Running Back
Terrence Whitehead
One of the few bright spots on last season’s disappointing 5-6 record was the surprising play of running back Terrence Whitehead.
The 5-foot-10, 220-pound senior rushed for 1,144 yards one year ago and looks to join Maurice Morris and Onterrio Smith as the only Oregon running backs to rush
for more than 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
The Los Angeles native finished second in the Pacific-10 Conference in rushing yards last season and is quietly climbing the charts toward becoming Oregon’s most prolific running back.
Whitehead is just four 100-yard games shy of owning the school record for most 100-yard performances. One of those performances came last season against Washington State, a game in which Whitehead torched the Cougars for a career-high 166 yards.
Whitehead also sits eighth on career rushing yards with 2,184. He needs only 122 yards to eclipse Smith, Don Reynolds, Morris and Bobby Moore on the career rushing chart. If Whitehead can accumulate 1,112 yards in his final 10 games, he would surpass Derek Loville as the school’s all-time leading rusher in terms of yards.
Additionally, the senior has become a threat catching the ball and sits ninth on Oregon’s list of all-purpose yards, just 271 yards behind Reynolds and eighth place.
Despite only carrying the ball eight times for 31 yards in a 38-24 win against Houston, Whitehead is a crucial ingredient to Oregon’s success in 2005 as the Ducks will look to establish the run early against Montana.
[email protected]
Running Back
Lex Hilliard
Lex Hilliard of Montana may have minimal experience playing against Division I-A defenses, but the junior All-American candidate has made a name for himself as the starting tailback for the Grizzlies.
Hilliard had a slow start in 2004, but he found his stride late in the season, churning out three consecutive games with more than 100 yards rushing. Hilliard ended the season with 972 rushing yards and tied the Montana single season rushing touchdown record with 17. Although he started in only four games for the Grizzlies in 2004, he was named to the all-Big Sky Conference first team. He currently sits at 11th on Montana’s all-time rushing yard list with 1,562.
Hilliard reached the century mark last week against Fort Lewis, rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns in a 55-0 win. In the game, he wreaked havoc on Fort Lewis’ defense, using his combination of quickness and strength.
Montana head coach Bobby Hauck went to his bench late to rest Hilliard for Oregon. Expect to see Hilliard carry the ball as many as 30 times Saturday and be used in all formations and situations. His size and fifth gear make him the total package suitable for finding daylight or just grinding out short yards; arm tackling will not bring him down. If he breaks out into Oregon’s secondary the Ducks could be in big trouble. Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti touched on Hilliard’s abilities earlier in the week.
“He’s big. He’s physical. He’s fast.” Bellotti said. “They direct snap the ball to him sometimes; their offense looks a lot like our offense.”
Montana’s rushing game does not stop at Hilliard. The Grizzlies are blessed with depth in their backfield and have fellow junior Brady Green and senior J.R. Waller to hand the ball to if not Hilliard. Waller and Green both found the end zone last week against Fort Lewis.
The biggest mistake the Ducks can make is overlooking Montana’s rushing attack. The last time that these two schools met was in 1993, when the Grizzlies rushed for 140 yards against Oregon’s stingy defense.
[email protected]
