Their collegiate careers finished, five former Oregon players have started down the road to the 2009 NFL Draft in mid-April by preparing for select postseason all-star games.
Offensive lineman Fenuki Tupou, and defensive linemen Nick Reed and Ra’Shon ‘Sonny’ Harris are currently in Houston, Texas, practicing in front of scouts and NFL personnel officials before Saturday’s East-West Shrine Game.
The 84th annual game will be televised Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.
Center Max Unger and running back Jeremiah Johnson can wait one more week before they report to Mobile, Ala., a week before 60th annual Senior Bowl, shown on the NFL Network on Jan. 24.
The games are one of the first chances for the players to be officially contacted by a large number of NFL teams in one place, and are seen as one of the major chances for players to increase their draft status.
After the game, players typically return to their preferred area of training and host individual workout days before the NFL Scouting Combine, which lasts from Feb. 18-24 in Indianapolis, Ind.
The post-Shrine schedule for Harris, who had 47 total tackles and nine tackles for loss this season, includes returning to Eugene to finish two classes and with them, his degree in family and human services. He will train at the Casanova Center with Oregon’s head strength and conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe, who said he never charges for NFL training.
Between school, training and the NFL on his mind, Harris hasn’t allowed himself to take a break since beating Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30.
“Not really, not too much,” he said. “I think it’s kind of good because I didn’t get much of a break because I can still be in good football shape.”
Harris, from California’s Bay Area, was honored to be a part of the game after growing up watching it being played in either San Francisco or Palo Alto, Calif. The game has only been played outside of the Bay Area five times, including this year’s edition.
Despite its possible influence on his NFL status, he arrived last Saturday not feeling the pressure.
“This is an experience in your life you got to have fun with,” he said. “The scouts are going to be there but I love to play the game. I’m not taking the pressure on me.”
Harris has not signed with an agent yet, saying he’s “narrowed them down” but is waiting to make a decision.
The same can’t be said for Unger, who said he chose his agent after the Ducks’ Civil War victory in November and signed immediately after the Holiday Bowl. Johnson has also signed with an agent, and said he is training in Nashville, Tenn. Attempts to reach him through his agent were not successful.
Unger is currently training in Carson, Calif., at the Athletes’ Performance facility. It is the same facility that former Oregon three-sport athlete Jordan Kent trained at before the 2007 NFL Draft. Training at the complex was arranged through Unger’s agent, he said, and it’s nothing short of a full-time job, training about eight hours a day. USC defensive tackle Fili Moala, a 2008 first-team player in the Pacific-10 Conference, is also training with him, Unger said.
He knows from former Oregon offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, a Shrine Game participant last year, the business of football during the next four crucial months.
“I sent him text messages daily,” Unger said. “He said the (NFL) combine is just like so draining.
“It’s kind of easy now because it can be easy to be overwhelmed but I’m really not thinking ahead. I’m in a pretty good program. Very, very, very intense.”
The Oregon trio at the Shrine Game will compete with and against several nationally and locally recognizable players, including Oregon State’s Al Afalava, Brandon Hughes and Sammie Stroughter; Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel; Boise State running back Ian Johnson and Penn State wide receiver Deon Butler. Longtime college and NFL head coach Gene Stallings and former San Diego Chargers coach Bobby Ross will coach the West and East teams.
Notable Senior Bowl participants will include Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson, Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and three USC linebackers, Clay Matthews, Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing. Coaching staffs from the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals will coach the South and North squads, respectively.
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Oregon’s All-Stars
Daily Emerald
January 11, 2009
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