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Friday, December 13, 2002
Smith goes from scout team to stardom
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
TEMPE, Ariz -- If you saw Rudy, you know that being a member of the scout team on a college football squad isn't about glamour or glory. It's about getting the first-team ready for each week's game. Period.
You also wouldn't expect to see a big-name transfer from a hallowed football power like Tennessee to be on that team. But there was former blue-chip running back Onterrio Smith running with the scout team. He could have moped or pouted, but he didn't. He just went to work.
"He came out every day saying, 'I'm going to make you guys better today,'" said Oregon offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford. "A lot of guys of his stature would sit back and say how they didn't have to work hard on the scout team. Not him, he came out everyday to work."
|  | | RB Onterrio Smith makes Oregon a dangerous team. |
While he had his problems in Tennessee and was kicked off the team for testing positive for marijuana, he gained his teammates respect early on when he landed in Eugene.
"All you have to do is watch Onterrio practice for 10 minutes and it's pretty easy to respect what he does," Tedford said. "His teammates took to him right away for that."
After preparing the Ducks defense each week, Smith knew the Oregon tailback job was Maurice Morris' after he gained 1,188 in 2000 as a junior. That's what he was told point-blank, and he accepted it. But Smith still figured he could get his share of yards.
That's exactly what he told Mike Bellotti, too, in a meeting back in August.
"He asked me what my goals were and I told him 800 to 1,000 yards and eight to 10 touchdowns," Smith said of a meeting with coach Mike Bellotti back in August. "He just looked at me and gave me that check of the head."
The thing was, Bellotti believed it, too. He just wanted to make sure that Smith knew his role.
"I told him that Maurice was the starter no matter what he did," Bellotti said. "I thought he earned that. I told him he'd get his chances and to do with them what he can and that his role can expand as you produce."
Bellotti was nervous about having any sort of controversy, so Smith's immediate willingness to defer to the senior was a breath of fresh air for him.
"He was totally fine with it," he said. "That, to me, was the mark of a team player and the mark of an unselfish young man. Yet, look what he accomplished as a backup."
Smith's first 100-yard game came when he rushed for 131 against Arizona in the first weekend of October. That earned him the right to stand behind Joey Harrington in the Ducks backfield every other series as a co-starter. In rushing for 1,007 yards and seven touchdowns, including a school-record 285-yard performance against Washington State on Oct. 27, Smith relished his role and found several positives into how he and Morris were used.
"We help each other; compliment each other," said Smith, a second-team all-Pac-10 performer. "It's a way to stay fresh. Maurice took all the beating last year. He didn't want to come back his senior year and take such a beating."
People around the state of Oregon have called for them to play at the same time, but that doesn't make sense to Tedford.
"There's only one ball on the field, and if one guy is carrying one has to block for the other," he said. "They don't need to be blocking for each other. This is keeping them fresh."
With 960 net yards to his credit, Morris has been the durable, reliable back, compared to Smith's eye-friendly style that reeks of a little Barry Sanders mixed in with some Marshall Faulk.
"It just comes natural -- the spin moves, the shake moves and all that," Smith said. "That's just something I strive for, to make the crowd go 'oooh.' That's the kind of player I am. An excitement player. I call myself 'The Entertainer.'"
"I've seen some great back some through here -- Saladin McCullough, Reuben Droughns, Mo -- and he can do some things none of them can do," said tight end Justin Peelle.
Often one of his blockers, Peelle was taken by surprise by Smith's prowess this fall.
"I didn't think he was that good," Peelle said. "He makes some runs that really are amazing. I still think that Mo might be the better back right now, but some of things that Onterrio can do is just flat-out amazing."
Whether Morris is the better back or not, the fact that both running backs have stayed positive and gotten along has helped maintain the tight chemistry the Ducks pride themselves with having.
"Their relationship, the positive aspect of their relationship and the supportive aspect of their relationship, has been a tremendous boon to this football team," Bellotti said. "If you have superstars that are warring or at odds with each other or unhappy, it affects the psyche of the team.
"It's probably been the most pleasing aspect of this entire season to me."
That, obviously, will change should they lead the Ducks to a Fiesta Bowl victory and a possible co-national championship.
Media Day sights
It wasn't the usual free-for-all that many media days become. No one player was crowded around or caged in like a lion -- not even Harrington. And there were minimal player-interviewing-player moments that have dominated past media days for major bowl games.
The Colorado players did get more involved in this practice, though, as running back Cortlen Johnson, safety Robbie Robinson and injured linebacker Jashon Sykes each took turns asking questions of their teammates for local news stations.
The best exchange took place between Sykes and tight end Daniel Graham when Sykes clearly was embarrassing him the following questions:
Are you down with the Red or Blue?
"What?"
You know Crypts or the Bloods?
"I'm Black and Gold."
Do you have any kids?
"No."
Do you have any girlfriends?
"No."
Will you help many kids when you go pro?
"Yeah, sure."
Who needs two?
Players on both squads are fighting over tickets for their families and friends, especially Oregon. The Ducks feature hometown boy Rashad Bauman and Harrington, whose clan of family and friends is well-known for their huge section at Autzen Stadium on game days.
Bauman, a senior cornerback who played up the road from Sun Devil Stadium at South Mountain High, took collections from his players who weren't using their allotted tickets and gathered up 46. Harrington, on the other hand, has 102 people coming.
"But 80 of them were bought because they didn't want to hassle me," said the senior quarterback.
He can surely reimburse them come late April.
Superlatives from Media Day
Best look: Oregon linebacker Kevin Mitchell.
The sophomore from Orange, Calif. has a Dan Fouts/Grizzly Adams beard going, yet shaves his head bald. He also sports several tattoos, including a chain wire fence around his right bicep and one that says, "Truth" on his left one. He also sported a long silver chain out of his right pocket, which looked odd with his green uniform on.
Funniest scene: Watching Gary Barnett pose with the four Fiesta Bowl queens and the mayor of Tempe for photos when they were prompted to say, "We love Tostitos" into a camera. Barnett mouthed the words softly while in perma-grin mode.
Best use of the third-person: Colorado linebacker Jashon Sykes, who said, "I have to do what's best for Jashon," when talking about whether he'll opt for the NFL or use what may be an additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA.
Best mocking of the host sponsor: Oregon tight end Justin Peelle, who said Tostitos were so ubiquitous around Sun Devil Stadium that he saw the signs from an airplane a few years ago when flying into Phoenix.
Most Optimistic: Mike Bellotti, for saying, "We still control our own destiny," even though a victory for the Ducks won't mean a lot as far as the national championship unless Nebraska takes care of business in Pasadena and the AP pollsters come through for him.
Most Hatred for Nebraska: Colorado tackle Victor Rogers.
When asked about watching the Rose Bowl and cheering for the Big Red, the senior All-American said, "I don't like talking about them. We don't like them. We hate them."
He later said he wouldn't be cheering for Nebraska no matter what the circumstances are.
"I just can't do it."
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online. He can be reached at marc.connolly@abc.com.
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