Oregon welcomes back several players in time for tomorrow’s game that should ease head coach Mike Bellotti’s concerns about depth.
Quarterback Justin Roper will return from a concussion against the Huskies. Some asked whether he should see even less time this week if the Ducks are comfortably ahead, a notion Bellotti disagreed with.
“We didn’t get enough time for Justin Roper last game,” Bellotti said. “He really played one series healthy.”
Roper had been held out of practices until Wednesday, after he passed a physical test on a stationary bike, followed by a mental acuity test. All players are required to take the test before the season begins in order to serve as a baseline marker of comprehension should a player suffer a concussion during the season.
But on Monday and Tuesday, Roper was on the sidelines in short and a T-shirt, signaling in play signs, much like injured quarterback Nate Costa had been the week before after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Without the services of Costa for the year, Bellotti wants to see all three quarterbacks – Roper, Jeremiah Masoli and Chris Harper – see time again this week and improve.
“Hopefully we get the opportunity to play all three because they all need the work,” Bellotti said. “They were all second-, third- and fourth-string quarterbacks 14 days ago.”
On the offensive line, left tackle Fenuki Tupou is once again eligible after self-reporting improper contact with an agent. That will shift all-conference center Max Unger back to center from left tackle, the positions both started at all of last season. Although not on the Ducks’ two-deep roster this week, wide receiver Drew Davis practiced this week after a tonsillectomy two weeks ago. A sophomore from Denver, Colo., Davis was a SuperPrep all-American in high school as a wide receiver. Davis saw emergency action last year, catching three passes in 12 games, including a touchdown.
Although he said he “still has concerns about our depth,” Bellotti said he is happy with the first units and wants to see how players three and four spots down on the depth chart will play if given the chance. Saturday’s game against lowly Utah State could be just such an opportunity.
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