After a brief summer vacation, 10 @ 10 is back! There is a lot to talk about with the high school and college football seasons starting this week. Let’s dive into it.
1. I have a hunch Ryan Katz, not Darron Thomas, will be the quarterback the state is talking about the most this season.
Oregon State named Katz the starter, by default due to off the field issues with other quarterbacks, back in the spring. The summer practices, therefore, have been low-key from a media perspective and Katz has been able to focus on building chemistry with his offense. Moreover, Katz and preparing for a changeling season opener and career debut as a starting quarterback.
From all accounts, Katz has been good, sometimes great, in practice. And that’s coming from Mike Riley, an honest coach that knows a little something about developing NFL quarterbacks
If Katz can pilot the Beavers to a win against TCU and/or Boise State (on the road, no less), any talk about Katz being the surprise QB in a quarterback-strong Pac-10 is certainly warranted.
2. Keep an eye on the health of spring standout DE Taylor Henry for Oregon State. The sophomore sprained his right ankle in practice last week and was in a protective walking boot over the weekend.
Henry was credited with four sacks in the spring game and has been one of the defensive standouts in the summer practices. With TCU’s speed on offense, a healthy Henry is a must-have come Saturday. Without him, the Beavers could be in serious trouble on the defensive side of the ball.
3. The biggest question mark after the Beavers camp is: how well will the linebackers fair this season? That was the biggest question mark coming into camp and it looks like it will remain the question mark throughout the season.
The group as a whole is inexperienced or coming off a major injury (see Pankey, Keith; Achilles injury).
Pankey has looked great in practices, according to coaches but Rueben Robinson, a sophomore, and Dwight Roberson, a senior, are still relatively unproven.
Having the luxury of a great defensive line, the linebackers don’t have a world of pressure on them, luckily.
4. The biggest question mark after the Ducks camp is…um, well, I’m not exactly sure. Perhaps the biggest question mark is how to get the best 11 players on the field at the same time?
The Ducks have great depth on both sides of the ball. More importantly, the Ducks have great experience on both sides of the ball. Clearly the quarterback position remains the biggest question. How will Darron Thomas handle the pressure? How can he handle the spotlight?
The truest test comes on Sept. 11 when the Ducks travel to Knoxville to play in front of 100,000 delusional fans. Saturdays in the SEC are unlike any other place in America. Boys become men in SEC country.
We will learn a lot about Thomas that game. New Mexico is a perfect starting game for the redshirt sophomore. LaMichael James will be watching not playing due to his one-game suspension. No worries. Kenjon Barner is ready. And he may make things very interesting come Sept. 11 if he has a monster game. There is no reason to think he won’t.
5. How do the Ducks utilize Daryle Hawkins this season? The quarterback turned wide receiver/running back has emerged as one of the most intriguing options on offense. He showed he can step into the receiver’s role in the scrimmage. The coaching staff wanted to see how he handled the offense from the wide out spot. By all accounts, Hawkins passed with flying colors.
With James out for New Mexico and Remene Alston, Jr. battling an injury, Hawkins could line up as a running back.
Can anyone say “Wildcat”?
6. The Pac-10 will be well represented on opening weekend. Four teams are playing on national televised games on ESPN. USC kicks off the season on Thursday night at Hawaii. Arizona plays on Friday night at Toledo. UCLA travels to Kansas State and Oregon State plays in the best game of the weekend at Cowboys Stadium at TCU at 4:45 p.m.
Washington State plays Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. Washington plays at BYU at 4 p.m. on CBS Sports. Portland State plays at Arizona State at 7 p.m. on FSN. Cal, Stanford and Oregon all play on locally televised game.
7. Brian Prawitz and I spent Saturday night at Finlay Field to see the Roseburg Indians take to the turf in the annual Orange & Black scrimmage. It was my first team seeing RHS in action, well, ever.
- My first initial thought was: boy, this kids are hitting hard for a team scrimmage. That was a theme throughout the night. The very first play of the game was welcomed by the crunching sounds of shoulder pads.
- Free safety Dylan Harvey was impressive. He’s a big defensive back that is quick to the ball. Offensively, he’s a big target and a capable downfield blocker.
- After Micah Audiss showed his stuff with the first team offense and looked good in the process. The impressive play didn’t end with the first team offense. Hayden Lent, a sophomore backup, was the most efficient quarterback on the night. He zipped a handful of nice passes down field and was quick with the trigger for several big gains.
- The right side of the offensive line is huge for a high school team.
- The Fors twins – Dylan and Devan – are big-time hitters.
8. Every coach I spoke to in the county said the same thing: Far West football will be a much tighter race this season. After seeing all three Douglas County teams in the league up close and personal, I agree. Douglas is a strong group and clearly a team that spent some time in the weight room. Sutherlin has size, too, on the line and experience at QB and RB. South Umpqua’s Josh Kennedy is a natural leader with skill positions back.
Kenny Sherman and I will start the year at South Umpqua on Friday night as Newport comes to town. We’ll have the call on 101.1 FM for the Bi-Mart Game of the Week.
9. For the second straight year, the top high school basketball player in Oregon is taking his game to Kentucky. Kyle Wiltjer announced he will suit up for John Calipari and the Wildcats next year after finishing high school at Jesuit.
Wiltjer follows Terrence Jones, a former Portland Jefferson star, to Lexington. Jones is a freshman at the SEC school. Neither Oregon or Oregon State were in his final seven options.
Sound familiar?
The Ducks and Beavers continue to strike out on talent. Oregon State was the last program to nab the state’s top player. Josh Tarver, also of Jesuit, signed with the Beavers in 2005, a very thin on talent year. Oregon signed Maarty Leunen in 2004 out of Redmond High School.
Since then, the well has been dry for the in-state schools.
Don’t expect that to change either. Understand this: Dana Altman and his staff will fish for the big catch. They will certainly land one or two nationally regarded recruits. Oregon is a big sell on the recruiting front nationwide. But the local kids aren’t talking about the Ducks. Not yet. Matthew Knight Arena will certainly help. Trust me, that place will wow you.
In fact, a major AAU tournament is in the works for the late spring, early summer in 2011. The field will comprise the top teams in the Northwest and the West Coast. Chalk that one up as a coup.
Face time could help buck the trends.
Oregon State won’t win the locals. That’s just the facts. Craig Robinson and his staff are recruiting Chicago, Baltimore, New York, New England prep schools, even into the Deep South and talent heavy cities like Atlanta.
But the locals are looking past Corvallis for men’s hoops.
That’s okay if you land the big fish. Right now, neither program is doing that.
10. Here are 10 more things that have bounced around my brain this past week:
a. The
best helmet in college football belongs to the Oregon Ducks.
b. Here are the
Ducks uniforms this season. (And I’m sure there are some secrets hidden in the equipment room or in a Nike safe somewhere.)
c. The best painted toenails in Oregon high school football belong to Marq Randall.
d. Cliff Kirkpatrick, our friend with the Gazette Times in Corvallis, breaks down the
depth charts for the Beavers.
OFFENSE |
DEFENSE
e. Here are the
Vegas odds for this weekend’s NCAA games. Don’t act like you don’t watch the numbers.
f.
Freshmen! Freshmen! Who doesn’t love a good freshman player? Andy Staples
breaks down 10 freshmen to watch. Two are from the Pac-10 and Washington will see one of the top young QBs this weekend in the season opener.
g. BOLD Prediction: Jordan Shipley will have more receptions than Terrell Owens this season for the Cincinnati Bengals.
h. BOLD Prediction: The Seahawks will be on the 10-win bubble this season. Look at that schedule before you disagree.
i. BOLD Prediction: Oregon State will beat TCU. The 11-point spread in favor of TCU is surprising.
j. Best music I’ve purchased this month:
