and on because we
have borrowed a lot of elements
from a lot of things, and it will be
come the Oregon offense.”
Quarterback
Leading the offense again this
season will be Kellen Clemens. The
Burns native and all-conference
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quarterback returns after throwing
for 2,548 yards and 22 touchdowns
last season for the Ducks. If he gets
those kinds of numbers this season,
Clemens will climb to at least No. 3
all-time at Oregon in passing yards,
and with 3,195 more he could pass
Bill Musgrave as Oregon’s all-time
passing leader.
“Kellen’s numbers the last two
years have been awesome,” Bellotti
said. “His raw numbers would put
him in an elite group at any school.”
But none of that is on his mind,
as the excitement of the new offense
has him preoccupied.
“It has been a long time since I
was this excited for football,”
Clemens said. “It’s a combination of
the new weapons, the new offense
and it being my senior year. ”
Bellotti said that Clemens has
been working hard to get a handle
on the new offense and get to know
Crowton’s coaching style.
“He has done a great job of
spending time, not only learning the
new offense, but getting comfort
able with Gary Crowton and his of
fense,” Bellotti said.
Clemens said he and Crowton
have taken some time this summer
to get to know each other.
“He is an up-tempo guy, and he
definitely has a different character
than we are used to, but I love
playing with him,” Clemens said of
Crowton. “We even played golf
a couple of times to get away
from football.”
Also getting a grip on the new of
fense is sophomore Dennis Dixon.
Dixon (who ran a 4.51-second 40
meter sprint over the winter, the
fastest time for an Oregon quarter
back ever) saw limited playing time
last season and will likely see about
the same this year.
Competing with Dixon for the
backup position is sophomore
Brady Leaf. The Great Falls, Mont.,
native was the placeholder for the
Ducks last year, but his arm shined
during the spring game. He led all
quarterbacks, completing 17 of
25 passes for 213 yards and a
touchdown.
Running back
One position the Ducks should
have no problem filling this season
is running back. With Terrence
Whitehead, who ran for 1,144 yards
last season, Terrell Jackson, Andiel
Brown and blue-chip recruit
Jonathan Stewart all in the mix, the
Ducks will have plenty of options in
the backfield.
With all attention on Stewart,
Whitehead said he doesn’t worry
about his job.
“I love the competition,” said
Whitehead, who, according to Bel
lotti, will be the starter when the
Ducks take the field against Hous
ton. “Every year I’ve had to com
pete for the running back spot, so
I’m used to it.”
Bellotti said Whitehead will “be
the rock that which we build on, *
“Terrence Whitehead is a bona
fide, Pac-10, 1,000-yard ground
gainer.”
Bellotti is also excited about hav
ing Stewart in the mix.
“Jonathan Stewart will be one of
the most heralded recruits to come
here,” he said. “He is 5-10, 225
pounds and one of the things I have
said is that he ran a 10.8 100-meters
electronically in the spring ... I
would hope him or one of the other
young men jump out and provide
the best one-two punch in the histo
ry of the school.”
One of the other young men that
Bellotti is talking about is Jackson.
The redshirt freshman impressed
many during fall practice and ap
pears ready to fight for the backup
role behind Whitehead.
Wide receiver
Another position full of depth for
the Ducks this season will be wide
receiver. With the new offense,
there will be times when three or
four wideouts are on the field at one
time, and Oregon appears to have
enough depth to fill every one of
those positions with quality players.
Looking to bounce back from an
injury-riddled 2004 season, senior
Demetrius Williams will lead the re
ceiving corps into the 2005 season.
Even with the injuries to his toe and
hamstring, he managed to lead the
team in receptions with 47 in 2004.
Behind Williams there are sever
al young receivers ready for their
chance to shine, led by junior col
lege transfer James Finley. The Los
Angeles native brings his talent and
intensity to the field and is ready to
make an impact.
“One thing I tell Kellen ... if all
fails, James Finley is open,” Finley
said. “I’m not cocky; I get along
with everyone on the team. I just
want to win.
“I think it is possible for me to get
80 grabs ... If you throw me the ball
80 times, 78 of them are going to be
caught and the other two you are
going to overthrow because I’m
going to be open.”
Sophomore Cameron Colvin re
turns to the Ducks after a freshman
season in which he caught 14 pass
es for 141 yards for two touch
downs. The 6-foot-2 Colvin worked
hard during the offseason and looks
to live up to the hype he received as
one of the best recruits coming out
high school two years ago.
Another impressive wide receiver
for the Ducks could be Jaison
Williams. The 6-foot-5, 237 pound
redshirt freshman uses his strength
and speed (he ran a 4.71 during the
offseason, fourth-fastest for wide
receivers) to get open and provides
Clemens a huge target down
the field.
Others looking to contribute this
season at wideout for the Ducks are
sophomores Brian Paysinger and
Garren Strong and juniors Kyle
Weatherspoon and Tony Salazar.
Tight end/ H-back
With a new offense comes a new
position, H-back, for the Ducks. Fill
ing that role this season will be Tim
Day. Though he has struggled with
injuries, Day possesses the talent to
be one of the top pass catchers,
tight end or H-back, in the confer
ence. He said his injuries are a thing
of the past.
“I’m feeling re-energized. Feeling
like I’m young again,” Day said. “I
think a lot of people overlook me,
but I’m used to that by now.”
Despite his injuries, Day caught
35 passes for 457 yards and eight
touchdowns last season. He will once
again be a red zone target for Clemens.
Because of the new offense,
Dante Rosario, last season’s full
back, has been moved to tight end.
The Dayton native had 25 recep
tions out of the backfield last sea
son, including six touchdowns.
A wild card for the Ducks this
season at tight end will be redshirt
freshman Ryan Keeling. Limited last
season by a knee injury, the Spring
field native made impressive strides
during the last scrimmage, catching
three passes for 43 yards and a
touchdown. The 6-foot-5, 243
pound tight end will give the Ducks
depth at the position along with
junior Dan Kause.
Offensive line
The biggest question mark for the
Duck offense will be the offensive
line. It lost three offensive linemen
to graduation and will be plugging
young players without a lot of expe
rience into those positions.
Junior center Enoka Lucas and
senior guard Ian Reynoso will be the
only returnees to a line that gave up a
conference-high 41 sacks last season.
Looking to fill some of the holes
this season will be junior college
transfer Paluni Ma Sun at left guard.
The 6-foot-5, 365-pound Ma Sun is
touted as one of the best junior col
lege transfers in the nation, and his
size and strength should help give
Clemens more time in the pocket.
Ma Sun’s teammate at Fresno
City College, Pat So’oalo, also will
be pushing for time on the line.
Six-foot-5, 340-pound So’oalo
will be competing for the right
guard position.
At tackle, sophomore Geoff
Schwartz and a bevy of freshman
will be competing for the outside
spots. Schwartz (6-foot-7, 351
pounds) will be at right tackle and
made strides his freshman year to
become a starter this season. Fresh
man Max Unger started fall at the
head of the class at left tackle, but
fellow freshmen Jacob Hucko, Jeff
Kendall, Aaron Klovas and Mark
Lewis will be in the mix.
claytonjones@dailyememld. com