For the second year in a row, Sports Illustrated’s cover of its college football preview features an Oregon football player. Last season De’Anthony Thomas appeared on the cover of the magazine, this year SI has chosen the sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota. ”It’s pretty exciting,” Mariota told Rob Moseley of GoDucks.com. “That’s something, when you’re a little kid, you say, ‘That would be cool, to be on the cover.” At this time last season the nation knew very little about the redshirt freshman quarterback out of Hawaii. After beating out then expected starter Bryan Bennett, Mariota took off running, leading the Ducks to a win in the Fiesta Bowl and earning first team honors for quarterback in the Pac-12. The cover features an image of Mariota running upfield in a 62-51 victory over the University of Southern California last November.
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Former Oregon All-American softball player Jessica Moore allowed only 2 hits and led the United States women’s softball team in a 7-0 shutout victory over Argentina Wednesday. The win improves Moore to 2-0 in the Pan-American qualifying tournament. This dominating performance comes on the heels of another shutout pitching performance for Moore who beat Brazil in an 11-0 rout two days ago. The phenomenal pitcher won 27 games last season while playing for Oregon.
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Thomas Tyner, arguably the best recruit to come out of the state of Oregon in a long time, injured his left foot yesterday according to multiple reports. Tyner was seen leaving practice facilities with a protective boot around his left foot and walking in crutches. The running back from Aloha, Ore. is a talented ball carrier on a team full of talented backs. Tyner joins a backfield that already has sophomore Byron Marshall, De’Anthony Thomas and Ayele Ford. Coach Mark Helfrich told the media that he wasn’t aware of any injuries involving his blue-chip recruit.
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The nation’s best defensive player, Jadeveon Clowney returned to practice Tuesday after missing a scrimmage on Saturday and a practice on Monday. Coach Steve Spurrier calmed the concerns of many across the nation by telling the media that Clowney will be available and ready to play against North Carolina in the season opener on Aug.29. The former No. 1 recruit in the nation totalled 54 tackles last season for the Gamecocks including a season high 7 against Clemson.