Spring Flings Anything’S Possible, Especially When Predicting Pac-10 Football Season

University of Washington’s Marques Tuiasosopo could be a Heisman Trophy contender. Arizona State’s Ryan Kealy could stay healthy. UCLA could go from ninth to the Rose Bowl. A person could go crazy from all the speculation.

Ah, but this is the way of spring football in the Pac-10 and around the nation. Unlike on the NASDAQ, everybody’s stock is up. And speculation, this period’s biggest commodity, is driving those stocks even higher.

Of course, nobody, save all those newspaper experts who picked Washington State to go to the Rose Bowl in 1997 or Stanford to go last season, really knows what is going to happen in the fall.

But that doesn’t stop anyone from predicting or posting anything and everything about the teams in the Pacific-10 Conference. And if you believe the hype or your latest instant message, the team that could be the top winner next year is Washington.

The Huskies return 15 starters to a team that was one ugly loss to UCLA away from the Rose Bowl. Quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo finished up his spring leading the first string to a 41-3 win over the second string. The senior, who passed for more than 300 yards and rushed for more than 200 in one game last season, has had a year to learn Rick Neuheisel’s offense and it shows.

And unlike the past two seasons, the Huskies appear to have a running game. Sophomore Paul Arnold, the highly touted recruit from Kennedy High in Seattle, emerged as the No. 1 back in the spring. He has drawn comparisons to the Huskies’ last breakaway back, Corey Dillon.

“He is bigger, stronger, faster and now he has the comfort of knowing what is happening at this level,” UW running backs coach Wayne Moses told the Tacoma News Tribune. “He was already a good player. But now he is an experienced guy who has been through the wars. Now it’s time for him to be the veteran player.” The one player who appears to have fallen through the cracks of UW’s offensive game plan is Willie Hurst. The Huskies’ leading rusher the last two years has been moved to the slotback position.

“The transition isn’t going as smoothly as I guess everyone thought,” Hurst told the Seattle Times “It’s been real difficult on me. A lot of frustration has set in, and I’ve been dealing with that.”

Following Washington, in projected order of finish:

Southern California

Down in Los Angeles, USC is dealing with the return of quarterback Carson Palmer. Palmer missed most of last season when he broke his collarbone in a triple overtime game against Oregon. When he went down, so did the Trojans’ chances of going to the Rose Bowl. But the senior is back this spring and, after completing 14 of 21 passes for 155 yards in a spring scrimmage, appears to be regaining some of his old form. “It’s going to take a while to get back into the place I was before I got hurt” Palmer told the Los Angeles Times. “I still have to get my timing back with the receivers and get into the flow of the offense.”

Actually Palmer has to get to know the receivers. All three of last season’s top options aren’t around this spring. R. Jay Soward and Windrell Hayes were drafted. And next season’s expected No. 1 receiver, Kareem Kelly, was held out of spring ball for academic reasons.

Coach Paul Hackett will also have to figure out a way to replace Travis Claridge on the offensive line. On defense, USC returns 10 players, including linebackers Zeke Moreno and Markus Steele.

Oregon

At Oregon, the success of the Ducks could depend on how well JC transfer Maurice Morris replaces Reuben Droughns. Morris, a 6-foot, 205-pound tailback, was a two-time JC Grid-Wire All-American at Fresno City College and eclipsed national junior college career records with 3,708 yards rushing, 593 carries and 4,487 all-purpose yards. Morris will have to produce immediately for the Ducks because backup Herman Ho-Ching dropped out of school.

The receiving corps also took a hit with the loss of Tony Hartley. The Ducks will go into the season with Marshaun Tucker on one side and Keenan Howry on the other.

Tucker made the game-winning catch against Arizona State last October. He also had the most productive first season ever for a junior college transfer at Oregon.

Howry nearly had a UO freshman record for receptions in 1999 and had the game-winning catch in the Sun Bowl.

UCLA

The concern at UCLA is not so much who is making the catches, but who is throwing the passes. The Bruins, after going 20-4 in 1997 and 98, went a miserable 4-7 last season.

Sophomores Ryan McCann and Cory Paus are again battling for the starting spot. McCann has seen most of the action this spring because Paus is coming off surgery to his non-throwing shoulder.

“It’s going to be another tough competition,” McCann told the Orange County Register. “We both benefit from having been on the team a couple years and having gotten to play in the game. It’s going to be a very competitive fall.”

