UP2U Blog

UO’s Thomas Prepares For First Start

kpaul — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:49:36 +0000

Tomorrow afternoon University of Oregon red-shirt sophomore Darron Thomas will step into his new role as the full time starting quarterback. No one really knows what to expect from Thomas coming into his first start but the one thing that everyone can agree on is that he has loads of potential. The main thing that has been talked about is the fact that Darron Thomas is so much better than he was two years ago when he was a true freshman and came into the game against Boise State. In that game Thomas almost led the Ducks back to an improbable victory and left Duck fans dreaming of the future with him. Well now Darron Thomas’ time has come and he is ready to prove why Chip Kelly picked him as the starter. To read a great article about Thomas preparing for New Mexico from the Oregonian check out this link:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindducksbeat/2010/09/oregons_darron_thomas_isnt_the.html

Jacquizz Rodgers: Quest for the Rose Bowl

kpaul — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:46:49 +0000

Today we have a great article written by Paul Buker of the Oregonian on Jacquizz Rodgers. A lot has been made about Rodgers being a potential Heisman Trophy candidate coming into the season after gaining 2693 yards and scoring 32 touchdowns in his first two years at OSU. However, this article brings a different light to Rodgers. With all of the hype surrounding him it would be easy to get caught up in it and become complacent in a search for college football’s most prestigious individual award. Quizz isn’t like that though, he would rather do something for Oregon State that has not been done since 1965, get to the Rose Bowl. The past two years the Beavers have been one game away from the Rose Bowl only to have it taken from their hands by their nemesis the Oregon Ducks both years. This year Jacquizz Rodgers is determined to do everything that he can to break that cycle. To read the article about Jacquizz Rodgers’ quest for the Rose Bowl and Pac-10 championship check out this link:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/09/college_football_preview_orego.html

Paul Wulff’s Take on the Cougars

kpaul — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:06:20 +0000

Hey Cougars’ fans today we have a link from the Cougar Football Blog. In this article coach Paul Wulff talks about his expectations for the upcoming season and how he feels about the depth and different positions on his team. Coach Wulff seems to really be enjoying sophomore quarterback Jeff Tuel as he said, “Jeff is bigger and stronger this year, now after a full year in the program, and we really like what he can do for us.” Wulff is also very happy with the progress of running back James Montgomery (whose story we posted a while back about almost having to have his leg amputated last season) and it seems like Montgomery is going to have a productive year. To read coach Wulff’s complete take on the upcoming season check out this link:

http://wsufootballblog.com/2010-articles/september/paul-wulff-radio-show-recap-week-1-of-2010.html

Jake Locker: Hometown Hero

kpaul — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:56:00 +0000

Husky Fans: Today we have a great article on Jake Locker from the Seattle Times. With all of the hype surrounding Jake Locker nowadays it may be easy to forget where he came from. Locker, the Senior quarterback for the Huskies, is from Ferndale, WA. Ferndale is a small town of about 11,300 people and it can be hard to fathom that a kid from such a small town now has the chance to win a Heisman Trophy and be selected 1st overall in the NFL Draft. What’s even harder to fathom is that Locker decided to stick by the team that he grew up loving even if they weren’t the best of times. It’s no secret that the Huskies have been on a downturn and struggling in recent years but for Locker that didn’t matter. He was determined to lead his local Washington Huskies and that is something that can definitely be respected. It would be easy to pick any school he wanted to go to and just win football games but Locker has unquestionable loyalty. Whether he wins the Heisman Trophy or not Jake Locker will always be a Ferndale favorite and a Washington Husky favorite forever. To read the whole article from the Seattle Times check out this link:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskies/2012723028_locker29.html

Darron Thomas Named UO Starting QB

kpaul — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:29:04 +0000

As you may have heard in the past couple of days, red-shirt sophomore Darron Thomas will be the starting quarterback for the Oregon Ducks this upcoming season. The quarterback competition between Nate Costa and Darron Thomas was the most talked about headline of the Ducks fall camp this year and now that the competition is settled the team is looking to move forward. Most seem to think that both quarterbacks will be used at certain points in the season. Thomas is looked at as the quarterback who has much more potential to progress into a very special player. This was put on display two seasons ago when Thomas was a true freshman and came into the game against Boise State and almost led the Ducks to an improbable comeback. To read a couple of articles about coach Kelly’s decision on the new QB check out these links:

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2010/08/canzano_kelly_rediscovers_how.html

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/25230823-35/thomas-quarterback-oregon-saturday-fans.csp

LaMichael James vs. Jacquizz Rodgers

kpaul — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:47:08 +0000

Over the past year or so there seems to have been an obsession on Pac-10 message boards online and the topic of conversation usually seems to be a simple question: who is better, LaMichael James or Jacquizz Rodgers? It is extremely difficult to try and put a concrete answer on that question because the styles of the two running backs differs so much and as well as the offenses. Jacquizz Rodgers can run straight ahead and break tackles and slash his way through the defense. While LaMichael James has very underrated strength and the ability to break tackles as well he is more suited to get outside the defense and beat them with pure speed. Both running backs have been extremely successful in college so far and both are being talked about as pre-season Heisman trophy possibilities. To make it even more interesting both guys are from Texas, and as ESPN’s Ted Miller will tell you, they are pretty good friends. Both James and Rodgers seem to have a ton of respect for each other despite playing on opposite sides of the bitter rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State. To read the article about LaMichael James and Jacquizz Rodgers friendship check out this link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview10/news/story?id=5483681

OSU DT Stephen Paea

kpaul — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:05:32 +0000

Hey Beaver fans, today we have a great article out of the Gazette Times about OSU’s star defensive linemen Stephen Paea. Paea, as many of you may know, is regarded as one of the top defensive lineman in the nation and has already been projected as a top 10 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Last year, agents tried to convince Paea to skip his senior year of college because he could make millions in the NFL right away. In a year where there has been so much scrutiny about agents trying to take advantage of college athletes Paea has demonstrated the right way to go about the issue. During the off-season agents continually made promises of millions of dollars to Paea’s parents, who like many parents would be thrilled and would want their child to take that money. However, Paea says he knew from the very beginning that he wanted to stay at Oregon State for his senior year and that is just what he did. It is refreshing to see a top notch college athlete who could have easily been a millionaire early take the time to finish out his duty for his school and also attain a degree. To read the full article from the Gazette Times on Stephen Paea’s decision check out this link:

http://gazettetimes.com/sports/beavers-sports/article_b827deaa-aa3d-11df-930c-001cc4c002e0.html

UW Commit Austin Seferian-Jenkins

kpaul — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:26:03 +0000

Hey Husky fans, as you may have heard by now UW got what is probably their biggest recruit since Jake Locker. Austin Seferian-Jenkins from Gig Harbor, Washington is rated as the best tight end in the nation and recently decided to stay close to home and play at UW instead of going and playing at the prestigious University of Texas. This could not come at a better time for Husky fans since previously highly touted tight end Kavario Middleton was kicked off of the team for a violation of team rules. This also marks a turning point for the Huskies as well. After showing much improvement last year in Steve Sarkisian’s first year as coach the Huskies will undoubtedly be better this year and are seemingly on their way back up in the Pac-10 pecking order. This type of recruiting is exactly what the Huskies expected when they lured Sarkisian away from Pete Carroll and USC just two seasons ago and I would have to think this won’t be the last big recruit the Huskies get for their 2011 class. To read the full article on Austin Seferian-Jenkins decision check out this article:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/08/17/1304046/huskies-reel-in-big-catch.html

WSU Cougar Update

kpaul — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:25:23 +0000

Cougar fans, we have an update for you out of the Spokesman-Review for today. It looks like the Cougs have just finished up two-a-day practices and there is some unfortunate injury news to report. Defensive lineman Jordan Pu’u Robinson has torn his ACL and will now be out for the season after he has surgery to repair it. That is a hit to this defense that is trying to improve on last year’s performance as they will now be a bit thinner at the defensive line position. There is good news coming from the Cougars camp as well however, it seems as if the defensive secondary will be much improved this year. They have much more depth and talent at the defensive back positions and they should be able to challenge all of the great quarterbacks in the Pac-10 a lot more this year. To read the full update on the Cougars camp so far check out this link:

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sportslink/2010/aug/15/sunday-finally-done-wsu/

UO/OSU Title Chances

kpaul — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:36:28 +0000

Hey Duck and Beaver fans, today we have a very interesting article from ESPN.com. In this article ESPN put together their list of the Top 20 teams with a realistic chance of playing for the National Championship, based on strength of schedule, returning starters, etc. They make a point to remind you that this is not their order of the 20 best teams in the country but rather the 20 teams with the best chance to play for the national championship. For example, the #1 team on the list of teams with the best chance of reaching the title game is Iowa because they have a very favorable schedule and are returning 14 starters. The #2 team on the list is none other than the Oregon Ducks. The Oregon State Beavers fell in at #19 on the list. It is great to see both Oregon schools getting a lot of attention from the national media. To read the whole article and see all 20 teams check out this link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview10/news/story?id=5467170