For the first time in what seems like a very long time, Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti has announced a starter for Saturday’s game at California: sophomore Jeremiah Masoli.
It comes as no surprise, after Masoli won Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for his performance leading the Ducks to a 54-20 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils, that the coach would feel comfortable naming him as the starter going forward.
Monday at practice Bellotti said “yes” when asked if Masoli was “the guy.” But as he walked away, the coach said over his shoulder, “He’s the guy for right now, anyway.”
Tuesday at his weekly press conference, Bellotti answered the question with a simple “yes,” and nothing further.
Masoli has completed more than 55 percent of his passes on the season, and has thrown six touchdowns to two interceptions. His problem was with “touch” – the adjustment in flight trajectory a pass is given by a quarterback depending on the situation.
Bellotti said Masoli has had good touch on his passes all along. He just needed to learn how to use it.
“He’s a very good passer. It’s just a question of experience,” Bellotti said. “Part of that is just understanding this level of football, the speed and athleticism of the defensive players, the way balls need to be thrown to give receivers the best opportunity to catch them.”
Last week’s performance at Arizona State was a step in the right direction on that front, Bellotti said.
“He’s improving, in my opinion, dramatically,” he said. “Last game was a huge improvement from the game before.”
Bellotti described Masoli’s leadership as growing, but characterized the relationship between his rise up the depth chart and his position as a team leader as a sort of “chicken or the egg” type of argument: which came first?
“His leadership has been commensurate with his performance. It’s grown as his confidence in himself and the team’s confidence in him has grown,” Bellotti said. “You earn that, and a quarterback has to be a leader by virtue of what he does … but there are certain things you can do with the football in your hands, or even sometimes without the football in your hands, that can cement your role as a leader.”
That role seems cemented now, as Bellotti said Masoli has earned the respect of his teammates by both word and deed, but it didn’t happen overnight. Bellotti said Masoli came into fall camp quietly going about his business and even had to be told by coaches to speak up.
“I think he was just sort of feeling his way,” Bellotti said. “He was just trying to not say anything until he had earned that respect on the field or by virtue of his play. The more opportunities he got the more comfortable and confident he became.”
And now that he’s arrived? Bellotti certainly seems pleased.
“He’s faster than people think. He’s tougher and quicker than people think,” he said. “We’re just happy to have him here.”
[email protected]