At this time last year, Johnny DuRocher was in a whole different world.
He was out on the football field, practicing during the Ducks’ spring workouts as a freshman quarterback. The catch: He was supposed to be in high school at the time.
The Graham, Wash. native was an early entry in Oregon’s workouts, foregoing the spring semester of his senior year at Bethel High School.
“I just remember I was kind of swimming,” DuRocher said Thursday. “I had a lot of stuff going on, I wasn’t sure what was going on, just in terms of school and football.”
Now a year older and wiser, DuRocher, a redshirt freshman entering the 2004 season, is set to be the team’s backup — at least he’s got the inside track — as the Ducks play their first scrimmage of spring workouts today.
“I’m looking forward to the scrimmage a lot more,” he said. “Get out there, have some fun, play some football. Practice is one thing; practice is fun. But it’s one thing to go against guys and have it count.”
Not that the workout today will necessarily count officially when the fall rolls around. Statistics will be kept, but the only thing that will stand out is the players themselves.
Oregon is a relatively young team, which gives some of the younger members a chance to enjoy playing time come September.
The scrimmage is the first chance for them to make an impression on head coach Mike Bellotti and his staff.
“It’s real important, especially for the young guys, because it’s the closest thing to a game that you’ll get,” sophomore Dante Rosario said. “Of course, you’re playing against guys you know, but it’s live reps.”
Rosario and DuRocher are not typical youngsters. The former is listed as the top fullback on Oregon’s depth chart while the latter is listed as the team’s backup quarterback.
A more typical player is freshman wide receiver Garren Strong. The
Cupertino, Calif. native is entering the scrimmage hoping to turn some heads.
With Samie Parker and his 61 receptions in 2003 having departed because of eligibility and junior Keith Allen not fully recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament sustained in August, Strong is listed as the No. 1 receiver, opposite Demetrius Williams.
“I’m ready to play,” Strong said. “I’m ready to show everyone.”
Bellotti said he expects the scrimmage to last approximately 50 plays, give or take 10, and each player should expect to get in for no more than 10 snaps. The Ducks will go through kicking situations as well, giving the scrimmage a more thorough feel.
Better yet, it will be the first full-contact workout of the spring. The Ducks came out in helmets Saturday and Monday, and shoulder pads Tuesday and Thursday.
“It’s exciting,” DuRocher said of full pads. “Especially for the quarterbacks, because everybody doesn’t think we’re tough guys or whatever, so we like to get out there and have guys hitting us and flying around.”
Junior Terrence Whitehead and sophomore Haloti Ngata are two high-profile players who will not participate in the scrimmage, and Bellotti said that players who have yet to be cleared for contact will not be expected to play. Those players will probably include senior linebacker Marcus Miller, who strained a knee earlier in the week and according to Bellotti is “a couple days away (from participating).”
The result is a bigger spotlight for the team’s younger players this afternoon.
“I think the most important thing is when they get a chance is they show something, the wow factor we talk about,” Bellotti said. “They may not always know what to do, but if they make a mistake, make sure they make it full speed.
“What we want to see is guys make plays. And guys go out and play fast. The faster a young man can integrate into the system and make himself invaluable in a sense, we’ll say, ‘Wow, we’ve got to have that guy on this team or that team.’”