Oregon Ducks: Marcus Mariota Perfect QB to Represent Oregon's National Brand

In Marcus Mariota, Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks have found a match made in heaven for the driver's seat who will steer their emerging popularity.

With the Oregon Ducks now one of the most prevalent teams in college football, it had become increasingly necessary for the quarterback to keep a level head when he was to be tested in front of the thunderous crowd at Autzen Stadium.

Fortunately enough, Marcus Mariota's calm nature has helped propel him into brilliant success.

It was one thing to perform well in the unimportant spring game. But fans would hardly recognize Marcus Mariota until the home opener, coming off of a year in which the Oregon Ducks rebounded from a surprising 0-1 start after a disappointing loss to LSU at Cowboys Stadium.

Thankfully, Oregon fans had nothing to worry about. In his first six minutes of collegiate play, Mariota showed pinpoint accuracy and was 8-for-9 over 102 yards and 1 TD. By the end of the night, Mariota was 18-for-22 and recorded 200 yards with 3 TDs.

“Upon further review: Marcus Mariota, 8MM, was 18-22 in his debut, and 3 of the 4 incompletions were drops. Cool, poised and precise,” wrote Dale Newton on Twitter earlier this week.

The Era of Mariota, a rare college freshman at the quarterback position for the Oregon Ducks, had begun, and the deliverance unto celebrity had evolved into the rawest form. In his first game as an Oregon Duck, the successes of Marcus Mariota were to be seen across the world from Autzen Stadium in Eugene.

Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images

The location in Eugene, OR hardly has the same national weight from a football perspective that a city like Los Angeles or Seattle would. The institution is missing the academic pedigree of a Stanford or a Berkeley. Even the football team lacks the history that many in the SEC carry with them.

But with the help of big-time booster Phil Knight and a forward thinking Athletic Department, the Oregon Ducks' savvy marketing team has helped the football team take on the name of a national brand, with presence and meaning stretching diligently across the globe.

"Oregon's widespread innovations have made an impact on schools and programs all over the map," wrote Brandon P. Oliver. "The financial backing of powerful boosters and general community support have helped the program grow into a national brand that has everyone's attention."

Accordingly, the Oregon Ducks market their team as if they were a professional football team. With the absence of an NFL team but sports-media interest across the state, the Athletic Department at the University of Oregon has done a noble job to step up and fill the need.

“We want to be ‘the’ national brand in college athletics and certainly having the following in the nation’s largest city will help us achieve that goal,” said Athletics Director Craig Pintens.

Such is the reason why “Arkansas State Red Wolves at Oregon Ducks” was a prime-time game on ESPN amidst the opening Saturday night of college football.

Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images

Each and every year, the Oregon Ducks have become a more marketable team, with rooting interest spreading across the country.

As more fans in remote places develop an interest in the Oregon Ducks, so too do the number of high-school recruits that find themselves picturing a home in Eugene. Mariota, who attended the same high school as former Oregon Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, once represented one of those recruits.

So where does Marcus Mariota fit into all of this?

The Oregon Ducks have been ranked in 46 consecutive Top 25 polls in the Associated Press. Every time a new Nike uniform combination of the Ducks takes the field, a television market expresses inevitable interest.

Even while the Oregon Ducks were up 50-3 with an entire half of football to play, watching their high-tech and eye-catching uniforms conduct a hurry-up offense and dance into a blur on the screen created a more compelling television interest than many others in the Pac-12.

People want to watch Marcus play football when he wears the Nike greens and yellows of the Oregon Ducks.

With that kind of exposure and inherent pressure, one indicative trait of a successful quarterback is tested composure.
Mariota speaks in a postgame interview after Arkansas State.

With that in mind, then the obvious question arises: Is there a single better fit for the offensive-leadership position than someone as calm, cool and collected as Marcus Mariota?

Besides the obvious locational symmetry (Mariota’s island home is approximately five hours by air) that serves to be more revealing to the national brand than the Oregon Ducks now manifest, his tropical hometown is known for many of the same laid-back characteristics that affectionately create the collective zeitgeist of Eugene.

“He’s really calm,” Ducks linebacker Michael Clay told the Oregon Daily Emerald. “He’s very calm and collected. Whatever he does . . . he’s really calm, and he just has things under wraps and he’s not really frenetic or anything like that.”

At times, his demeanor can be misinterpreted for a lack of interest. But that’s hardly what Mariota, a diligent student of the game, feels about football.

“He was kind of too laid back,” high school coach Darnell Arceneaux explained to The Emerald. “And at first it kind of struck me like, "Maybe this kid doesn’t want it.’”

This, of course, is something that one would never expect to hear out of the Oregon Ducks' coach Chip Kelly. Undeniably, Mariota has proven that he is an individual hungry for success—a staple of the Oregon Ducks.

“He’s the perfect fit for what we do offensively,” Kelly said on signing day a year ago.

The offense simply seems to work better under Mariota. Perhaps, however, his most impressive trait is his undying interest in readying himself for the next challenge and opportunity that he will be given while serving as the quarterback for the Oregon Ducks.
Where do you EXPECT Marcus Mariota to take the Oregon Ducks this season?
National Title Champion (beats USC for Pac-12, plus a team from SEC for the title)
Rose Bowl Champion (beats a team such as Michigan or Wisconsin in Rose Bowl, could lose to USC)
Pac-12 Champion (beats USC, but loses in their Bowl Game)
Pac-12 North Champion (beats UW, Oregon State, Stanford, etc. but does not beat USC in Pac-12 championship)
Civil War Champion (beats Oregon State, but does not win Pac-12 North)
Submit Vote vote to see results

“In my interview with Mariota yesterday,” wrote Rob Moseley of The Register-Guard, “he said one of the things he took from watching Darron Thomas over the last year was not to force anything, in order to avoid mistakes but also to put together series of plays that allow the Ducks to exploit their tempo on offense.”

Amidst a quarterback controversy with Bryan Bennett heading into the season, there was significant media focus on who would get the first snap (and subsequent majority of the snaps) of the season for the Ducks.

Amidst the general preseason narrative about the usual judgment of the iconic quarterback (e.g. arm strength, accuracy, speed, etc.) was a focus on the ability to stay calm and enjoy the game in front of him. When he plays for the Oregon Ducks, Mariota does exactly that.

"It was surreal," Mariota said in a postgame interview. "For me, I just had a lot of fun.”

The more fun that Mariota has on the field, the more convinced I am that the mature Hawaiian is indeed the perfect player for Chip Kelly to have put in command and run the blur offense of the Oregon Ducks. There's still many tests for Mariota to pass before fans have a full idea what talent level he is at. But with the newly ranked No. 4 ranked team in the nation entering the limelight week after week, get ready to hear a lot about Mariota in the coming weeks.

Browns LB Maiava finally gets chance to make a difference

AP Photo / Mark Duncan

Cleveland linebacker Kaluka Maiava has had to fill in for injured starters before, but never when the Browns still were playing meaningful games.


The little big man has done this drill before.

It is so much more important this time for Kaluka Maiava to do it well.

In 2009, when Maiava was a rookie Round 4 draft pick, the Browns’ linebacking corps was rocked by a season-ending injury to D’Qwell Jackson. At that point, coordinator Rob Ryan shuffled Maiava into a starting role, but what did it matter? The season was gone. The team was 1-5, on its way to 5-11.

After a knee injury wrecked Maiava’s 2010 season, he had to fight to make the team in 2011. He impressed a new head coach and a new coordinator enough to do so. As in his rookie season, he got the call when a No. 1 linebacker got hurt.

He replaced Scott Fujita for the last five games. But again, what did it matter? The Browns were 4-7 when Fujita went down. There was nothing for anyone to save.

Now it is 2012. Maiava again is starting because a No. 1 went down. But there is a huge difference this time. He is starting at the start.

He is starting with an entire season full of possibilities out there for the Browns.

It might matter this time if the little big man steps up.

Not that anyone expects him to. He’s simply too little. He’s not Clay Matthews, he’s not Brian Cushing, he’s not Rey Maualuga — even though he was every bit as much a starting linebacker at USC as they were in 2008, when the Trojans were monsters, at one point routing Ohio State 35-3.

Maiava was greatly appreciated at USC, but not so much outside the inner circle. When he first came to the Browns, in the public eye, he was a cute story ... a kid from Maui who used to hunt wild boars with his bare hands.

