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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, August 30, 2017
QB worked to become
a leader in the offseason
Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert has focused
on developing his leadership skills and getting
stronger as he prepares for his sophomore season
guiding the Ducks. Oregon opens the season at home
against Southern Utah. The Ducks will have a new
look this fall under first-year coach Willie Taggart.
By
Anne M. Peterson
AP Sports Writer
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon quarterback Justin
Herbert had what was essentially a two-pronged approach to
the offseason: Become stronger and become a leader.
Herbert put on muscle, prompting Ducks first-year coach
Willie Taggart to joke that the sophomore signal-caller kept
strutting around shirtless. Herbert worked on the leadership
part, too, as a counselor at the Manning camp in Louisiana.
“I’ve seen Justin grow a lot. I mean, he’s giving off a lot
of confidence, especially to the other players, to show he’s that
guy,” running back Royce Freeman said. “We’re definitely
following behind him and we trust him fully.”
Thrust into a role as Oregon’s starting quarterback as a
freshman last season when graduate transfer Dakota Prukop
struggled, Herbert would go on to play in nine games, throwing
for 1,936 yards with 19 touchdowns.
Herbert goes into this season knowing he’s the starter. The
Ducks open at home on Saturday afternoon against Southern
Utah.
It will be the Oregon debut for Taggart, who is looking to
rebuild a team that went 4-8 overall for the Ducks’ first losing
season since 2004.
Taggart comes to Eugene after four years at South Florida,
where he guided the Bulls from a 2-10 record his first year
to a 10-2 mark last year and a spot in the Birmingham Bowl.
Before that he spent three seasons at his alma mater, Western
Kentucky, inheriting a winless program that he turned around
with back-to-back winning seasons.
Known for being soft-spoken and shy, Herbert said he’s
talked with his new head coach about what it means to be a
leader.
“I think just realizing that the quarterback has to step up.
The team needs to be led,” Herbert said. “Coach Taggart and I
have talked about how I need to step up and be more vocal for
the betterment of the team. So I’ve put my shyness away and
I’ve tried to come out a little more and talk.”
Herbert understands that his introverted approach last
season may have hindered the Ducks.
“Last year I think I didn’t do a good job of being vocal
or talking very much. So I think it kind of hurt us from a
strategy standpoint. I didn’t have the comfortability to go to
the offensive linemen or the running backs or the receivers,”
Herbert said. “But I think just being more comfortable around
them has been super helpful.”
Part of his transformation was the result of the time
he spent this summer at the Manning Passing Academy.
Among his fellow counselors were USC’s Sam Darnold and
Washington’s Jake Browning.
Herbert also bulked up over the summer, putting on some
15 pounds, and his arms are noticeably bigger. His new 6-foot-
6 body prompted a bit of good-natured chiding from the team.
“He’s gained about 15 pounds since last year, and Justin’s
walking outside with his shirt off now. And if you all know
Justin, that wasn’t him before. But he’s laughing. He’s hanging
out with his guys,” Taggart said.
Freeman joked: “We’re trying to beg him, ‘Just please put
your shirt on.’”
Herbert, who sheepishly said his physique has “been
exaggerated a little bit,” is more focused on the process. The
Ducks are expected to have a transition season as Taggart
installs his system: Oregon was selected to finish fourth in the
Pac-12 North.
Herbert believes the future is bright.
“We just have to listen to the guys who have been there.
We’ve got multiple guys on our team who have been in a
national championship and have played there. We’ve got
coaches who’ve coached in big games and they know what it
takes. And the players do, too,” he said. “I think just listening to
them and following the game plan will get us there.”
School activities bring
communities together
by Peter Weber,
Executive Director of the Oregon School Activities
Association.
Tailgates. Pep rallies. Friday night lights. The
new school year is here! And that’s exciting news for
studentathletes and high school sports fans alike.
Research shows that being a student athlete is about
a lot more than fun and games. It teaches important life
lessons, too. In fact, high school athletes not only have
higher grade point averages and fewer school absences
than non athletes, they also develop the kind of work habits
and self discipline skills that help them become more
responsible and productive community members.
