The Oregon Ducks football team went through a roller coaster season in '07, elevating as high as No. 2 in the national rankings before a bevy of injuries (the backbreaker being Dennis Dixon’s ACL tear) contributed to three straight losses.
That stretch included a heart breaking overtime loss to arch-rival Oregon State, the first time the Beavers won in Eugene since 1993.
Yet, after some rest and regrouping the Ducks showed their prowess when a surprisingly effective freshman QB, Justin Roper and healthy star running back Jonathon Stewart led the way to a 56-21 shellacking of the favored South Florida Bulls in the Sun Bowl.
Mike Bellotti and his staff went on to land a solid recruiting class (which would rise meteorically in the rankings if Terrelle Pryor can somehow be coaxed away from Big Ten country), which begs the question, what can college football expect from the Ducks in 2008?
There are gaping holes to fill on offense, but the cupboard is not bare talent wise, though it is lacking experience in some areas.
Dixon’s graduation with fellow senior Brady Leaf leaves the unsettling dilemma of naming a new starting quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Nate Costa was actually ahead of Roper on the depth chart before tearing his ACL (sound familiar?) in practice last season, and the two will likely compete throughout the off-season for the job.
Two four-star recruits, however, muddy the picture. Darron Thomas has a similar look and playing style to Dixon, who despite his early struggles would almost undoubtedly have been a Heisman Trophy finalist had he avoided injury last season.
Chris Harper is listed as an athlete, but was brought in to compete for time in the backfield and has said he firmly intends to play quarterback. Roper is the only known commodity as a starter, but betting men are saying that Costa will most likely be making the reads against Washington to open the season.
If Thomas and Harper both impress in camp, it is possible that the '07 Sun Bowl star could find himself as far down as fourth on Oregon’s depth chart. Should Pryor decide to don the green and yellow, the convoluted situation will become completely unpredictable.
Recruiting experts do not believe the Ducks will have to face this dilemma though.
Jonathan Stewart’s early departure for the NFL leaves a gaping void at tailback, but “backup” Jeremiah Johnson has the quickness, speed, and cutting ability (not to mention a crowd pleasing stiff arm) to be a 1,000 rusher himself, assuming he gets his grades in order.
11 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Anonymous about 1 year ago
Dude, Stewart was the MVP at the Sun Bowl, not Roper. What planet are you on?
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Patrick Chung declared for the NFL draft. He's gone. Not returning. Adios. Sionara.
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Matt Kilby about 1 year ago
check that fact bud ;-)
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Good article, as a Pflugrad Pfan I'd like to point out that he has alot more than meaningful experience. Unlike Mr. Williams (although I feel 50/50 is generous) Aaron catches the ball...while I know they don't keep stats on drops but did Aaron even drop a pass thrown to him last year? In a pinch he even caught a few punt returns.
All in all I have high hopes for the green & gold, the three road trips to Cal, USC & Reser will be tough tests but other wise our lighter than normal schedule in 2008 should give us a good showing. I'm thinking probably 10-2 and a trip to the Rose Bowl or the Holiday Bowl.
Lisa, Clackamas, Oregon
Pflugrad Pfan!
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kurt valentine about 1 year ago
Chung did declare for the draft but backed out before the deadline and will be playing for Oregon next year. I think our only question mark for the season is at WR. And it doesnt look like we gained any in this draft class allthough Darrin Thomas stated that he likes playing WR more than QB so maybe thats a little help. Too bad we're not talking about how excited we are to be seeing Simi Fili and Myles Wade improve on their impressive freshman years, oh well.
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Tristan Holmes about 1 year ago
Thanks for the comments everyone. Speaking of Fili and Wade, what happened to them? I couldn't even find Wade's name on the latest roster. Were they booted from the team and I missed hearing about it?
Also, thank you to Anonymous for pointing out my error with the Sun Bowl MVP, I just checked and your absolutely right it was Stewart, which makes perfect sense considering he shattered the Sun Bowl record for rushing yards.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
You did a nice job on this article. Fili and Wade didn't qualify and are at JCs. Wade looks like he will be a Duck for sure in 2009. Ducks do have a five star JC DT coming in this year, Justin Thompson, who may help. I would also say that Byrd and Thurmond are better than solid--I think they are one of the best corner tandems in the country. I am with Lisa--9-3 or 10-2 would be my guess.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Fili and Wade never qualified academically to get into oregon. they are both now playing in junior colleges and wade has already committed to the 2009 class so you will see him suit up as a junior in 2009.
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Mike Money about 1 year ago
Very thorough breakdown Tristan. Helps people like me who live on the other side of the country, in SEC territory, stay informed. No Pac 10 love around here.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Fili and Wade both didn't qualify academically, because the UO isn't ASU, and we actually have academic standards.
Fili went to a JC somewhere, and I think Wade went to one in Arizona. The last I heard of Wade, he was Oregon's first commit for the 2009 class. I haven't heard anything on Fili. I think Wade could still come in and be a really good player.
Go Ducks!
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Pac10Rivalry.com about 1 year ago
Nice write-up! You should post them on Civil War Sports. :-)
www.CivilWarSports.com
It's a relatively new site, but want to start making a push for members so it can grow.
In my opinion the void at RB won't be as big as we might think. LaGarrette Blount is a stud and will easily be the #2—if not the #1 RB.
Crenshaw ran well last season. I really like this kid. Him and Blount will be a nice 1,2 punch.
Reports are that J-Will has been catching everything thrown to him during Spring drills.
QB, obviously, will definitely be the biggest question for the team. With that said, I'm hopeful it will work itself out alright.
The D will be stout! I don't see many worries there.
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