That story went away, and as time went on, he was just a little backup linebacker on teams that went nowhere.

“Last year, I kind of filled in when Fujita went down,” Maiava says. “I’ve always been in the backup role.

“I’m always ready when the coaches call my number.

“Obviously, I want to play more than just a backup role. I’m ready for the responsibility.”

A certain AFC North rival was suspicious as to how ready Maiava was when he was an injury-replacement starter last year.

“They ran like 40,000 leads at me,” Maiava said. “I’m sure they saw me as a backup guy, a smaller guy they were going to test.

“We lost, but it definitely proved myself to my teammates ... showed my toughness.”

At 5-foot-11, 230 pounds, Maiava is playing on the outside in a 4-3 front. He must prove he is stout enough to stand up against power running games and cagey enough to cover fast tight ends half a foot taller than him. He’s fast. He has that going for him.

“Everybody brings up my size,” Maiava said. “I’ve been 5-11 since high school. That’s not going to change. I’m not going to get a five-inch growth spurt anytime soon.”

Perhaps a knowledge spurt will help. Last year, he had to impress new defensive coordinator Dick Jauron on the fly, since the offseason got swallowed by a lockout.

“I have a better understanding of the playbook now,” he said. “Having been around the guys a lot this year really helps.

“I’m as healthy as I’ve been. I feel good.”

Given Maiava’s longevity with the team — only five Browns have stuck around longer — Ohio is starting to feel like home. Just as he never will be 6-foot-5, though, Cleveland never will be Maui.

“I went home to Maui after last season,” he said. “I was training the whole time. Beach runs. Early in the morning.

“I definitely enjoyed myself in my off time, but I also got some work done.

“I lost some weight. I feel lighter. I feel quicker. I feel a lot better. This is the best I felt since coming out of college.”

It’s a perfect time than. He’s starting in the opener against the Eagles.

Is he glad for that? Dumb question.

“Who comes in the league wanting to be a backup?” he said.

Minnesota Vikings: Matt Asiata could see field time during season opener

By Bruce Brothers
bbrothers@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 09/03/2012 12:01:00 AM CDT

Matt Asiata had no guarantee a week ago he would even be a member of the Minnesota Vikings during the first week of the regular season.

Now the 234-pound Asiata is not only a member of the Vikings' 53-man squad, he might get to carry the ball a few times when the Vikings open the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Sept. 9, at the Metrodome.

It all depends, of course, on the availability of running back Adrian Peterson, who is returning from offseason knee surgery.

Peterson will be a game-time decision, coach Leslie Frazier said, but Frazier said the Vikings' offense will look the same whether Peterson or Toby Gerhart starts at running back.

And Asiata, 25, will be ready to jump in.

"That's one of the reasons why we kept him on the roster," Frazier said. "We feel like if he had to play, he can step in and do a good job."

Asiata spent limited time on the Vikings' practice squad last season, but came to training camp this summer showing better confidence, Frazier said, "and then when he got in the ballgames, he showed why he deserved that third running back spot."

As a fringe player, Asiata hit all his answers down the middle after practice on Monday, Sept. 3, talking about earning the trust of his teammates and showing that he will play hard.

He earned a roster spot, he said, because he tried to have fun with his job.

"I just had to be myself and come out and just show the team what I can do on the field," he added.

Asiata

smiled at the prospect of carrying the ball against the Jaguars.

"We'll see how that goes," he said. "We'll just take it week to week. I'm ready to go if they call my number."

Bears NT Stephen Paea (ankle) returned to practice Monday and says he's "ready to roll" for Week 1.

Paea missed a large chunk of training camp with the injury, but the goal all along was to get him ready for Opening Day. He's ready, and figures to start over Matt Toeaina at nose tackle. Henry Melton is the three-technique tackle. Sep. 3 - 4:44 pm et
Source: Mike C. Wright on Twitter

49ers' Will Tukuafu Opening Eyes at Fullback

Sep
03
7:25p
by Peter Woodburn

Read More: Bruce Miller (FB - SFX)

Bruce Miller will be the starting fullback when the San Francisco 49ers face off against the Green Bay Packers to open the 2012 season, but the fullback opening eyes is Will Tukuafu.

