Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 12:00 a.m. Pacific
 

THE REGISTER-GUARD Samie Parker caught eight touchdown passes last season.    1. Arizona St. Sun Devils  2. Oregon St. Beavers  3. USC Trojans  4. Washington Huskies  5. UCLA Bruins  6. Oregon Ducks  7. Washington St. Cougars  8. Stanford Cardinal  9. California Bears  10. Arizona Wildcats Back to main page

2002: 7-6 (3-5 Pac-10).

Coach: Mike Bellotti (ninth year, 67-29).

Upside: Ducks should be strong on both lines, especially on defense, with DTs Igor Olshansky and Haloti Ngata.

Downside: Lots of skill-position questions, including how QB and TB will sort themselves out, and whether receivers emerge to help Samie Parker.

Impact newcomer: WR Kellen Taylor, a JC transfer, was in school last year and debuts in 2003. He could be important complement to Parker.

Key performer: LSU transfer Chris Vincent and returnee Terrence Whitehead try to replace TB Onterrio Smith.

Bottom line: Was 2002 meltdown a trend or an aberration? More likely the latter. Key subplot is whether Jason Fife or Kellen Clemens holds onto the QB spot — or both. The Ducks must travel to Arizona State, Washington and UCLA.

2003 schedule

Projected offensive starters
Pos.	Player	Yr.	'02 in a nutshell
WR	Samie Parker	Sr.	49 catches, 724 yards, 8 TDs
LT	Adam Snyder	Jr.	Started 10 games, can play G or T
LG	Nick Steitz	Jr.	Started 11 games at LG
C	Dan Weaver	Sr.	Started all 13 games at center
RG	Joey Forster	Sr.	Started all 13 games at RG
RT	Robin Knebel	Jr.	Played 10 games with 1 start
TE	Tim Day	So.	3 catches in reserve role
WR	Demetrius Williams	So.	5 catches, 73 yards
QB	Jason Fife	Sr.	2,752 yards, 24 TDs, 10 INTs
TB	Terrence Whitehead	So.	272 yards, 4.3 avg., 2 TDs
FB	Matt Floberg	Sr.	13 starts, 12 catches
PK	Jared Siegel	Jr.	Led Pac-10, 20-24 FGs, 49-50 PATs
Projected defensive starters
Pos.	Player	Yr.	'02 in a nutshell
DE	Chris Solomona	Jr.	Former UW recruit redshirted
DT	Haloti Ngata	So.	44 tackles, 3.5 sacks
DT	Junior Siavii	Sr.	15 tackles in reserve role
DE	Igor Olshansky	Jr.	70 tackles at DT
ILB	Kevin Mitchell	Sr.	114 tackles, 6 sacks, TD vs. WSU
MLB	Jerry Matson	Jr.	Special-teams demon as reserve
OLB	Anthony Trucks	So.	14 tackles in reserve role
CB	Steven Moore	Sr.	5 INTs as full-time starter
Rover	Marley Tucker	Jr.	27 tackles in reserve role
FS	Keith Lewis	Sr.	80 tackles, 5 INTs as starter
CB	Aaron Gipson	So.	53 tackles, 2 INTs, 11 starts
P	Paul Martinez	Fr.	Standout HS punter; Danville, Calif.

114.1	Rushing yards per game lost with departure of Onterrio Smith.