Allan Amundson likes NeXturf.
Allan Amundson ran a blistering 40 time of 4.33 seconds on NeXturf.
Any questions?
Many people, including Oregon players and coaches, have been wondering whether their new turf will provide the same home-field advantage as the old, thin AstroTurf that lay on Autzen Stadium’s floor until last year.
The verdict?
“It’s going to continue to give us a home-field advantage,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. “This turf is just the next generation of what we had.”
“It’s a little faster than the old turf,” linebacker Kevin Mitchell said. “But it’s going to affect other teams as well.”
Mitchell’s next four words summed it up perfectly.
“It’s still Autzen Stadium.”
While the Ducks will have only a month to prepare on the turf before their home opener against Wisconsin Sept. 1, other teams won’t be able to prepare for it at all. Oregon is the first college to lay down the revolutionary playing surface.
Some Ducks, such as running backs Amundson and Maurice Morris, will surely benefit from the faster turf. Both backs have outside-running ability, and the fast surface will help them around the corners.
The Ducks hope to keep Morris fresh this season, as the running back tailed off toward the end of the season.
“We ran him down a bit last year,” Bellotti said. “Our hope is to get Maurice some more rest this year.”
Morris will get help from Amundson and transfer tailback Onterrio Smith, who came to the Ducks from Tennessee this offseason. Smith had 189 yards on 31 carries as a freshman at Tennessee, before violations of team policy forced him to leave the Volunteers.
This year, Smith has already found trouble, as he was reportedly arrested for drunk driving last weekend.
The trio of running backs aren’t the only ones with speed on the Ducks’ offensive side of the ball. Returning wide receivers Keenan Howry and Samie Parker are two of Oregon’s fastest players. Howry caught 52 balls for 780 yards last year, while Parker averaged 18.3 yards per catch in his limited appearances behind Marshaun Tucker last season.
“Keenan isn’t the biggest or the fastest guy out there, but it’s almost impossible to stop him,” Bellotti said.
Oregon added even more speed at the wide receiver position in the form of track and field star Micah Harris. The speedster ran in the 100-meter dash for the Ducks at the NCAA Championships in June.
Cornerback Rashad Bauman, who Bellotti called “possibly the best athlete ever to play at Oregon,” could feast on opposing wide receivers who don’t know how to handle the NeXturf.
There remains little doubt — to the Oregon players, at least — that the new turf will provide the same old advantage. Whether that means the Ducks will extend their home winning streak to 25 games, Oregon won’t know for another four months.