Niners Nation pointed out that coach Jim Harbaugh likes his big backs to throw some bone-crushing blocks when they're in the backfield. Last year, Isaac Sopoaga answered that call for the 49ers most often.

But in the last preseason game, it was second-year, 6'4, 293-pound Will Tukuafu who showed why he got a lot of preseason playing time with a couple of huge blocks against the San Diego Chargers.

Tukuafu may be playing himself into the fullback conversation, which is great for the youngster, who hasn't seen a lot of minutes at defense. It would also allow Harbaugh to potentially use Sopoaga in a different fashion -- and having too many big bodies on a team can never be a bad thing in the NFL.

For more on the San Francisco 49ers, head over to Niners Nation and join the conversation

KU defensive lineman Jordan Tavai proud of heritage

Kansas defensive lineman Jordan Tavai works against a practice dummy during defensive drills at the Fan Appreciation Day open practice Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012, at Memorial Stadium.
Jordan Tavai works out with defensive linemen Wednesday

Kansas junior Jordan Tavai (No. 9) works out with the defensive linemen at practice on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. Enlarge video

Since arriving in Kansas on Aug. 10 for his first day of practices, Jordan Tavai has been busy telling teammates about his heritage.

“It’s kind of big to be Samoan, because most of the time when you’re Samoan, everyone thinks you’re a football player,” the defensive lineman said. “You’re supposed to be a big player. You’re supposed to be a playmaker and all. So I’m trying to be a playmaker.”

Tavai’s maternal grandmother came to the United States along with her siblings when she was 19 in hopes of getting a better education.

The Samoan part of Tavai’s family history has helped shape his football career.

“When you’re Samoan and you get to the field, you’re supposed to be aggressive. Your attitude is supposed to be different,” Tavai said. “You’re supposed to be known for being a good player on the defense. ... That’s what I do live up to.”

It hasn’t taken long for the 6-foot-3, 290-pounder to get noticed during KU practices.

After just a few times going against Tavai, KU offensive lineman Aslam Sterling already knows that the junior’s strength is being able to use his hands well.

“He moves them around a lot,” Sterling said. “For an offensive lineman, a guy that moves his hands a lot, they try to trick you.”

Slapping hands down also can result in getting offensive linemen off-balance.

“My hands are faster than the offensive lineman’s,” Tavai said, “so I can knock them down faster, and I can get around them faster.”

For now, the challenge for Tavai is getting caught up after arriving at camp late following the delayed completion of his final junior-college class.

Not only is Tavai behind physically, he also is still learning KU’s defensive play calls.

The biggest issue now is getting the play call from the sideline, then getting into the right place in time. He attends extra meetings with KU defensive-line coach Buddy Wyatt to try to learn all the formations.

“I’m lining up kind of slowly, but I’m getting used to that,” Tavai said last week. “That’s where the mental part gets in. The faster I line up, the faster I react to seeing the offense.”

Tavai played defensive end and defensive tackle at El Camino (Calif.) Community College, and KU coach Charlie Weis has said that Tavai is flexible enough to play both positions.

“I think Tavai is a fast-twitch guy,” KU defensive coordinator Dave Campo said. “I think he’s a guy that, especially inside ... some guys that aren’t great pass-rushers outside all of a sudden are really good inside, because you’re playing against more bulk but not quite as good of athletes in there.”

KU’s coaches have continued to move him around during practices.

Tavai, who also considered Texas Tech, Cal and Hawaii, received calls on the night before February signing day from schools trying to get him to change his commitment.

He stuck with KU because of Weis.

“He told me I was a little piece of this big puzzle,” Tavai said, “that could come together to fit to help turn this program around.”

Tavai’s goal is to be ready — both mentally and physically —for the team’s first game Sept. 1 against South Dakota State.

“I know his expectations are pretty high,” KU linebacker Schyler Miles said. “He’s depending on coming here and helping right away.”

Oregon Ducks Defeats Arkansas State, 57-34: Marcus Mariota Shines In College Football Debut

By ANNE M. PETERSON 09/02/12 02:30 AM ET


EUGENE, Ore. -- Marcus Mariota didn't show any signs of stage fright in his debut for the Ducks.

