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Storylines aplenty
More than any other year in recent memory, the stage is set for a handful of local football phenoms to make a major impact in the college game. From New Hampshire to Notre Dame to sunny Southern California, here's what we've got our eyes on this season: Rudy Carpenter's shot at the Heisman He's a long shot, but Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter could find himself in a position to win the Heisman Trophy. According to the website www.betvega.com, Carpenter's listed at +3000 odds to claim college football's prestigious award, with the front-runner being Florida's Tim Tebow at +300. The Westlake High grad doesn't have the best odds, but he does have a few good things going for him already.
Sun Devils head coach Dennis Erickson praised Carpenter at Pac-10 media day. "Offensively, our strength is with Rudy," Erickson said. "We have a lot of receivers back. We lost three starters on the offensive front, and we need to get better." Carpenter's passing yards increased in his junior year (3,202), as did the number of times he was sacked (54), so the play of the team's offensive line is critical. The quarterback has started 31 consecutive games, and if he continues to take a pounding, his performance could suffer. If, however, Carpenter has room to make plays with his arm and stays healthy, he could put up Heismanlike numbers in his final college campaign.
must stay healthy When he's on the football field, Ben Olson has proven to be a successful quarterback. The difficult part for Olson is staying on the field. During his time at UCLA, the strong-throwing lefty has dealt with a hand injury, a concussion, two knee injuries and a foot injury. The 25-year-old quarterback will take over the starting job once again for the Bruins after Patrick Cowan suffered a season-ending injury in spring practice. UCLA wide receiver Gavin Ketchum has seen Olson throwing the ball recently and has been impressed. "He definitely looks good from my standpoint," Ketchum said. "His throws are right on the money. It helps when the quarterback and receivers are on the same page." Olson, the 2001 ESPN National Player of the Year while at Thousand Oaks High, has plenty of potential when healthy. He's completed 152-of-275 passes for 1,873 yards and 12 touchdowns, and is 7-3 in 10 career starts. In spring practice, Olson suffered the aformentioned foot injury, but UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel is hopeful the quarterback will be able to bounce back from his latest setback. "Ben is just out of a boot," Neuheisel said at Pac-10 media day. "He had surgery to put a pin in his foot. The healing process is going as planned. Hopefully he will be at full speed early on in camp." Matt Luft becoming an Ivy League star In 2007, Harvard's offense was fueled by a pair of Thousand Oaks High graduates—wide receivers Corey Mazza and Matt Luft. Mazza led the Crimson in receptions (56), receiving yards (785) and receiving touchdowns (seven). Luft was second in each category with 43 catches for 721 yards and six scores, while averaging a team-best 16.8 yards per reception. Now that Mazza has graduated, Luft, a junior coming off an AllIvy League honorable mention selection, is poised to become The Man in the Harvard aerial attack. "We're definitely going to be counting on him a lot," said Dan Saganey, Harvard's wide receivers coach. "He's going to have a bigger bull's-eye on his back than he's had in past seasons with (Mazza) being gone, but we still expect a huge year." At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Luft can create matchup nightmares for Ivy League defensive backs. In last year's season finale against rival Yale, Luft caught eight balls for 160 yards and a pair of scores, with the majority of the damage coming in the first quarter. Saganey said Luft's performance against Yale should be a precursor of things to come. "The Yale game was big for him," Saganey said. "He can be a first-team wideout in our league, and that game should give him the confidence he needs to do it." Keep Jimmy Clausen on his feet Heralded as the next great golden arm signal-caller for Notre Dame while coming out of Oaks Christian in 2006, Jimmy Clausen was bruised and battered as a freshman for the Fighting Irish. Playing behind an offensive line that allowed a school-record 58 sacks—34 of which came at his expense—Clausen posted decent passing numbers despite his team's 3-9 record, the program's worst mark since 1963. Clausen played in 10 games for the Fighting Irish in 2007, including nine starts. He completed 138-of-245 passes for 1,254 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. He posted a morethanrespectable 103.8 quarterback rating. The sophomore enters this season as Notre Dame's unchallenged starter and, according to ESPN.com, head coach Charlie Weis has been pleased with Clausen's progress during the offseason. "Jimmy's getting all the reps," Weis told ESPN.com at the conclusion of spring practice. "That's allowed him to start forming a chemistry and bonding with the receivers and allowed him to get more of a leadership role with the offensive linemen. I've been very, very pleased with his progress, as well as his throwing." Of course, it's a moot point unless Clausen has time to stand in the pocket and pass rather than run for his life every Saturday afternoon. Seven eager to crack starting lineup at USC Although it is tough to crack the starting lineup of any college football team, let alone a squad ranked No. 1 in numerous preseason polls, many former area high school players could do just that for USC. The local receiving the most playing time will likely be senior linebacker Clay Matthews. The former Agoura High standout has 40 tackles and has blocked two field goals during his Trojan career. Another defensive player that could see significant playing time is sophomore Marshall Jones. Jones is a backup safety at the moment, but the former Oaks Christian star is working hard to become a starter. "I'm more confident this season," Jones said. "I've spent a lot of hours with our secondary coach, Rocky Seto, watching game film of quarterback's intentions." Jones also