The Wildcats went into Autzen Stadium and demolished a favored Oregon squad. A lot of people were predicting the Cats would have an emotional letdown after beating Cal last week, but it was not to be. RB Chris Henry totally exonerated our high ranking of him by rushing 29-191 with two TDs and scoring another TD on a terrific bubble screen where he broke three tackles, crossed completely across the field and down the sideline--launching himself into the endzone from the 5-yard line with two guys trying to drag him down. Arizona is going bowling after a wretched start, and it is all because their O-line made up of three freshman, a sophomore and a junior has gotten so much better.

SCOUTING SUMMARY:

College: Arizona Conference: Pacific 10 Columnist: Sam Maxwell
Name # Ht Wt Speed Pos Class Game Notes

Nick Folk 12 6' 1.0" 215 0.00 P 2007: The guy does it all. Punts high and long and kicksoff and hit 3 FGs. What a versatile weapon. May not be drafted, but he will kick for somebody eventually. GRADE: Positive

Syndric Steptoe 1 5' 9.0" 182 0.00 WR 2007: Got injured in the first quarter and did not return. This is another factor that made the win so stunning. GRADE: Inc.

Antoine Cason 5 5' 11.5" 182 4.59 CB 2008: They avoided his side like the plague. He was in on a couple tackles in runs support, but I don't think they threw his way even once. The guy is not a blazer, but he can play that position. Solid second rounder at worst now. GRADE: Inc.

Chris Henry 19 6' 1.0" 233 4.35 HB 2007: Amazing breakout performance. The nation got to see what CDS has been saying all year about this kid tonight. Amazing power, hands, wiggle, for a big man. Really picked his holes tonight. Showed that 4.35 burst on a 62-yarder up the middle where he went untouched at the LOS and outraced the secondary to the endzone. I will not be surprised at all if he is the third back taken, and second is not out of the question. If he runs 4.35-4.42 at the combine he is a first round lock, IMHO. GRADE: Very positive

Michael Johnson 23 6' 2.5" 217 0.00 S 2007: DNP...not sure why. Spoke to him a few days ago and he said nothing about being hurt...weird. GRADE: none

Brad Wood 17 6' 2.0" 228 0.00 TE 2007: Did not scout. Not sure how/why he got in the database.

Louis Holmes 1 6' 6.0" 257 4.65 DE 2008: Didn't finish the deal very often but had about 3-4 QBHs. Had a TFL and was in on 5 tackles. I am glad he is staying in, because he has an enormous upside but just needs more reps and more coaching. GRADE: Neutral

Wilrey Fontenot III 3 5' 9.8" 180 4.39 CB 2008: Wil played a wonderful game. Had 2 PDs and was in on a bunch of plays. He knew he was being picked on and really responded. Will be a solid 3-4th rounder in '08. One of the better smallish cover corners in college football. GRADE: Positive

College: Oregon Conference: Pacific 10 Columnist: Sam Maxwell
Name # Ht Wt Speed Pos Class Game Notes

Dennis Dixon 10 6' 4.0" 196 0.00 QB 2008: Man was he exposed tonight. Threw three picks and then got benched. He can only do stuff with his legs at this level, and will not even be able to accomplish that at the next. Worst game I have ever seen him play. His arm is weak. He stares down receivers. Has little touch on the ball. GRADE: Very negative

James Finley 18 6' 2.0" 204 0.00 WR 2007: Didn't see him have a catch. Not sure how much he played. With Jayson Williams he needed to be big tonight, and was tiny. GRADE: Negative

Enoka Lucas 55 6' 4.0" 299 0.00 C 2007: He is solid, but unspectacular. Has good feet and plays hard. Will be overpowered by NFL NTs though. I wouldn't draft him until the 6-7th round if I needed a center. GRADE: Neutral

J.D. Nelson 28 5' 11.0" 219 4.50 S 2007: Where the heck was JD in the first half. They needed him to be a force against Henry, but instead a skinny little corner (#6) was doing all the tackling of the big back in the secondary. Finally made a little noise in the second half. Tuitama went out with an injury in the second half, so all he had to do was come up and fill, but didn't do it enough. I like his skill set, but I was underwhelmed by his game tonight. GRADE: Neutral


OTHER NOTES:

Chris Henry made stud OU HB Jonathan Stewart look like a JV player. WR Cameron Colvin for OU is a big potential guy who needs a QB.
Arizona's junior LB, Spencer Larsen, is a guy we will be talking about PLENTY next year.

I believe he suffered some sort of hamstring injury while chasing DeSean Jackson down the sideline last week. Not joking.

This game was painful to watch. UO didn't even show up on both sides of the ball.
#6 on the Ducks side is Walter Thurmond III. He's a redshirt freshmen who's been the only reliable corner this year.
Bellotti needs to rethink the QB situation. I've always been a Dixon fan but his heads not right at the moment. UA played a great game all around. I think they only threw 2 passes in the second half and still scored 17 points. These are two programs headed in opposite directions. Unfortunately for Oregon, their headed in the wrong direction. The talent is there but the mental part is not.
Couldn't agree with you more on Chris Henry. Amazing performance!
Don't get to excited about Colvin though. He had a QB last year with Clemmens but he's never lived up to the hype. He drops the ball or fumbles in big games, like the Cal game this year, and he's had injury problems. Another example of talent without smarts.

Ok...Thanks Martin

Arizona website says Henry is a JR...which is it?

He is an academic senior with a year of eligibility left, so they list him as a junior.

He is quite likely to come out. At least that is what he told me.

Where does henry rank with the likes of Peterson and Lynch? It doesn't seem like his production matches his size/speed...especially that horrible ypc.

His ypc and lack of production can nearly all be attributed to that terribly young O-line that has now matured somewhat. They were plain awful early on, and as they have gotten better, all of Henry's rushing stats have improved and the team has gotten better in recent weeks by MILES over what they were early on.

Comparing Henry to Peterson and Lynch...

Well, he has measurables as good or better than either. He has better hands than either. He runs with power as well as Peterson, but lacks his pure running instincts (due to limited reps?). He is not as shifty as Lynch. Personally, I like him as a pro prospect as well as both of those guys.