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 Wednesday, August 8, 2001
Q&A with Oregon's Mike Bellotti
By Terry Bowden
Special to ABC Sports Online
Bowden's Weekly Chat Show
ABC college football analyst Terry Bowden chatted with Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti about various items, including the Ducks facing high expectations, Joey Harrington's billboard in New York and the home-field advantage at Autzen Stadium.
Terry Bowden:
The Pac-10 picked you No. 1. How do you like being picked No. 1?
Mike Bellotti:
|  | | Joey Harrington stands tall in New York and has Oregon dreaming of a national title. |
It has actually never happened before. So I'm not sure how to react to it. As a coach, I think it's a two-edged sword. On the one hand, I'd rather overachieve people's expectations than underachieve. So it makes it tough when you are picked No. 1. The other thing, it obviously puts a bull's eye and a target on your back for everybody in your conference.
On the flip side, it's positive because it's commendation to the team for what they did last year and this group of kids that we have coming back. It's the kind of what I call "positive pressure" that you would like to be surrounded with.
Terry Bowden:
The Pac-10 is so competitive. Since 1993, nine of the 10 teams in the league have won a share of the league crown. There's no apparent weakness, is there?
Mike Bellotti:
That's correct. I like to talk about the positive type of parity that we have. There's not a bad team in this conference, and you have to play your tail off every week, whether you are at home or on the road. You have to play a complete ballgame, and if you don't, you are going to get whooped. That's the thing people don't understand sometimes. They say, "Ah, it's not that tough." It's actually very tough because we don't have any weak sisters. There are great teams in this conference, and the level of play has actually been raised. The bar has been raised rather than lowered.
Terry Bowden:
The Pac-10 has the most players in the NFL. Where is most of the talent coming from?
Mike Bellotti:
The majority of our kids come from the state of California, and actually, the majority of them come from southern California because that is the greatest concentration of recruitable athletes in the western United States.
Terry Bowden:
Is the state of Oregon going crazy with Oregon and Oregon State ranked 1 and 2 in the Pac-10?
Mike Bellotti:
Yes, they are. It's fun to be around right now because the whole state is energized and so excited about this upcoming football season, and it makes it fun. It's one of those deals, and it certainly has added pressure, but I don't feel it. I have said many times that the pressure you put on yourself to do well should be the greatest pressure you feel. The outside stuff, I always tell them that, "Hey, we don't control that. Don't worry about it. Just go out and play hard and get it done." But I think Oregon State's success in the last year has really helped out to focus on the positives of football in the state of Oregon.
Terry Bowden:
People are beginning to understand football being played at Oregon and Oregon State. Is the billboard for Joey Harrington in New York a response to introduce people in the East to football in the West?
Mike Bellotti:
I think it was a response from some of the boosters and supporters of this program, that "Hey, we're doing some great things out here. We have a great player who has an unbelievable record as a starter and reliever, and we need to go right to the source. We need to put that up somewhere where everyone can see it. And we're going to jump in with both feet."
As a coach, I can tell you honestly -- I think it's great -- but I also worry about the effect it will have on my team. I have talked with a lot of my players about how they feel. They are excited. They think it's a promotion for Oregon football. If you are going to pick a kid on this team that is representative by the way he plays and what he does in the community and as a student-athlete, Joey Harrington is it. He's awesome. I feel real good about what they do. To me, where they put it and why they put it there, I am just saying it's awesome. We appreciate that support. I'm just excited that those people think that we have a team and a player that deserves that type of recognition.
Terry Bowden:
Oregon has been winning for a long time. The kids really believe in themselves now, don't they?
Mike Bellotti:
That's true. I was thinking about how I was going to deal with this No. 1 deal. This year, beating Texas in the bowl game (was a big deal). We have been the winningest team in the conference for seven years now, but I'm not sure people realized or would acknowledge it until, one, we beat Texas, and two, Oregon State beat Notre Dame. Those two things gave everybody a new view of what football in the state of Oregon, certainly at the University of Oregon, is about.
It's the confidence that we are good enough to play with anybody. If we put our minds to it, and we play our best football, we are going to win. That is something that you work a long time to get everybody to be on the same page with that and to believe that.
Terry Bowden:
Dan Fouts, Chris Miller, Akili Smith and then A.J. Feeley, who had to play backup and still went in the fifth round of last year's draft -- quarterbacking has been a great position at Oregon. Now you have Joey Harrington. What types of specific talents does Joey bring to the team?