The redshirt freshman quarterback made his first start in a real game on Saturday night, passing for 200 yards and three touchdowns in No. 5 Oregon's 57-34 season-opening victory over Arkansas State.

De'Anthony Thomas caught two touchdowns and ran for another while collecting 119 yards in total offense as the Ducks built a 50-10 lead by halftime.

Kenjon Barner, taking over as starter after the departure of running back LaMichael James, ran for 66 yards and two scores.

The Ducks sat most of their starters after the break.

The loss spoiled coach Gus Malzahn's first game as coach of the Red Wolves, who went 10-3 last season and won the Sun Belt Conference title.

Arkansas State senior quarterback Ryan Aplin threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns, including a 72-yard scoring pass to Julian Jones just before the half.

Mariota replaced Darron Thomas, who decided to leave Oregon with a year of eligibility left. Thomas passed for 2,761 yards and a school-record 33 touchdowns last season when the Ducks went 10-2 and beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Mariota was on the practice squad last season and was something of a mystery because Oregon closes practices, but he beat out Bryan Bennett for the starter's job in fall camp.


The native Hawaiian had shown promise in the Ducks' spring game with a touchdown pass and two scoring runs – including one TD rush of 82 yards.

Mariota is the first freshman to start in an opener for Oregon since Danny O'Neil in 1991. He completed 18 of 22 passes.

The Ducks scored on their first drive of the game with Barner's 4-yard dash, then added the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0.

Barner, a senior, was James' backup for the past two seasons. James, the school's career leading rusher, left Oregon early for the NFL draft and was a second-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers.

Mariota connected with De'Anthony Thomas with a 12-yard pass to make it 15-0.

Thomas made a splash last season when he set an Oregon freshman record with 18 touchdowns, rushing for seven, nine on receptions and two on kickoff returns.

Before the first quarter was over, John Huff pulled down a 4-yard touchdown pass from Mariota and Barner added a 17-yard scoring run to make it 29-0.

Brian Davis kicked a 43-yard field goal for the Red Wolves early in the second quarter.

Thomas scored twice, once on a 12-yard pass from Mariota and then on a 33-yard run to make it 43-3, and there was still 10:45 left in the half. True freshman Byron Marshall added a 3-yard TD run for the Ducks.

Aplin passed to Jones, who ran down the right side to close the gap a bit with 3:20 left in the half, before Davis opened the third quarter with a 29-yard field goal.

Aplin added a 6-yard touchdown pass to Josh Jarboe before the end of the quarter to make it 50-20.

Bennett, who came in for Oregon in the second half, found Rahsaan Vaughn with a 7-yard scoring pass, before Aplin's two final touchdowns, a 38-yard pass to Carlos McCants and a 1-yard keeper with 4:30 left.

Arkansas State and Oregon had never played each other. Indeed, the Red Wolves had never faced a Pac-12 foe.

The Ducks were familiar with Malzahn because he was the offensive coordinator for Auburn two seasons ago when Oregon faced the Tigers in the BCS championship game.

Malzahn, an Arkansas native, had already hit some snags before his first game as the Red Wolves' head coach. He brought in transfer Michael Dyer from Auburn but had to dismiss him in July after he was pulled over for speeding and a gun and marijuana were found in the car.

Dyer rushed for 143 yards for the Tigers in the national championship game against the Ducks.

Also, Malzahn dismissed wide receiver Earl Lucas and suspended WR Tres Houston for violating team rules.

Maika Polamalu: What Troy Polamalu's Cousin Must Do to Make an Impact for Navy

 By Scott Carasik (Featured Columnist) on September 1, 2012
Maika Polamalu has the ability to be one of the best stories in college football based on his lineage and his school. However, he isn't making an impact for Navy's football program this season. As an offensive player, he is buried on the depth chart and is just seeing time on special teams.

He needs to change something to become the player that he was recruited to be, when he was a two-star prospect according to ESPN. However, the question is what change he needs to make in order to be successful off the field.

Is it his inability to balance the military aspect of his college experience with football? Is he having trouble living up to the legendary bloodlines? Or could he just be completely out of position and need to switch to defense?


Military College teaches lessons that can't be found on the field.

While this may seem unrelated to on-the-field, it's a huge aspect in the personal development off-the-field that would lead to his eventually becoming a starter. It instills hard work, discipline and toughness into the gentlemen (and women) who go through the training.

Teams like Navy, the Air Force Academy, the Citadel and Army tend to be more disciplined on-the-field than other teams because of their off-the-field training. Polamalu using the discipline and hard work that he learns as a Midshipman and taking it to the field will only help him start eventually.

However, the main issue could be balancing the different aspects of military college life. The balance of football, classes and essentially a full-time job in the military aspect of the academy create a unique situation that few people are able to balance completely.

Legendary bloodlines aren't always a guarantee to a starting spot.

Despite being the cousin of Troy Polamalu, son of Aoatoa Polamalu, and nephew of Kennedy Pola, he hasn't earned the starting spot at fullback yet as one would expect him to be able to. Though, he has a ton of talent and has already been contributing on special teams as a gunner.

His issue though is that he isn't even in the top three on the fullback depth chart according to CSTV.com's Navy football depth chart. It will tough for the young Polamalu to earn a starting spot when he is behind multiple underclassmen.

Could a position change be for the best?

At 6'0", 218 pounds, he has the size to be a top notch linebacker. He also has a frame that could add another 20 pounds to it while maintaining his already good speed. Once he realizes that he should try to play a different position, linebacker should fit well as it's a similar position to fullback.

It's also the position that would make sense based on his family lineage. His dad played at defensive tackle and his cousin as a safety, so linebacker is a logical progression for his size. Who knows, maybe he could end up in the starting role as a weakside linebacker and eventually in the NFL?

Marcus Mariota gives coach Chip Kelly more run options and defenses another worry

Quarterbacks: Return of the X factor


By Bob Clark

The Register-Guard

Published: August 30, 2012 12:00AM, Midnight, Aug. 30

True or false: With Marcus Mariota as the starter for Oregon, it means more rushing plays for the quarterback.

Answer: It remains to be seen.

While Mariota has certainly shown flashes of his ability as a runner, and is apparently more able as a runner than last season’s starter Darron Thomas, the deciding factor in how much the Oregon quarterback carries the football won’t be the intent of the Ducks but a reaction to the opponent.

Coach Chip Kelly said the Ducks want to “see how people are going to defend us. If they’re going to let us do this, we’ll continue to do that.

“We never go into a game and have X amount of times (the quarterback) has to have (the football) in his hands. We go by how the defense defends us.”

In starting 12 of Oregon’s 13 games last season, Thomas finished with 56 rushing plays, though that bare statistic doesn’t show how many were designed runs, and how many were plays that might have started with the intent of throwing a pass but turned into an attempt to gain yardage by running.

By whatever means, the 56 total rushing plays was down from the 93 rushes that Thomas had the previous season, in 13 games, and less than half the average number of rushes by a UO quarterback in the first three seasons with Kelly’s offense in place at Oregon, two with him as coordinator and then his first year as the head coach.

But was it Thomas? Or, again, the opponents?

“People didn’t make Darron run the ball,” explained UO offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, adding that as long as defenses played the Ducks in a way that seemed to invite more runs by LaMichael James and his backups, “we’re good with that.”

Still, there is reason to think that this season, the quarterback on the run is likely to be a more viable part of the offense.

With Thomas last season, there was concern about his health as a knee injury took him out of two games and caused him to miss another. The Ducks begin this season with Mariota and backup Bryan Bennett both apparently healthy, and both have shown, if in brief instances, that they are definite threats as runners.

“Bryan and Marcus are different types of athletes than Darron, but it’s still a decision-making process and they’re both good decision makers,” Helfrich said. “All of that stuff will play itself out depending how people defend us.”

Well, they better defend the quarterbacks as potential runners, it would seem.

Kenjon Barner, Oregon’s starting running back, said both quarterbacks are “absolutely” good runners.

“No question about it,” Barner added. “They both have tremendous speed. … They’re two of the faster guys on the team.”

Remember the 82-yard sprint to the end zone by Mariota in the spring game? As a high school senior who led his team to the state title in Hawaii, Mariota averaged 7.6 yards per rush.

“It’s a part of my game,” Mariota said. “If the offense asks for me to carry the ball a little bit, I will.

