Ranking the Pac-10's 30 best players: No. 9

Pac-10 Blog

April, 1, 2009

Apr 1

1:12

PM ET

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By Ted Miller

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

No. 9

Masoli

Jeremiah Masoli, QB, Oregon: Is this high for Masoli? Maybe. But you get HUGE bonus points on the Pac-10 blog when you are a quarterback who runs over defensive backs on a big stage, which is what Masoli did in the Holiday Bowl... twice! Go check out the highlights on YouTube. Listen to the ESPN announcers reactions. Ditto here. Masoli ran for three touchdowns and passed for another while piling up 364 yards of total offense in the 42-31 victory over Oklahoma State, which propelled the Ducks into the final top-10. Over the final three games of the 2008 season, he completed 50 of 75 (67 percent) passes for 830 yards and six touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed 38 times for 248 yards (6.5 yards per carry) and seven scores. Project those numbers into 2009 and you see why it's not completely cracked to use the "H" word in relation to Masoli. He was the Pac-10's best quarterback over the final quarter of the season, and, yeah, that includes the dude from 'SC who's about to become a No. 1 draft pick. As for the first three fourths of the season, consider that Masoli, a JC transfer, showed up for fall practice as basically a true freshman and was thrust into action because of a bizarre string of injuries. Moreover, he played as well as he did despite getting booed at home for an admittedly shoddy performance vs. Stanford -- shoddy, of course, excluding the clutch, game-winning drive he engineered to save the day. It's not ridiculous to project 3,500-4,000 yards of total offense for him this season.

10. Walter Thurmond, CB, Oregon
11. Jake Locker, QB, Washington
12. Joe McKnight, RB, USC
13. Dexter Davis, DE, Arizona State
14. LeGarrette Blount, RB, Oregon
15. Alterraun Verner, CB, UCLA
16. Ed Dickson, TE, Oregon
17. Charles Brown, OT, USC
18. Will Tukuafu, DE, Oregon
19. Josh Pinkard, DB, USC
20. Reggie Carter, LB, UCLA
21. Stafon Johnson, RB, USC
22. James Rodgers, WR, Oregon State
23. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, DE, Washington
24. Lawrence Guy, DT, Arizona State; Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State
25. Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford
26. Tyson Alualu, DE, California
27. Devin Ross, CB, Arizona
28. Keaton Kristick, LB, Oregon State
29. Brooks Reed, DE, Arizona
30. Everson Griffen, DE, USC

Tags:

Pac-10 general, USC Trojans, Mark Sanchez, Jeremiah Masoli, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Pac-10 general, Oregon Ducks

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