If it weren’t for the number on his jersey and a slightly different running style, Terrence Whitehead could be Onterrio Smith.
Just don’t tell him that.
“I’ve never even thought about comparing myself to him,” Whitehead, a freshman, said of his junior tailback counterpart.
But after his Onterrio-like performance against Stanford on Saturday, Whitehead was drawing many comparisons to the Heisman-trophy candidate. With Smith out because of a knee injury, Whitehead ran for 132 yards on 29 carries in the 41-14 blowout.
“For him to step up like that, take all those carries, shows a lot about his ability,” Oregon quarterback Jason Fife said. “He’s going to develop into a great back.”
Smith watched in street clothes from the sideline as Whitehead executed long runs and picked up short yards when he needed to. And after the game, Smith couldn’t stop singing the praises of the freshman.
“We know that we’re not losing anything with him in there,” Smith said. “He knew what he had to do, and he was fired up. He did a great job.”
Whitehead, who came to Oregon from Los Angeles, played a number of different positions in high school and was originally recruited by head coach Mike Bellotti to play free safety. But after playing him at tailback in the spring, Bellotti made the “executive decision,” as he put it, to have Whitehead play running back before the season started.

“Terrence hits a hole sometimes before it’s even there,” Bellotti said.
After showing flashes of his ability earlier in the season — most notably a 43-yard performance against UCLA in which he scored a touchdown — Whitehead got the call to start Saturday over senior tailback Allan Amundson. He started the game with a seven-yard rush on the Ducks’ first play from scrimmage and never looked back.
Whitehead’s biggest rush came in the first quarter. On the first play of Oregon’s second drive of the game, Whitehead went around the right side of the line and broke free for a 42-yard run down to the Stanford 35-yard-line. Seven plays later, the Ducks scored to take a 14-0 lead.
“He has great vision, and he changes direction very well,” Bellotti said.
Whitehead was involved in a controversial call later in the opening drive, when he ran the ball on third-and-goal from the three-yard-line. He was stopped at the goal line by Cardinal linebacker Michael Craven, who got up and re-tackled Whitehead. Craven was assessed a personal foul, and the Ducks scored on the ensuing first down.
For Whitehead, the experience of starting for the first time and putting up Smith-like numbers was invaluable. When asked if he envisions a double-threat style running game — something akin to last year’s tandem of Smith and Maurice Morris — for the future, Whitehead didn’t hesitate in responding.
“I’d be real confident with that,” Whitehead said. “It would make us a lot better. I’d be happy to give him some relief.”