The Bruins return 17 starters from last year’s team and that has many believing they will return to the form they showed two seasons ago.

Arizona State

Much of Arizona State’s success also hinges on the quarterback situation. Senior Ryan Kealy, despite being healthy and productive this spring, has been injured throughout his career.

And with the news last week that backup John Leonard has decided to transfer, the Sun Devils could be in trouble if Kealy, who has had four surgeries on his knee, goes down. Coach Bruce Snyder appears to have given the backup role, at least temporarily, to redshirt freshman Jeff Krohn. Krohn was running the scout team last year.

The defensive line could prove to be the Sun Devils undoing. Inside ASU will be relying on JC transfer Danny Masaniai. And on the outside senior Quincy Yancy has been suspended for the opener and sophomore Mike Pinkard has been inconsistent.

Oregon State

At Oregon State, for the first time in a long time, the players and fans can’t wait for the season to start.

“There’s energy,” Erickson told the Register-Guard. “There’s energy among our boosters. There’s energy among our football players.

“Now, you go out there and they have confidence in themselves,” he added. “They know that they can succeed because they have succeeded. Our guys walk on campus with a lot of pride. I’m sure there were years when they hid under the desk.”

The Beavers return Jonathan Smith at quarterback and tailback Ken Simonton. But they must replace two starters on the offensive line and both defensive tackles.

Arizona

Arizona is relying on one player, receiver Bobby Wade, to replace the explosive Trung Canidate and Dennis Northcutt on offense. So far, the sophomore appears to be doing the job

During one of Arizona’s spring scrimmage, Wade returned a punt for a touchdown and caught three passes on offense. Wade then turned around on defense and returned a fumble for a touchdown and made the only interception in the game.

“When we finish playing he will be tired, real tired … every week,” Arizona coach Dick Tomey told The Arizona Republic. “He can do a lot of things to help you win. He is willing to do whatever it takes.”

It is possible that Wade, much like Northcutt last season, will play in the secondary this season. The Wildcats need to find players for all four secondary spots.

California

While most of the Pac-10 has spent this spring preparing for next season, Cal has been forced to revisit what it did last season. The Bears are being investigated for academic fraud concerning two receivers who are no longer with the team.

Cal also suffered an emotional setback when top recruit Mario Hagan committed suicide. Hagan, 17, hanged himself. Hagan was a standout football and basketball player at Chaparral High in Las Vegas. He led the state of Nevada with 1,645 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns on 161 carries last season and was expected to compete at the wide receiver spot for Cal.

On the field, quarterback Kyle Boller appears to be fully recovered from the shoulder surgery he had last November.

During a recent scrimmage, the sophomore connected on touchdown passes of 70 yards to Marcus Fields, 70 yards to Philip Pippersburg and 65 yards to Derek Swafford.

“We showed a little spark on offense and that’s encouraging,” coach Tom Holmoe told the San Francisco Chronicle. “We’re emphasizing getting the ball in the hands of our playmakers and that seemed to click today.”

Stanford

Stanford may have lost too many of its integral parts to click as well as it did last season. The Cardinal lost four first-team All-Pac-10 performers from the surprise Rose Bowl team. And they might lose its starting quarterback to the baseball draft.

Joe Borchard is supposed to step in and take over for record-setting Todd Husak in the fall. But the junior pitcher is likely to be a high draft pick in June, and despite saying he was staying, could be swayed to pack his bags.

“We have a different team this season,” said coach Tyrone Willingham. “We no longer have Todd Husak, Troy Walters, two great offensive lineman (Mike McLaughlin and Jeff Cronshagen) and several of our top defensive players who were the heart and soul of our Rose Bowl team. What we have this season is a new look, new leaders and team chemistry that has yet to be developed.”

If the Cardinal does not develop that chemistry quickly, it could be a long season.

Washington State

Long seasons and Washington State have gone hand in hand over the past two years. The Cougars have only won one conference game in that span. To turn the tide, coach Mike Price has developed a new scheme on offense that allows Jason Gesser to roll out and utilize both his arm and his feet.

But the offense stumbled this spring, and if the offensive line does not come around it could be another long season for the Cougars.

The defense, particularly the line and secondary, appears to be solid enough to hold opponents. But the Cougars cannot rely on that alone to keep them in games.