Attending high school sporting events teaches
important life lessons, too.
Among them, it teaches that we can live in different
communities, come from different backgrounds, faiths and
cultures, cheer for different teams, and still have a common
bond.
That’s why attending the activities hosted by your
high school this fall is so important. It’s not only an
opportunity to cheer for your hometown team, it is also
an opportunity to celebrate our commonality. And that’s
something our country needs right now.
The bond we share is mutually supporting the
teenagers in our respective communities. We applaud their
persistence, tenacity, preparation and hard work, regardless
of the color of the uniform they wear. We acknowledge that
education based, high school sports are enhancing their
lives, and ours, in ways that few other activities could. And
we agree that, regardless of what side of the field we sit
on, attending a high school sporting event is an uplifting,
enriching, family friendly experience for all of us.
Many of the high schools in our state lie at the heart
of the communities they serve. They not only are educating
our next generation of leaders, they also are a place where
we congregate, where people from every corner of town
and all walks of life come together as one. And at no time
is this unity more evident than during a high school athletic
event.
This is the beginning of a new school year.
Opportunities abound in the classroom and outside it. Let’s
make the most of them by attending as many athletic events
at the high school in our community as possible.
Turn on the lights, and let the games begin!
Colorado St opens new stadium by beating Oregon St 58-27
By
Pat Grahm
AP Sports Writer
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The
opening of a new stadium left quarterback
Nick Stevens momentarily breathless.
A big hit to the stomach early in the game
from a linebacker will do that. He quickly got
his second wind to help Colorado State make
quite a first impression.
Stevens threw three touchdown passes,
linebacker Tre Thomas scored on a 44-yard
interception return to lead a Colorado State
defense that forced five turnovers and the
Rams launched their new on-campus stadium
with a 58-27 win over Oregon State on a
steamy Saturday.
Colorado State moved into its new digs
after nearly five decades of playing down the
The
road at Hughes Stadium. A raucous 37,583
fans showed up to catch a glimpse of the $220-
million facility.
“I just told the guys in there — there’s
only one shot at opening a new stadium,” said
Rams coach Mike Bobo , who was hoisted
onto his players’ shoulders in the locker room
after the game. “There’s going to be one
memory. It was a good one for Colorado State
people.”
Stevens did his part to make sure it was a
successful unveiling by throwing for 334 yards
— his third career 300-yard game. A hit in the
first quarter, though, left him shaken up and
gasping for air.
“It felt like I wasn’t going to be able to
breathe for another couple hours,” Stevens
cracked. “Usually, a hit like that takes some of
the breath out of you. But it took every ounce
of breath I ever breathed. I had to focus on
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breathing after that. I got over it.”
The Beavers fumbled twice and threw
three interceptions on the way to losing their
14th straight road game.
Oregon State’s Jake Luton finished 27
of 47 for 304 yards and two scores. He also
threw three interceptions, including the game-
changer in the third quarter. Thomas grabbed a
tipped pass out of the air and raced 44 yards to
make it 34-20.
“We got beat badly — badly,” Oregon
State coach Gary Andersen said. “There are a
lot of concerns when you get beat like that. It’s
unchartered waters for me.”
But Colorado State ended up earning the
biggest first of all in its new facility — a win.
“Everyone is going to pat us on the back
now,” Bobo said. “Everybody is going to tell
us how great we are. Everybody is going to
tell us how great that moment was. ... We’ve
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got to be mature enough as a football team to
understand how we got to this point to win this
ball game — by doing the little things every
day.”
Bobo wasn’t too pleased with Stevens
attempting a jump pass near the goal line that
was nearly picked off. The Rams ended up
with a field goal.
“That was stupid. We’ve got points right
there,” Bobo said. “Luckily, they didn’t catch
it. That’s not a smart decision. He’s not Brett
Favre.”
OREGON STATE: Hosts Portland State
next Saturday. The Beavers are 4-0 all-time
against the Vikings.
More AP college football: http://
collegefootball.ap.org/poll and https://twitter.
com/AP_Top25.
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Friday, Sept. 1, 9 p.m.
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Saturday, Sept. 2
9 p.m.
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McGrew’s!