Mike Bellotti:
The tradition of quarterbacking here is awesome. It's been something we're proud of and can recruit on. In fact, the best compliment to Joey Harrington is that A.J. Feeley backed him up and only threw 13 passes last year and was drafted in the fifth round. That's a tremendous testament to both of those kids.
Joey has what I call repetitive accuracy -- puts the ball where he wants. He's got a great sense of the pocket. He's got enough athleticism to make plays when things break down. The two things that probably separate him: when it's crunch time, he wants the ball in his hands and he'll make plays. And the second thing is that he'll elevate the level of play of the people around him. He's got the ability to make that happen.
Terry Bowden:
Maurice Morris is one of the top backs in the nation. He carried it a lot last year (286 times). How good is he? And how good is your depth now?
Mike Bellotti:
|  | | Maurice Morris is a workhorse for the Ducks, but should have more help this fall. |
Mo was the all-time junior college rushing leader, so he came in with some pretty good credentials. He was a workhorse for us. He carried the load. He broke our season record for carries, he broke our single-game record for carries. He got worn down. Honestly, we were a little thin there last year. But he's a great back. He's 6-foot, about 212 pounds, runs hard, runs fast, makes things happen. He's awesome, he's truly an NFL back.
Backing him up right now is Allan Amundson, who is probably the quickest guy we've got. And Onterrio Smith is probably in that mix. He's a talented back, but we just have to see what he can. He transferred from Tennessee. Our depth at tailback -- we have a couple of other guys, Ryan Shaw and Kenny Washington -- I like a lot. I think our depth is as good as I've ever seen.
Terry Bowden:
How confident are you with Keenan Howry and the receiving corps?
Mike Bellotti:
I think it's solid. Keenan is a playmaker. He's not the biggest guy, but he's extremely quick and just makes plays. Flanking him are going to be Jason Willis and probably Samie Parker. They are both different types of players. Jason did a lot of things for us last year. Samie came on a little bit. He's a speed receiver. I think we have real good depth and a lot of options at receiver.
Terry Bowden:
The thing I like about the Pac-10 is that everybody uses the tight end. In the East, a lot of schools don't use them. Justin Peelle gets the job done, doesn't he?
Mike Bellotti:
That's right. He's the consummate tight end: he can block, he can run, he can catch. He is not the fastest guy or the biggest guy, but he is a tremendous competitor and has that knack of coming up with the big catch.
Terry Bowden:
How is redshirt freshman Willie Walden coming along? Is he Peelle's backup?
Mike Bellotti:
George Wrighster is our backup and Willie is probably third-team. Willie is unbelievable. He is 6-7, 270. He's agile. He's got a ways to go. He's learning the game. He's got tremendous potential down the road, but he has to toughen up a little bit.
Terry Bowden:
Tackle Jim Adams is on a lot of All-Conference lists, but who are the key players on the offensive line?
Mike Bellotti:
We're going to be in good shape. Ryan Schmid is the leader of that group. He started at center and guard for us the past couple of years. Joey Forster is a returning starter at right guard. Jim Adams is the returning starter at left guard. And Corey Chambers has played a lot of football for us. They're probably the four guys I am counting on right now. There are four or five other kids, a lot of redshirt freshmen and maybe a couple of sophomores and juniors that I think are ready to step up, and we need to have. You have to have seven or eight guys who can play and that you have confidence in. I always say we'll be as good as that offensive line allows us to be.
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I think we're blessed with probably the greatest home-field advantage in the nation, and obviously that win streak is helping to prove that true. The fans are about 10 feet away from the sidelines. They are right there, and they're loud, they know when to cheer and never tire from making noise. They get excited. They excite our players.
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— Mike Bellotti, on Autzen Stadium |
Terry Bowden:
Defense is where you win championships. You have said you want to stop the run, just so that people have to throw when they don't want to. That starts up front. Who are you expecting to lead up front?
Mike Bellotti:
We have a lot of holes to fill up front. We lost all three of our starting linebackers and Matt Smith was one of those. He did a great job. We lost three starters on the defensive line. I'd like to say we'd like we're going to reload the defense, but there is no question that we have to rebuild that front seven.
