Oregon tailback Onterrio Smith, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2001, was selected a preseason first-team All-American by The Sporting News.
Smith’s selection is part of the magazine’s 2002 College Football Yearbook issue. The Sporting News ranked Oregon No. 20 in the nation — fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference — in its annual preseason poll.
Washington State was ranked sixth in the country, Washington was 12th and USC was 18th.
Smith was one of two Pac-10 players to be included on the magazine’s first-team list, joining Oregon State defensive back Dennis Weathersby.
The selection is Smith’s second in the last month. He was flown to Phoenix in May to take part in a photo shoot for Playboy magazine’s All-America team.
The Oregon junior, a backup for Maurice Morris last year, led the team with 1,058 yards while scoring seven rushing touchdowns in 2001. He also scored once on a reception and returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Washington State.

Ticket sales

continue to soar
Football season ticket sales for the 2002 Oregon season continue at an unprecedented pace, leaving the availability of single-game tickets for some Pac-10 games in question, said Dave Heeke, associate athletics director for external operations.
The Ducks have sold 39,100 season tickets for the upcoming year, surpassing the school’s previous season-ticket record of 30,365 from a year ago.
Reserved seats on a season ticket basis are still available for the cost of $253 by calling the University ticket office at 346-4461 or 1-800-WEBFOOT.

— from staff and wire reports