Whoever said there was no life after Dennis Dixon made a fool of themselves. This game was the coming out party of RS Freshman QB Justin Roper of Oregon, who played like a veteran, throwing 4 TDs and making no major mistakes as the Ducks routed the Bulls. The game was competitive in the first quarter plus, being tied 11-11 midway through the second quarter. Even so, it was clear from the start that OU has the advantage on both the offensive and defensive lines--and they also had the advantage of one, Jonathan Stewart, who rumbled for 258 yards on just 23 carries, and accounted for 2 TDs.

SCOUTING SUMMARY:

College: South Florida Conference: Big East Columnist: Steve Martin

Game Notes
Trae Williams 21 5' 10.0" 185 4.50 CB 2008: Was beaten (but not badly) on Roper's first TD pass, but held up pretty well throughout, otherwise. Is the more disciplined of the two USF corners, and may be the better tackler as well. GRADE: Neutral

Matt Grothe 8 5' 11.5" 213 4.70 QB 2010: Was harried all day long, and really never got anything going on the ground or through the air. He is just not a pocket passer, even though he is very sensitive to the charge and wants to prove he is. He found no room to run today against a faster OU defense than he has seen most of the year. Made one spectaculr Houdini-escape/scamble/TD pass, but other than that he was quite ineffective, turning the ball over constantly, and being knocked out of the game with a probable concussion early in the 4th. GRADE: Negative

Mike Jenkins 4 5' 11.5" 200 4.46 CB 2009: I keep looking for all the excitement that has Mel Kiper ranking him as the top corner in the draft. Why Mel? He is a decent one-on-one cover guy, but he doesn't tackle all that well, and played very soft coverage today and paid the price. He is a bump tackler, who makes an effort in run defense, but is never going to be an elite run defender. He has a lot of growing to do, IMHO, before he can be considered a starter at the next level. GRADE: Neutral

Amarri Jackson 18 6' 4.2" 202 4.60 WR 2008: He was totally left out of the game plan for the first two quarters, and had only one ball thrown his way late in the snd quarter, before finally catching 1 of the 3 balls he saw in the second half. He still looks the part, but his inconsistency has made him lose his go-to status at USF, so I can't imagine anyone in the NFL drafting him at this point. GRADE: Negative

Ben Moffitt 59 6' 1.3" 245 4.60 LB 2008: Not a great game for Ben. They really focused on getting Max Unger or a guard on him all day, and Stewart took full advantage. His athletic limitations were exposed some in this one, but he still has the intangibles to be a fine ILB in a 3-4 for the right team. GRADE: Neutral

Richard Clebert 76 6' 1.0" 312 5.10 NT 2008: Steady, and just does his job. Was in on 4-5 tackles and had a TFL. Always ties up a blocker or two, and dances around pretty good for a guy his size. I think he can be a rotational UT for someone. Stalemated Unger on a few occasions. GRADE: Slightly positive.

Walt Walker 75 6' 4.0" 335 5.25 OT 2008: DNP


College: Oregon Conference: Pacific 10 Columnist: Sam Maxwell

Dennis Dixon 10 6' 4.0" 196 0.00 QB 2008: DNP

Jonathan Stewart 28 5' 10.5" 235 4.51 HB 2009: This guy is just a stud. There is no other way to describe it. He claimed to be suffering from a turf toe injury, but still put up phenomenal numbers. Runs equally well to the outside or to the inside. Finishes every run. Great balance and lane vision. Can catch. This may have been the best effort against a solid team run defense that I have seen from a RB all year. 23 carries for 258 yards and 2 TDs (a 72-run and a 7 catch). GRADE: Positive

Cameron Colvin 3 6' 3.0" 210 0.00 WR 2008: DNP

Max Unger 60 6' 5.0" 300 0.00 OT 2009: This is the best I have seen Unger look. Looked like a candidate for #1 center in the draft tonight. Very good quickness. Great motor and effort. Pulls like lightening. Always out in the second level wreaking havoc. GRADE: Very positive

Jayson Williams 4 6' 5.0" 240 4.61 WR 2009: Barely involved ealy on, but caught some passes, including a 14-yarder for a TD in the second half. I don't know if he is playing hurt, or is just really rusty, or what. Certainly look like the go-to WR I remember from before the injury to me. GRADE: Incomplete


Other Notes:

USF: #5 Nate Allen got banged up in this one, but he still looks like the best player in the Bull's awesome secondary to me. RB Mike Ford (#26) didn't get that many chances but he is a tough, upright runner, who will be very good in time (he's a true frosh) wants he learns some body lean. Reminds me of a young Cedric Benson. WR #89 Taurus Johnson is a future stud. Big enough, fearless, and will be the go-to guy for Grothe for the next two years. Where was George Selvie today???

OU: DE Nick Reed made himself noticed today. What are his measurables, Sam? He might be a PP. Pretty quick on the pass rush, drops nicely into coverage. SS Patrick Chung is the best PP on the OU defense if you ask me. Might he declare? I was also quite impressed with #32 Byrd and # 39 Garrett.

Byrd and Stewart for Oregon are incredible players. Stewart solidified himself as a legit top 15 pick if not higher, he may even be a more complete back coming out than Mcfadden. I have always liked Patrick Chung, I don't think he will come out but, if he did he'd grade out to a 2nd/3rd rounder.

Oregon really looked like they wanted this game. They played smash mouth football and really outplayed Sotuh Florida physically. They put Grother on his behind every single play. Grothe isn't themost talented QB around, but my god, no one will EVER question his toughness again after this game, he played until he could no longer. Unger was definitely the best I have seen him, but you really think #1 center Steve? I think he is a little too slow, and his footwork gets him in trouble at times.

#20 Matthew Harper also impressed a lot, really a solid fundamental tackler.

Well, let's keep an ear out for what CHung does, Sam...He looked terrific!

McFadden looks bad yesterday and Stewart looked terrific, but I doubt if it was quite enough for them to swap places.

I thought I said Unger looked like a candidate for #1 tonight. That's different than saying he has that level of consistency. But he sure did show me something I had not seen before...

true true Steve. I'll keep an eye out for Chung, Unger, and Stewart if they all declare and how they workout.

Word out of Tampa...listening to WDAE620, is that Moffitt's wife says he hasn't been living at home since Nov 11th. She also says he isn't paying any child support, which given NCAA rules restricting work and the amount one can make, is feasible. However, the kicker is she claims he cannot spell and that she has written all of his papers while enrolled at USF.

The ? is how does this effect his draft position, then again it might not considering Dexter Manley couldn't read.