30 — G re» ho m Outlook
Todoy M agatine Wed., Sop» 1, W83; Sondy Po»», Thur» , Sop». 2, ’ “»82
osmi
Improvement object
for subdued Ducks
E U G EN E
It was a hot summer day as 95
muscle bound bodies clad in yellow, green
and white practice jerseys sweated through a
heavy workout at their practice field along
the Willamette River
Joggers and bikers coming across the
Autzen Stadium footbridge stopped by to
check out this year s version of the University
of Oregon football team The players looked
good The linemen looked big, strong and
mean; the backs, trim and swift It seemed
like a group that could go places
K E V IN LUSK
Hack to full strength
But then again, looks aren't everything
Same time last year, the Ducks had the look
of a team destined for great things - ranked
!!Hh nationally m preseason polls, coming off
a »-J2 season and ever talking about a
longshot chance at the Rose Bowl
When the curtain went up, Oregon fell flat
on its face
This year, the Ducks are keeping quiet
They're picked by football magazines like
Street 6 Smith and GamePlan to finish as low
as ninth in the Pac 10
And that suits them fine
Oregon is interested in improvement, which
begins with upgrading the unproductive of
fense it had last year Consequently, the
Ducks have switched from an I formation to a
split back setup,
The key position is quarterback "We need
to have better play from that position than a
year ago," says Oregon coach Rich Brooks,
now in his sixth season of guiding the Duck
grid fortunes
"We have more competition at quarterback
than we've had in a long time "
Senior Kevin Lusk is the returning starter,
the man who was the target of much blame
for the 2-9 fiasco of last season He was in
jured for part of the campaign and played in
consistently When he managed to get on the
field
Lusk is No i going in and appears quicker
than ever The knee injury that hampered
him a year ago has apparently healed
" I feel 100 percent healthy, he says
Mike Owens and Mike Jorgensen vhould
give Lusk a good fight, but the one to watch
lor uwderv say. is Dana Hill the heralded
freshman from Pomona, Calif
These days, however, the player getting the
most attention by far is freshman Kevin
Wilhite, the star running back from Rancho
Cordova. Calif Wilhite <6-0. 190) surprised
everyone by passing up the University of
Washington at the last minute to sign with
Oregon Wilhite made the choice because the
Ducks will afford him the chance to compete
in the school’s track program
Wilhite arrives with the tage of one of the
top three recruits in the country He also ran
the nation’s fastest high school 200 meters, a
20 81 during his junior year
While Brooks must be overjoyed to have
Wilhite on hand, he is not so excited about the
press, which has hounded the freshman since
he entered camp Wilhite injured a hamstring
on the first day of practice and now will be
behind the rest of the team when he returns
That should be in time for the season opener
Sept 4 against Arizona State
Though Wilhite is a star, he’s is also a
freshman and must learn the plays like
anyone else,
"H e ’s not the big story right now,” Brooks
insists "H e ’s hurt He’s a freshman who has
never played at this level We don't have any
idea of how he plays When he shows he is
good enough, he’ll get a good opportunity."
Even without Wilhite, Brooks has a strong
running corps Senior Dwight Robertson (6-1,
195), redshirted last year but is back and has
the fullback position The tailback spot will go
to junior Harry Billups <5-11, 1901. at least at
first
(Mher running backs on band are Eugene
King, Terrance Jones. Ladaria Johnson and
Todd Bland.
For receivers, the Ducks have senior Greg
Moner and junior Osborn Thompson back In
addition, Choo Choo Young, converted from
his running back spot, will also be depended
upon Mark James, who would have brought
speed to the returning lineup, has quit football
because of a kidney ailment
Brooks’ biggest worries are in the offensive
line, which was almost non-ex is tan t a year
ago
Other than junior guard Gary Zimmerman
<64, 250). the Duck line is untested Ryan
Zinke <6-3, 2351 gets the nod at center and
Paul Sanborn (6-3, 265) should be the other
guard Ron Teed <64, 231) was lost in the first
week of practice because of a neck injury and
will not return to the team.
Defense the Ducks forte the past three
years, will again be the team’s foundation thia
time around
The defensive line will see Bill Ixiwder <6-4.
251), Michael Gray <6-4, 260) and Steve
Johnson <6-5, 245 > battle for the tackle spots
Mike Walter <6-4, 226» and Steve Baack (6-4,
230) will have the end positions
The linebacking crew will depend heavily
on the health of Chris Cosgrove < 6-3, 225 >, the
senior middleman If he s healthy, the thicks
could be very tough indeed Dwight Ford <6-2,
206* and Cliff Gibson '6-3, 21S) are at the out
side spots
Comerhack Steve Brown is the lone return
ing starter in the secondary The rest of the
secondary is inexperienced, but with the
depth of past seasons, the Ducks could come
up with a winning combination
BOB LEUNG
Steve Brews brings experience In Oregon secondary.
A W INNING
COMBINATION.'
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