Dapper Duck Not Just A Pretty Suit Oregon Quarterback A Perfect 2-0 After Being Thrown Into The Breach

His wardrobe doesn’t include polo shirts, but Polo shirts.

His hair isn’t cut, but styled.

His car isn’t just any jalopy - it’s a new BMW.

Ryan Perry-Smith, the Rolls Royce of back-up quarterbacks, is more Silver Spoons than Sanford & Son.

He also happens to be 2-0 as Oregon’s starter, having led the Ducks past Colorado State and into the Top 25 on Saturday. Tony Graziani, the regular starter, is out indefinitely after tearing a knee ligament the previous week.

Perry-Smith will again be the starter this week, when the Ducks visit Washington State for each team’s Pacific-10 Conference opener.

But the QB who guided Oregon to a come-from-behind win in his first college start - last year, at Illinois - has no comeback for the Ricky Schroeder jokes. And the 395-yard passing performance against Colorado State only made Oregon’s sharp-dressed man a more visible target.

Perry-Smith has long been monologue material for teammate Josh Wilcox, the Ducks’ outstanding tight end and irrepressible loose cannon. It was Wilcox who suggested Perry-Smith’s jersey should sport Ralph Lauren’s Polo logo instead of the Nike’s pervasive Swoosh.

“I don’t really have a comeback for that,” Perry-Smith conceded. “I need to think of one, though. My teammates are getting me pretty good with that one.”

A fifth-year senior, Perry-Smith grew up near Sacramento, Calif., and walked on at Oregon in 1992. Mike Bellotti, now in his second season as head coach, tutored quarterbacks under Rich Brooks then and didn’t make Perry-Smith any promises.

Keep working, Bellotti told him, and the coaching staff will make an evaluation after the season. A year passed, and still no scholarship.

As a third-string quarterback - behind Danny O’Neil and Graziani - Perry-Smith had few options.

“There were thoughts of going other places, but I just decided to stick it out here,” he said.

Finally, after two years with the scout team, his patience was rewarded.

“Rich (Brooks) and I sat down and discussed it,” Bellotti said. “We felt like we - not owed it to Ryan - but that Ryan had earned a scholarship.

“And we felt like, down the road, we could put our faith and trust in him.”

Down the road is right now, and Perry-Smith is clearly prepared. When Graziani went down against Nevada two weeks ago, Perry-Smith earned the save.

Then came the breakthrough game against Colorado State, in which Perry-Smith notched the fifth-best passing performance in school history. In less than two weeks, he had gone from the second-best quarterback in Eugene to the Pac-10 offensive player of the week.

Thanks largely to the preparedness of Perry-Smith, the Ducks are 3-0, ranked 25th by the Associated Press and right on schedule.

“We don’t consider Ryan having to play for us as a problem,” Bellotti said. “I think that’s a solution already.”

Part of Perry-Smith’s smooth transition can be attributed to Oregon’s unconventional offensive scheme, which rewards mental mastery more than physical tools.

As evidence, consider the numbers: Graziani has completed 33 of 59 passes for 543 yards and three touchdowns, while Perry-Smith is 33 of 56 for 528 yards and two scores. Neither has thrown an interception.

“They’ve got a good offensive scheme that allows a guy that understands what to do to come in, whether he’s got arm strength or not,” WSU secondary coach Craig Bray said. “But shoot, the guy threw for three or four hundred yards last week, so he’s no slouch.”

Bellotti calls Perry-Smith one of the best pure passers he’s coached. Still, there are no guarantees.

Graziani, considered a superior scrambler, is expected back within five weeks, and Perry-Smith could be a spectator again.

“I understand that,” Perry-Smith said, “and that’s fine.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo