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Rich Raiders get richer? By JOE ZAVALA Ashland Daily Tidings If everything goes as expected, the Southern Oregon University football team may wield a particularly destructive weapon in 2003. Former University of Arizona star wide receiver Andrae Thurman has completed a summer class necessary to clinch his eligibility and could be cleared to play as early as Monday. The 5-11, 185-pound senior from Phoenix, Ariz., has been practicing with the fifth-ranked Raiders since late August, but had to ace an environmental studies online summer class at SOU to gain back his eligibility. Southern Oregon University hopeful Andrae Thurman turns to run after a catch in practice Thursday. Thurman starred for University of Arizona last season and may play for the Raiders this year. Ashland Daily Tidings/SATSUKI DOI According to Thurman, he's good to go. "It looks good," he said on his way off the practice field Friday. "We'll have the final say-so Monday, I believe, but all the paperwork's going in today. I'm looking forward to it. I feel like everything's OK and I don't see why everything wouldn't fit in." "He's done everything that's been asked of him," added SOU head coach Jeff Olson. "He just finished class (Thursday) and his grade was turned in today. He got an "A" and the work he did was very impressive. He had to do a lot of work in a very short period of time, so we'll see." Olson's excitement, however, is tempered with caution. "Until somebody says, 'All right, we'll sign off on eligibility,' I won't feel good about it. But I think he's met everything he has to do in order to be eligible." Thurman's resume could have landed him a spot on virtually any Pac-10 roster, but his academic comeback came too late to qualify him for NCAA play in 2003. Desperate to play his senior year - in part to impress NFL scouts - he was then forced to look at other options. In what has turned out to be a fantastic break for the Raiders, one of the NFL scouts eyeing Thurman is former SOU wideout Brandon Schwab. When Schwab, now a scout for the St. Louis Rams, learned of Thurman's predicament he called Olson and SOU recruiting coordinator Shay McClure. Within days, one of the most explosive receivers in the country was on a plane bound for Ashland. "I talked to coach (Olson) for about a half-hour," Thurman recalls. "We talked about the program and how he expects to win a championship and I told him that's where I want to go, so I guess we're on the same page." Thurman, 23, was projected to be Arizona's top returning wideout before a miserable stretch in the classroom cost him his senior year at the NCAA Division I school. He caught 61 passes for 915 yards and three touchdowns for the 4-8 Wildcats in 2002. Three times Thurman caught nine passes for over 140 yards, including: a nine-catch, 165-yard game against Utah; a nine-catch, 142-yard game against 22nd-ranked Washington; and a nine-catch, 151-yard game against California. Against famed UCLA, Thurman hauled in five catches for 118 yards, including a 92-yard TD that was the team's longest play from scrimmage all year. "He's impressive," Olson said. "He's got speed, he's got exceptionally quick hands and he runs very good routs. He's been extremely well coached. He can turn a quick pass into a home run in a hurry." Thurman, who started 10 of 12 games last season, also returned two punts at Arizona for 41 yards (20.5-yards per return) and six kicks for 104 yards (17.3 yards per return) - two skills Olson said Thurman will also put to use locally. He's No. 9 on UA's all-time receptions list (105) and No. 11 on the all-time career yards list (1,530). One thing Thurman didn't do too much at Arizona, however, was win. For that reason, he's looking forward to joining the Raiders. "I'm excited," he said. "The last three, four years I've played on sub-par teams, below average, and it doesn't feel too good. Doesn't feel too good at all. Winning's the most important thing for me here - anywhere matter of fact. Just excited, ready to go, can't wait until next Saturday." After spending the last three years facing off against Division I cornerbacks, Thurman should have his way at the NAIA level if his eligibility goes through. But after seeing three weeks of Raider practices, Thurman downplayed the talent gap between the two levels. "There's just differences here and there, and nothing really major," said Thurman, who runs a 4.4 to 4.45 40-yard dash, according to McClure. "The guys in Division I are obviously a little bigger and differently coached, but overall it's the same. It's all football. Guys are guys, and I'm not much worried about what division I'm in. As long as I can take care of what I need to take care of, I'll be OK." Southern was already poised for another great season before Thurman's arrival. The Raiders, who advanced to the national quarterfinals for the second year in a row last November, were ranked No. 5 in the NAIA preseason poll and return 15 of 24 starters, including four All-Americans. Their season-opener is next Saturday against Linfield. "I'm looking forward to winning," Thurman said. "Like I said, anything I can do to help my team, whether that's me catching three touchdowns a game or whether that's none and me blocking. Just whatever I need to do to win." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -