Oregon’s avalanche of injuries is leaving its mark on the punt returner position.
Andiel Brown, who manned the position the last two games, is out at least the next two weeks with a broken hand he suffered against Portland State. Brown returned six punts for 104 yards or a 17.3 yard average.
The candidates to replace him are short and to the point with Jeremiah Johnson, Walter Thurmond III and Patrick Chung. Inexperience is a factor as Chung or Thurmond haven’t returned punts since high school. Thurmond is a possibility, but unlikely after he sat out the Portland State game with a bruised thigh, an injury that occurred when he was practicing punt returns last week.
Coach Mike Bellotti had mentioned Derrick Jones, though a severe ankle injury removes his name from the competition.
Johnson, who previously held the position before a few key mistakes cost him the job, has returned 13 punts for 127 yards for a 9.8 average per return.
Brown enjoyed a breakout performance against Portland State with 23 yards on seven carries and Bellotti said he “laid claim to the job” of punt returning before his injury. In the win against the Vikings, Brown also reached the end zone for the first time in his Oregon career on a 7-yard run with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter.
Help wanted
With the barrage of injuries this season for the Ducks and a 12-game schedule, Bellotti said the NCAA should consider increasing the number of scholarships. Division-I programs are currently allowed 85. This season the Ducks have had 17 injuries that have caused players to miss at least one game.
“It’s a fact of life,” Bellotti said. “The athletes are bigger, stronger, faster. The collisions are more violent and you get more broken bones. I think something’s got to give. I think we need more scholarships. We’re playing 12 games, the NCAA better smarten up and give us 90 scholarships or more simply because we’re running out of bodies, running out of healthy eligible people.”
The Ducks returned defensive tackles Ra’Shon Harris and Jeremy Gibbs last Saturday and strong safety Jerome Boyd began practicing again this week after suffering a knee injury. Linebacker Brent Haberly, who broke his arm against Oklahoma, began participating in drills this week and could return to practice in the coming weeks.
Taking charge
Linebacker Blair Phillips not only leads Oregon in tackles with 79, but is second in the Pacific-10 Conference with 9.9 tackles per game and just short of the leader, Stanford’s Michael Okwo, who averages 11 tackles per game. Phillips’ total is 20 more than the next closest Oregon defender, safety J.D. Nelson.
Phillips and teammate Matt Toeaina have received invitations to play in this year’s Hula Bowl in Hawaii on Jan. 14, 2007. The bowl welcomes the best college seniors and gives them an opportunity to showcase their abilities for NFL scouts before the NFL draft.
Making up ground
Wide receiver Jaison Williams worked himself into the running for the Biletnikoff award, given to the nation’s top receiver. Originally left off the preseason watch list, Williams has five 100-yard receiving games and one more will give him the school record. Williams made eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown Saturday against the Vikings, which tied him with Pat Johnson (1997) and Damon Griffin (1998) for most 100-yard receiving games in school history with five.
On the season, he has 53 receptions for 821 yards and six touchdowns.
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