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Kempt and Roper are not mere freshmen.
Don’t Believe the Spin Yes, Cody Kempt and Justin Roper are redshirt freshmen quarterbacks. So was Chris Miller, Bill Musgrave and Danny O’Neill when they got their first opportunities to play. In 1970, I saw a totally inexperienced sophomore quarterback (this was before redshirting was a common practice) by the name of Dan Fouts come in for an injured Tom Blanchard, and lead the Ducks to victory over a very good Cal team. Kempt and Roper have both gone through two pre-season camps and two spring camps and spring games. And, since Nathan Costa’s injury in practice October 30th, Justin Roper has been the 3rd string quarterback. So if you read or hear that they are “scout team” quarterbacks please take it with a grain of salt. It has been Roper and Kempt’s responsibility to know the Oregon spread offense for two years now. There were some changes when Chip Kelly took over for Gary Crowton which had to be learned by all the quarterbacks including Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf. Until Dixon was lost to injury those changes were obviously positive and seamless.
So what am I saying? Roper and Kempt are not true freshman and despite all the injuries, I expected the offense to perform better. With Dixon out and Leaf hobbled in practice this past week, Kempt, who jumped ahead of Roper on the depth chart, knew there was a good chance he would being seeing some action against UCLA and he was taking his share of snaps in practice with the first team. Kempt looks like he has some ability, poise and toughness judging from his response to the difficult situation he was put into against a good Bruin defense. But, he didn’t get much help. The offensive line, and in some cases, the running backs, looked as though they had never faced a blitzing defense before. We all knew UCLA was going to be aggressive with various blitzes. There are some remedies for a blitzing, risk-taking defense that can make them pay if a tight end, running back or receiver finds the vacated spots in that defense. Obviously that didn’t happen.
The Forgotten Ones
Aren’t I being a bit harsh on the quarterbacks? After all, who do they have to throw to? Well, #21 Garren Strong is a 6' 3" senior wide receiver, three year letterman and has started every game this year. Ed Dickson has had a good year at tight end and has started every game this year. Jaison Williams is our leading receiver and.has started every game this year. Three out of four ain’t bad. Now, I ask, “Where was Drew Davis, Malachi Lewis, Ryan Keeling, Matt Larkin and Rory Cavaille? A converted safety with no experience on offense, Jeffrey Maehl beat them out apparently. You would think Dickson could play a wide receiver position with the other alternatives of Keeling, Lewis and Larkin at tight end. . Davis hasn’t caught a ball since that nice touchdown reception that sealed the victory over ASU. All the others have seen playing time even before the injuries to the other receivers. And, is an injured Jonathan Stewart really better than a healthy Remene Alston who we last saw running into the Husky end zone? Just makes me wonder at the reluctance to play these guys. En voulez-vous encore Franz Dorsainvil? Answer: Oui! Translation: Would you like more Franz Dorsainvil? Yes! Dorsainvil needs more playing time and when better than when you’re lighting up the USF Dons? He got all of four minutes. Dorsainvil can rebound, play defense and actually create his own shot. For the fifth year now, we have seen that Mitch Platt cannot get it done, even though in thirteen minutes Mitch had one of his better games, but was credited with zero rebounds and gave up who knows how many points on defense. Dorsainvil, est en vie!!! |
