When defensive end Jason Nikolao was felled by a knee injury in Arizona State’s first drive last Saturday, many observers may not have recognized the big Duck who took his place on the line.
For those who may have forgotten, his name is Zack Freiter. And yes, he will be starting in Nikolao’s place Saturday when the “D” lines up against Washington State’s airborne offense.
“I know the defense really well; I played hard; I practiced hard; I think I can get in there and get it done,” Freiter said after practice Tuesday. “Hopefully I can just come out here and do my best, work as hard as I can during the week, [and] go out there and compete and have fun.”
This season, Freiter has come off the sideline in five games to contribute 13 tackles, six of which were unassisted. He forced a fumble against Arizona and has recorded two sacks for a loss of 15 yards.
“I expect him to continue the level of play that he’s been at this season. He’s a strong, physical presence in there,” defensive line coach Steve Greatwood said. “The biggest thing that’s held him back from playing more is the fact that he missed all of training camp, so I’ve been trying to bring him along slowly. Well, that issue has been forced now, so he’s got to step up and play a major role and a major amount of snaps.”
The 6-foot-3, 275-pound junior came to Oregon as a highly touted recruit from the Portland suburb of Milwaukie. In his junior and senior years at Milwaukie High School, Freiter logged more than 200 tackles, forced 10 fumbles and had six pass deflections. Superprep magazine labeled him the ninth-best prospect in the Northwest.
Freiter was supposed to play as a true freshman in 1997 — until he was sidelined with a preseason knee injury.
He recovered after the end of the season, but another knee injury during spring drills kept him out of the next season’s first seven games. Injuries continued to plague Freiter last season, but he managed to appear in nine games, including a starting nod in the Sun Bowl last December.
Now that he’s healthy, the junior said he’s ready to fill the gap left by Nikolao.
“I feel like I’m in good shape, like I can go out there and play a whole game and be fine and healthy the next day,” Freiter said. “I’m 100 percent.”
“That’s been his Achilles heel, so to speak … he’s never finished a whole season healthy,” Greatwood said. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to finish this one healthy and get a full head of steam going into the next one.”
 

Oregon: The props continue
Two Ducks and head coach Mike Bellotti are receiving national accolades for their contributions to Oregon’s best season since 1964.
Quarterback Joey Harrington, who was named Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Week for leading the Ducks past Arizona State in double overtime Saturday, is one of 15 finalists for national offensive player-of-the-year honors by the Football News.
On a day when the defense couldn’t buy a tackle, Harrington tied the Oregon record with six touchdown passes as he completed 26 of 43 passes for 434 yards against the Sun Devils.
“It’s kind of an added motivation,” Harrington said about the Ducks’ newfound national attention. “We’ve been put up on a level with some of the great teams in the country, and we feel like we need to live up to that.”
Defensive end Saul Patu is one of 15 semifinalists for defensive player of the year by Football News. Patu ranks second on the team with 42 tackles and is third in the league in tackles for loss (14) and quarterback sacks (8). The senior ranks third on Oregon’s all-time quarterback-sack list with 22.5.
Last but not least, Bellotti is one of 10 nominees for coach-of-the-year honors. Bellotti has a 46-21 record in less than six seasons with the Ducks and is the third-winningest coach in Oregon history.
 

Another shootout?
Washington State’s Jason Gesser had to like the outcome of Saturday’s Oregon vs. Arizona State game.
Although the Ducks emerged victorious and remained undefeated in Pac-10 play, the Sun Devils terrorized their defense all day long. Arizona State’s 667 yards of total offense is perhaps the most yardage ever suffered by an Oregon defense.
And here’s the kicker: Jeff Krohn, a redshirt freshman quarterback, led the Devil’s offensive assault.
The Ducks may be in for another shooting match, this time against the Cougars. Gesser, one of the Pac-10’s best quarterbacks, tends to light up opponents on the big plays.
Oregon knows it can’t afford another disjointed performance on defense as it had Saturday, when it barely beat Arizona State 56-55 in double overtime.
“If we don’t do a good job, I’ll be very disappointed, and we will not be happy as a team,” Bellotti said.