Ken Goe reports Cliff Harris has been named to the Chuck Bednarik watch list, the Heisman Trophy for defense, won last year by Ndamukong Suh. Pretty amazing for a backup cornerback and kick returner. Harris is a high impact player, that's certain, and he has the boldness and confidence a great cornerback has to have. Here's a story from his hometown paper, The Fresno Bee. Harris has the essential ingredient of every star performer in every field: he has a world of talent, and expects success. 16 tackles, 4 picks, and 4 touchdowns are stunning stats through six games, particularly for a part-time starter.
In another article Goe interviews former coaches Mike Bellotti and Neil Zoumboukos about fast starts and disappointing finishes in Oregon history. Bellotti's keys to maintaining the momentum: "stay hungry, stay healthy, stay happy." This year's team is uniquely poised to finish what they've started, for two reasons. They have great depth and great maturity. And, in his gruff New England way, Chip Kelly shields them from potential distractions and wards off complacency.
UCLA has been hit hard by injuries, including starting quarterback Kevin Prince, who continues to miss practice time, and at cornerback, where they've lost five players since spring practice. The LA Times has the story, and more details.
Server issues continue to plague the Register-Guard and Duck Sports Now. Rob Moseley has a feature on how the Ducks treat and monitor concussions, a subject of increasing concern in college football. Is it time to eliminate kickoffs, start each possession at the 25 or 30?
Oh, and Chuck Bednarik? One of the last two-way players in the NFL. Famous for laying out Frank Gifford with a helmet-to-helmet hit. Knocked Gifford out of football for 18 months, and shortened his career.
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