How good is the Oregon linebacking corps going to be next season?
Just ask them.
“We could be as good as we want to be,” Kevin Mitchell said. “The thing is how well we gel as a unit. For us to do that, we need to be able to know what each other is thinking. That’s what it’s going to take. Pretty much a lot of bonding time.
“It’s one of those things where you’ve got to mold together and become one.”
With Mitchell returning to practice last week, the group — which is also expected to have Jerry Matson and David Martin as starters — is going to be experienced.
Mitchell and Martin are both seniors while Matson is a junior. Mitchell has been at the forefront of the Oregon defense from the beginning of his tenure with the Ducks, and the other two played significant roles last season.
Throw in Justin Andrews, Ramone Reed and fall newcomer Marcus Miller, and that’s a pretty good recipe for success come September.
“The linebackers are coming around rapidly,” Matson said. “I think we’re going to be all right. Kevin’s going to really help us out, and a lot of the guys are young. It’s interesting to see how they’ve matured.”
Against the Oregon offense at the team’s third scrimmage last week, the group held the running game down for the first half. The second stanza was a different story, but overall, it was a step up from the first two weeks of the spring.
Mitchell had an especially impressive performance in the workout, considering he grabbed one interception in limited work in his first chance this spring to hit people. He had been out the first two weeks because of arthroscopic knee surgery in January.
“I’m feeling all right,” he said at Tuesday’s practice. “It felt good (to get back on the field). I was actually getting bored, and it’s good to get back into the swing of things.”
He said he doesn’t know how much he will play in Saturday’s spring game. That decision will come at the hands of head coach Mike Bellotti and his coaching staff.

That’s spring for you
Oregon is stretching out its spring practices longer than most Pacific-10 Conference programs.
Two teams, Washington State and Arizona, closed out their workouts last week, albeit in different ways.
The Cougars ended their spring gridiron workouts with their traditional Crimson and Gray Game on Saturday at Martin Stadium. The Crimson group won 36-3 against its lesser-talented opponents, but may have shown that Washington State has not dropped off much, if at all, from the team that went to the Rose Bowl last year.
“I think we showed today that we have pretty good depth,” first-year head coach Bill Doba said.
Matt Kegel, backup last season to the since-departed Jason Gesser, completed 16-of-25 passes for 273 yards and three scores. He is the front-runner for the starting quarterback spot in the upcoming season.
For the Wildcats, the chance to compete against each other came early — specifically in the team’s ninth session of workouts. Instead of ending the spring with the game, head coach John Mackovic decided to put his players through a shorts and shoulder pads workout Thursday at Arizona Stadium.
That’s an uncommon way to end spring workouts, but for a team that finished in the cellar of the Pac-10, maybe it’s a welcome format.”From where we started to where we are, we are comfortable, but I know that we are not satisfied and not ready to go and start the season right away,” Mackovic said. “We definitely will need the training camp to be able to assist us in preparing for the regular season.”