Nick Daschel is a veteran sports writer and columnist who has worked on the West coast for nearly three decades. Nick has covered the Pac-10 for about 15 years, primarily focusing on the Northwest schools.
1. Don’t be surprised if there is a plethora of two-headed quarterbacks in the Pac-10 in 2009.
You know its chaos when Washington’s Jake Locker owns one of the league’s two most stable starting quarterback situations (the other being Oregon’s Jeremiah Masoli). The rest of the Pac-10 schools are looking at two or three quarterbacks for their starting job this spring. It’s likely most will continue the race into August’s preseason camp, and perhaps even into September.
The easiest of the eight is Oregon State, where it will come down to the health of Lyle Moevao in preseason camp. It should be Kevin Riley at California, but he has yet to do enough to win over Jeff Tedford. USC has three going for the job, but coach Pete Carroll has usually been decisive when it comes to naming, and sticking with, a starter. UCLA may become a free-for-all. Stanford has to weigh whether it goes with a veteran (Tavita Pritchard) or a promising newcomer (Andrew Luck). At Arizona State, Danny Sullivan is the frontrunner, but not a lock. Arizona may have to take a three-way battle into August. Washington State has to see if it even has a Division I-caliber quarterback on its campus.
2. Based on the Pac-10’s returning receivers, it sure looks like a lean year in 2009 at that position.
Buster recently put together a list where we rated the Pac-10’s top 10 receivers. It was eye opening from the standpoint that after the first three or four, the rest were underwhelming. The only players that seemingly have a chance to land on anyone’s All-America list are Oregon State’s James Rodgers and USC’s Damian Williams.
That’s not to say the Pac-10 won’t unveil some new talent and that by season’s end we’ll conclude the league’s receivers were pretty good as whole. But there is a lot of proving to do between now and November. A few unknowns who might bear watching: Washington State’s Johnny Forzani, Arizona’s Bug Wright, Oregon State’s Jordan Bishop, Oregon’s Jamere Holland and Stanford’s Chris Owusu.
3. Five good Pac-10 games to watch in October:
USC at California,Oct. 3: Really, do I need to explain why this is a big game?
Oregon at Washington, Oct. 24: Won’t be the big game it should be in a few years if Steve Sarkisian successfully rebuilds the Huskies. Still, anytime it’s Oregon vs. Washington, at the home field of the underdog, it’s worth a look.
USC at Oregon, Oct. 31: The Trojans didn’t see Jeremiah Masoli when he was fully cranked up last season. It will be interesting to see how the Trojans defend the elusive Oregon quarterback.
Arizona State at Stanford, Oct. 24: The Sun Devils whacked Stanford early last season, a beating we suspect Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh won’t forget.
Oregon State at USC, Oct. 24: Say, Oct. 24 is looking like a can’t-miss Saturday, huh? No chance Oregon State will get anything less than USC’s complete attention after losing to the Beavers two of the past three years.
4. Will Pac-10 teams that use their quarterback in shotgun formations attempt more under-center snaps to appease the NFL?
The job of a college coach is to win games, not win over the NFL. But there are games within the game. One is to convince quarterback recruits that their program will get them ready for the NFL.
Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson told the Austin American-Statesman that quarterbacks taking snaps from under center is more appealing to the NFL. And as more college shotgun types such as Vince Young go belly up in pro football, scouts are going to tell college coaches that it would sure be nice to see your guy take snaps from under center, as it is largely done in the NFL.
The Austin newspaper mentioned that fewer college teams are playing pro-style offenses these days. Interestingly, of the five prominent schools it listed as playing a pro-style offense, three are from the Pac-10: USC, UCLA and Oregon State.
5. Yes, Virginia, Washington State has some depth – at running back.
The Cougars could use able, talented players at nearly every position, but one area they might be able to weather an injury or two is running back. Now, let’s keep this in perspective: WSU doesn’t have a Jahvid Best or Jacquizz Rodgers on the roster. But the trio of Dwight Tardy, Logwone Mitz and Cal transfer James Montgomery isn’t bad. Mitz is having a solid spring camp, Montgomery had some moments as a freshman at California before leaving that school, and Tardy has a decent resume.
Prediction: If Washington State’s offensive line isn’t a total disaster in 2009, the Cougars should stay in some games just by eating clock with the running game.
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