feels that red-shirt freshman running back Marc Tyler, Jones' teammate at Oaks Christian, will have an opportunity to get his hands on the ball. "We have a lot of running backs, but he looked good in the spring," Jones said of Tyler. "He needs to find his timing and shine and make plays when his time does come." Wide receiver Jordan Cameron (Newbury Park), tight end Jimmy Miller (Westlake), cornerback Kevin Thomas (Rio Mesa) and offensive lineman Garrett Nolan (Moorpark JC) enter the preseason as backups. Jordan LaSecla vies for starting job at San Jose State At Newbury Park High, Jordan LaSecla ran an offense that threw the ball all over the field at all times. As a red-shirt sophomore at San Jose State, the signal-caller is being reunited with a similar offensive philosophy, one that features five wide receivers and a bunch of opportunities to wing it. Thus far, the Spartans' new offense—San Jose State ran a prostyle system in past seasons— seems like a good fit for LaSecla, who played in four games in 2007, completing 8-of-18 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. "I had to get used to it again after going two years in a different style of offense," LaSecla said. "But summer has been really good for me. We've had a lot of practices, and I've done pretty well." LaSecla is competing against Kyle Reed, a transfer from CalBerkeley, and Myles Eden for the starting gig. He said limiting turnovers and the ability to escape a pass rush will be vital to becoming the No. 1 guy behind center. "The coaches need to see that, in a pressure situation, I can make a smart play," LaSecla said. "I have to give our team a chance, rather than fumbling the ball or throwing a pick." Gavin Ketchum on a mission After receiving a medical redshirt last year because of an ankle injury, Gavin Ketchum is healthy and will be a big part of UCLA's plans this season. Ketchum will be competing for a starting spot at wide receiver along with Dominique Johnson, Taylor Embree and Ryan Graves. He may also see time on special teams. The former Oak Park High standout has caught 21 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns during his career at UCLA. Entering his junior year, Ketchum knows more than anyone how important this season is for his career. "Every route you run is a job interview here," Ketchum said. "In high school, you could have a bad game and it was not as big of a deal; you got over it and played well the next week. In college, you have a bad day and you could get cut." Ketchum said he's been playing the flanker, split end and slot positions in practice to earn the coaches' respect and increase his chances of getting more minutes on the field. "With a new coaching staff, the best thing you can do is know more of the playbook," Ketchum said. "They have talked to me about a possible starting role, and I want to make sure I can contribute all over the field." Darrell Scott vs. The Hype In three years of high school varsity football—two seasons at Moorpark and one at St. Bonaventure—Darrell Scott rushed for 6,879 yards and scored 88 touchdowns. With that, Scott became the most highly touted running back in the nation. After a long recruiting process that included all of the big-name universities, he opted for Colorado, a midlevel program in the Big 12 that's posted an 8-17 overall record during the past two seasons. During last week's Big 12 media day, Scott was selected as the conference's Newcomer of the Year. Before logging one carry in college, Scott is already being viewed as the Buffalos' savior, even by his own teammates. Said Colorado defensive tackle George Hypolite: "If I'm worth my salt and the rest of the leaders on this team are worth their salt, (Scott) will be up for the Heisman in two years. That would be awesome and great for Colorado football." The reality, however, is that Colorado's offense ranked ninth in the conference in scoring and sixth in rushing yards per game in 2007. While Scott's presence should help elevate those numbers—he may even contribute as a punter—penciling in a Heisman may be a bit premature. Chad Kackert ready to run wild Chad Kackert, the recordsetting running back from Grace Brethren of Simi Valley, has led the New Hampshire football team in rushing during the past two seasons. Playing in an offensive system that features multiple ball carriers, however, has limited Kackert's rushing totals to 584 yards in 2006 and 380 yards in '07—he also missed the better part of four games last season with a hamstring injury. Now healthy, Kackert, a junior, is anticipating his most productive season in a Wildcats uniform. He's also ready to establish himself as a team leader. "The coaches expect me to take the No. 1 role in the backfield," Kackert said. "To me it's also a role of leadership, where before it was more about proving yourself as a younger player. It's a totally different approach when you lead by example." Look for Kackert to be featured prominently in the team's passing attack as well. He had 20 receptions a year ago. "Our quarterbacks can see the whole field at all times," Kackert said. "If there's an opening there, they find me." Malachi Lewis moves from running back to tight end Former Rio Mesa High standout Malachi Lewis made the transition from tailback to halfback—a combination of running back and tight end— during his freshman season at Oregon. This fall, Lewis will continue to adapt to his new role as a fulltime tight end for the Ducks. According to Oregon tight ends and special teams coordinator Tom Osborne, Lewis is handling the switch well. "Lewis' 6-foot-4 frame causes him to have good matchups on the line with people that either aren't as big or aren't as quick as him," Osborne said. "The biggest factor for him is learning how to run routes. I wouldn't call him the starter, but he should see a lot of playing time." Lewis' former head coach at Rio Mesa, Bob Gregorchuk, said his former player should do fine at his new position. "Yeah, I could always see him possibly playing tight end," Gregorchuk said. "In fact, when he was recruited in high school, the big thing colleges were asking was, 'Where do we play him?'" Now we have the answer. |
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