“It just depends on the game plan that week and how it fits into the strategy of the game.”

In Bennett’s one start last season, he rushed six times for 69 yards, with a long gain of 43 yards. That came a week after Bennett, in a relief role, had rushed five times for 65 yards against Arizona State, with a long run of 36 yards.

That both have that ability as runners, and very similar skill sets overall, means the offensive plan can be the same with either in the game. And with the competition as reportedly as close as it was, it lessens any concern that an injury to the starter means a falloff to the reserve.

“They’re very similar guys,” Helfrich said.

Whether that all translates into more running by Oregon quarterbacks in games remains to be seen, but at least one Duck would welcome that option being utilized. And it’s the primary runner for the Ducks, Barner.

Why would he want someone else running the football?

Simply put, “you can no longer focus on the running back,” Barner said. “You have to worry about the quarterback running.”

“It’s still a decision-making process. ... All of that stuff will play itself out depending how people defend us.”

— Mark Helfrich, Oregon offensive coordinator

The tao of Manti Te’o

Published: August 26, 2012 3:00 a.m.
College preview: Notre Dame

Senior linebacker reflects upon new leadership style
Tony Krausz | The Journal Gazette

SOUTH BEND – Manti Te’o knows this year is his last chance to directly affect Notre Dame’s success.

The 6-foot-2, 255-pound senior decided to return to school in December instead of entering the NFL draft with one goal in mind: help the Irish win.


“Since it’s my senior year, I want to do this. I want to win. I want to make sure Notre Dame is back up there,” Te’o said. “This is my only time to actually have control over that.

“Once I leave here, I don’t have control over that. I can say to the younger guys, call them up every week, and say, ‘What’s going on?’ While I’m here, while I’m in that locker room and on that field, I have good control of what is going on.”

Te’o has taken control of the team, expanding his leadership role as the Irish prepare to open the season against Navy on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland.

The stoic native of Laie, Hawaii, has stopped holding back when he sees a teammate not doing everything he is supposed to do to help the team.

“I would say without question it’s now at a point where he is imposing his own set of standards on others,” coach Brian Kelly said. “He was always a leader by example in the way he handled himself, both on and off the field, but now if somebody else is not doing it the right way, it’s not good enough, because it affects the way he sees his role.

“And that obviously is a very positive dynamic to have on your football team. He understands pure accountability, and he holds his teammates to a high level, too.”

Linebacker Dan Fox, who plays next to Te’o in the middle of the defense, said he has seen good results from Te’o imposing his will.

“It is different when it comes from a player and not a coach. It kind of motivates you more,” Fox said. “He is like that on himself too. It is not just dishing out, ‘You did this, you did that.’ He takes accountability for everything he does as well.”

It wasn’t easy for Te’o to find a leadership style that suited him. He said he stopped being who he was last year in trying to be a leader, especially leading into Notre Dame’s home loss to USC on Oct. 22.

Te’o said LeBron James’ comments of being true to himself and not playing the villain after the Miami Heat won the NBA title this season helped him form his leadership style.

“Obviously, I wasn’t a villain, but I was trying to be this ‘rah-rah’ guy, just running and yelling at people, being in the center of the huddle, hitting people in the helmet; it is not me,” Te’o said. “I’m the guy who is just calm. When I need to speak, I will speak. I think the strength of that is that when I speak, my teammates know it is important.

“I’m just humbled to know they understand that. I won’t be in their ear the whole time, but when I do have something to say, it is important. It is to help them, to help the team.”

Te’o has done plenty to help the team since he arrived in 2009 when he played in 12 games and had 63 tackles as a freshman. Te’o had 133 tackles, with 9 1/2 for a loss, and a sack while starting all 13 games in 2010.

And last season he led the Irish in tackles (128) and tackles for loss (13 1/2 ) and had a career-high five sacks.

Te’o enters the season as the No. 8 tackler in school history with 324, and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco said the linebacker has the potential to be regarded as one of the best to ever play the game.

“He’s got a spectacular skill set and the intangible blue-collar mentality. It is a unique combination,” Diaco said. “Not only is he going to be one of the very best linebackers to have played here, if not the best, one of the very best linebackers to ever play college football.”