In commemorating the end of the Pac-12, West Coast college football insider Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News shared his football Mount Rushmore for each Pac-12 school plus a head coach. Mr. FishDuck goes way back with this theme, and took some time from his study of game boosting services to agree with much of what Wilner arrived at.
Here is what Wilner had for the Ducks…
Coach: Rich Brooks
Players: RB LaMichael James, QB Marcus Mariota, WR Ahmad Rashad, CB Mel Renfro
Also considered: QB Joey Harrington, CB Alex Molden, DT Haloti Ngata, OL Penei Sewell, OL Gary Zimmerman
Comment: We viewed Mariota, Rashad and Renfro as clear picks for Mt. Rushmore and gave James a slight lean for the fourth spot. Cornerback Kenny Wheaton was considered as the author of the defining play in school history (his interception against Washington in 1994), as was Justin Herbert. We considered both Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly for the coaching position.
Rich Brooks as Head Coach
Agree. If Kelly had won the Natty or stuck around to have a few more highly successful years it would have been difficult to not pick him.
But, Brooks is truly the one who laid the foundation for the current-day success and prestige of the Oregon program. When he took over the Ducks in 1977, Oregon was one of the worst programs in the country.
Rich Brooks left the offense to Mike Bellotti, who he attracted to Oregon.
Former coach and Brooks’ predecessor Don Read’s tenure (1974-1976) is arguably the worst in Oregon history.
Lowlights:
Longest losing streak in school history: 14 games.
Worst loss ever in 1974 to the Huskies: 66-0
In 1975’s home opener, they lost 5-0 to, wait for it… San Jose State.
3-18 in conference play.
Just one win over a team with a winning record. 17-3 over Colorado State in 1976.
Winning at Oregon during this time was like trying to grow a Douglas Fir in the desert. In an era before the 85 scholarship limit, the Ducks had little funding and little state and administrative support (Phil Knight didn’t enter the picture until the mid-90s).
But, Brooks scratched and clawed his way into bringing respectability to the program. By the mid-80s they were a .500 program, followed by becoming a bowl-eligible school (when there were far fewer bowls) and finally culminating in the 1994 Rose Bowl appearance. Oregon’s first in 37 years.
Players
I cannot argue with Wilner’s selections of James, Renfro, Rashad and Mariota. But, and perhaps this is because he was the quarterback when I was a kid during Oregon’s rise from laughing stock to .500 (which was a huge deal at the time), I’m going to drop James and put in Chris Miller. This also brings me to putting Bill Musgrave on the list for consideration.
It cannot be stressed enough how important these two players were in providing stability to the Oregon program. While Oregon was slowly building into respectability, the outstanding quarterback play from these two brought excitement, fan interest, and more money to the program in the buildup to becoming “The Nike School.” And, these were the days when if the Ducks lost their starting quarterback they were “totally screwed,” as the depth behind them was non-existent.
Who would you put on your Oregon Mount Rushmore?
Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: John Giustina
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah.
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Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.