The guys that I can count on right now are: Seth McEwen started about six games for us last year at defensive end. He's a solid football player. Zack Freiter came on, stayed healthy by the end of the season and had a couple of starts. Quinn Dorsey is probably been our most improved player from last year to right now and I'm hoping he continues that. Igor Olshansky is a guy who has a lot of promise, but has yet to play for us.
We have probably seven or eight kids in that front four that are either redshirt freshmen, true freshmen or JC transfers who have to step up and be ready to play. I couldn't name them right now because I won't know. In three weeks, we'll have a group ready to go. It's important because those guys up front in our scheme create the opportunities for everyone else to make tackles.
Terry Bowden:
So much of defense now is speed. Oregon and Oregon State played with much more speed than I remember from the past. How fast is your defense?
Mike Bellotti:
Our defensive line is good, and certainly, we're always looking to upgrade that speed. People say that we look fast, and I always say, "I think we play fast." I don't know how fast we run. We're about the same as everyone else.
Our linebackers are fast. Wesley Mallard, our starting outside 'backer, runs about 4.3. He's a legit fast guy. (David) Moretti inside runs 4.6 or better. And Kevin Mitchell is probably a 4.6. We're fast. Garret Graham backs up everybody. Our linebackers -- although we don't have any returning starters -- have played enough football. They are going to be able to pick it up and get going with it. I think they'll be fine.
The strength of our defense is going to be our secondary. Rashad Bauman, and again, when you talk about speed, he's a 4.29 guy. Not the biggest guy, but it doesn't matter. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. He's probably a living example of that. Steve Smith on the other side comes back. He's a big corner. Still has great speed and athleticism. Our safeties are Keith Lewis and Rasuli Webster. Rasuli started all of last year. Keith played mostly on special teams, but made his presence known. I feel good about our secondary. I think we need to develop some depth there. And in our defense, because we play an eight- and nine-man front, our corners are on an island 90 percent of the time, so they have to hold up for us to be successful.
Terry Bowden:
You have a 20-game home winning streak at Autzen Stadium. How good is the atmosphere there?
Mike Bellotti:
I think we're blessed with probably the greatest home-field advantage in the nation, and obviously that win streak is helping to prove that true. It's not a big stadium. It holds about 42,000. We're going to expand it to about 54 next year. The fans are about 10 feet away from the sidelines. They are right there, and they're loud, they know when to cheer and never tire from making noise. They get excited. They excite our players.
We have a unique surface. We have gone from OmniTurf to NextTurf, which I think is the first one in the nation for an NCAA Division I school. (The Atlanta Falcons use it in their indoor facility and the Philadelphia Eagles will use it this season at Veterans Stadium.) We're excited about that because it's a fast surface, yet it's very safe and non-abrasive. We're excited about making that transition. I think the combination of the field, the stadium, the fan proximity and the excitement that they generate is what has created that home-field advantage.
Terry Bowden:
Every day has to count for you this season because you don't open with a patsy. You have to be ready for Game 1 when you face Wisconsin, don't you?
Mike Bellotti:
|  | | Samie Parker hauls in a pass against USC's Chris Cash during the Ducks win last year. |
That's funny. I talked to (new USC head coach) Pete Carroll at the Pac-10 media day. He said, "Coach, don't we have any exhibition games so that we can try out some things?" I said, "No, Pete, it doesn't quite work out that way."
It is right out of the chutes. We're going to play a team that has three consecutive bowl game wins and two Rose Bowl wins. They're a great program. Barry (Alvarez) does a great job. The only thing that is good is that we've got them at our place this year. If you are serious about trying to win a national championship, every game counts and you have to be prepared. You can't have a day off. You can't have a down game. You have to be up, ready to play.
Terry Bowden:
The biggest game will, of course, be on Championship Saturday on Dec. 1 when you play Oregon State. You will have three weeks between your game against UCLA on Nov. 10 and the Oregon State contest. There's a huge layoff for you. Does that concern you? Or are you treating it like a bowl game?
Mike Bellotti:
It is. We're going to approach it like a bowl game. I think it's going to be good. One, the national TV exposure. First and foremost, it is a great opportunity to show your program, showcase your team. The second thing is that it can give our kids to come back and focus on academics. Most of the time, you get so tired and worn out by that time. The third thing is to come back and to rest up physically. Typically, at that point, we've had byes in the early part of the year, and you really need them at the end to get back some of that quickness and explosiveness. I think that will help. I hope we're going to be completely healthy going into that game.
And certainly, we hope that game is going to count for something.
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