by Jerry Thompson
“I Will Be a Duck in
my Heart Forever”
Despite attempts by Oregon coaches
to persuade junior defensive tackle, Igor
Olshansky to return for his senior year,
the 6-6, 305 lb. Olshansky decided to
declare himself eligible for this spring’s
NFL draft.
Here is the text of Olshansky’s
announcement to the press on Friday,
January 9th:
“After extensive discussions with my
family and advisors, I made the decision
to make myself available for the 2004
NFL draft. I feel I am ready for the next
challenge. These last four years at Oregon
have been the greatest experiences of my
life and I have so many people to thank
for that. I’m really going to miss Oregon.
I really appreciate coach Bellotti giving me
the opportunity to attend Oregon and play
football, even though at that time, I was
not fully qualified. I will miss my coaches,
especially coach Greatwood and my
teammates. I wish them great success in
the future. I especially will miss my many
Oregon fans whose chants of “Igor, Igor”
spurred me on. Hopefully with the coach-
ing I received at Oregon and with hard
work and determination, I will hear those
chants again in some distant city. I will be
a Duck in my heart forever. Thank you.”
Coach Bellotti shared that it was with
a “heavy heart” that he will be saying
goodbye to Olshanksy who he said has
always been a great asset to the team as
a leader in the weight room, motivating
other players “to exceed their own
expectations.” Bellotti said that Igor took
on even “a greater role this year as a verbal
and vocal leader on the team” and said
he believed that Olshanksy was one of the
best defensive lineman, not only in the
conference, but in the nation. “I think
he is passing up the opportunity to be
a first round draft choice next year, but
I’m sure he will make it this year and he
has my complete blessing in this. I wish
him well and look forward to watching
him play on Sundays,” Bellotti said.
Igor said one of the biggest factors
in his decision was his belief that he is
“ready” for the NFL and he emphasized
that it was a “whole family” decision, not
Photos by: Walt Grondona of Walt’s Photography
Igor Declares for NFL Draft
Igor announces his intention to enter the 2004 NFL Draft at press conference on January 9th.
one he made by himself. He acknowledged
that the possibility of an injury if he had
stayed for his senior year did have an
impact on his decision. He said he final-
ized his decision after the Sun Bowl game.
Olshansky said he is close to graduating
from the U of O, but will have to wait
until after he begins his NFL career. It is
hard to say exactly where Olshansky will
be chosen in the draft. Many believe that
Igor will probably be making in the
neighborhood of $300,000 to $500,000
per year, but if he had played next year
and stayed healthy he would have been
able to garner a contract in the multi-
million dollar range.
One of the most popular players in
Oregon football history, Olshansky will be
missed but the cupboards are not bare in
the defensive line. Igor’s close friend, Haloti
Ngata returns as a sophomore along
with senior-to-be Robbie Valenzuela.
Sophomores-to-be Matt Toeaina, Victor
Felipe, and junior-to-be Nuvraj Bassi and
the Ducks have a verbal commitment
from outstanding D-lineman David
Faaeteete from North Medford. There is
a lot of disappointment among Duck fans
who were looking forward to next year
with Olshansky and Ngata becoming
a truly dominating duo. That was the
plan this year and an injury to Ngata
spoiled those plans. The uncertainty
of one’s health in football in the final
analysis is the reason Igor is leaving. If he
could look into the future and knew that
he would have an injury-free senior year,
Igor would be back. That’s the nature of
football now and the enticement the NFL
offers is very difficult to turn down.
Football Recruiting
by Jerry Thompson
Lineman Aaron
Klovas Heads
a Growing Class
If all verbal commitments turn into
written ones, and there’s no reason to
believe otherwise, it looks like this may
be the best class for offensive linemen
the Ducks have signed in a long, long
time. A few days after playing in the
prestigious Army All-American game in
San Antonio, 6-6, 300 lb. Aaron Klovas
from Graham, Washington called coach
Neal Zoumboukos and let him know he
was going to be a Duck! Klovas is rated by
Rivals.com as the #7 best prep offensive
tackle in the U.S. Klovas told DI that he
made the decision between Washington
State and Oregon based upon weighing
the academics first and then football.
Oregon impressed him the most for
taking care of him academically. Klovas’
dad said that the decision process all
along has been Aaron’s and they (parents)
let him make up his own mind. They
were delighted that Aaron chose the
same school they were hoping he would!
Klovas is a very intelligent and personable
young man and came down on his own
to Eugene last Saturday, the 10th to help
10 JANUARY 15, 2004
DucksIllustrated
impressed with Oregon. It’s only
about 20 days until letter-of-intent
day and the Ducks were planning on
adding a few more defensive lineman,
and now have a even greater need
since Igor Olshansky isn’t coming
back. Some on the “radar” who will
be deciding between other schools and
the Ducks are: Phillip Mbakogu, 6-2,
260 defensive end from Hayward,
California, Ra’ Shon Harris, 6-4,
280 lb. defensive tackle from Pittsburg,
California, and Cole Linehan, 6-4, 260
lb. defensive end from Banks, Oregon.
No commitments have come in from
any running backs and the Ducks are
still looking at more corners, safeties,
and linebackers.
Verbally Committed / Not Yet Signed
6’6”, 300-lb. Aaron Klovas
persuade some of a large group of
about 25 recruits to join him at Oregon.
As of press time, January 12th, it
appears that Oregon may have picked
up their 16th verbal in DB/WR, 5-11,
185 lb. Keenan Jones from Narbonne
High School in the Los Angeles area.
Many of the recruits who visited last
weekend have reported to Rivals.com and
The Insiders.com that they were very
Name
Pos Stars RR Ht/Wt
Rank Hometown
John Bacon
Jackie Bates
Patrick Chung
Sharrod Davis
David Faaeteete
James Harris
Jacob Hucko
Ryan Keeling
Jeff Kendall
Aaron Klovas
Mark Lewis
Ryan Phipps
Geoffrey Schwartz
Max Unger
Jaison Williams
LB
ATH
DB
DB
DT
WR
OL
TE
OL
OL
OL
LB
OL
OL
WR
39
20
NR
NR
12
NR
15
26
8
7
NR
25
34
45
43
5.5
5.7
5.2
5.2
5.9
5.1
5.8
5.5
5.5
5.9
5.2
5.6
5.6
5.5
5.6
6-3/230
5-10/185
6-0/189
5-10/170
6-2/280
6-2/205
6-8/285
6-5/230
6-4/285
6-6/300
6-5/270
6-0/210
6-7/308
6-5/280
6-4/215
Lakewood, CO
Concord, CA
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Spring Valley, CA
Medford , OR
Roseville, CA
Cerritos, CA
Springfield, OR
Colorado Springs, CO
Graham, WA
Arroyo Grande, CA
Corona, CA
Pacific Palisades, CA
Kamuela, HI
Culver City, CA