As if he didn’t have enough problems already, Mike Bellotti now has to replace two of his best players on the Oregon football roster.
Tailback Onterrio Smith and tight end George Wrighster announced they will forgo their senior seasons and enter the NFL draft, leaving the Ducks after a dismal 7-6 season that ended with a Seattle Bowl loss to Wake Forest.
“It’s a little daunting right now,” Bellotti, the head football coach, said at a press conference Friday. “The toughest part is the lateness in terms of recruiting, not that I didn’t have some foreshadowing that there was interest (in them leaving for the NFL). But you can’t really recruit to a spot unless you have a spot.”
The rebuilding task could get even worse for Bellotti if junior wide receiver Samie Parker opts for the NFL. After a meeting Friday morning, Bellotti said Parker is “50/50” and could make a decision by today. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft is Wednesday, and there is a 72-hour period after that for players to withdraw their names.
The good news for the Ducks is that safety Keith Lewis, a second-team all-Pacific-10 Conference selection, is staying for his senior season.
Losing Smith and Wrighster, however, leaves gaping holes in the Oregon offense, which faltered late in the season. Much of those late-season struggles were because Smith missed three games with a knee injury, which forced him to have surgery on Nov. 18.
Despite the injury, Smith rushed for 1,141 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, becoming just the second Oregon running back to tally consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
Mel Kiper Jr., an NFL draft expert for ESPN.com, predicts that Smith will be a “solid” second round pick. Bellotti, though, said he had “reliable confirmation” that Smith would be a first round selection. Bellotti told Smith that he should leave if he was certain he was going to be a first round pick, but the coach also made a top-10 list of reasons why he should stay at school, including getting a degree and becoming Oregon’s all-time leading rusher.
“We had two very frank discussions (with Smith) about the pros and cons,” Bellotti said. “And I was surprised in all honesty that it came to that — not that I had any forgone conclusions. He led most of the discussion of why he should stay, and I was just very honest with him about what he has done and what he can do in the future.”
Wrighster had six touchdowns this season and was second on the team with 41 receptions, a record for an Oregon tight end.
“George, athletically, is as good as anyone,” Bellotti said. “There’s some things consistency-wise he needs to work on, but he had a very good year for us. I think he would’ve had an even better year next year, and that would have enhanced his draft potential, but I think he feels it’s time for him to move on.”
Kiper has Wrighster listed as a third-to-fifth round selection in the April draft.
“George and Onterrio feel that they’re draft status is secure enough that they can go out, and I hope that that’s the case,” Bellotti said. “I’m going to support them whatever their decision is.”
As unlikely as it is, Bellotti said he was holding out some hope that all of his juniors would return next season.
“Anything isn’t over until it’s over,” Bellotti said. “It’s just like recruiting, with whoever gets that last word or that last pitch. I would say right now that Onterrio and George are going out for sure, Keith is staying for sure, and Samie we will know by the end of the week.”