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SUNNY Temp: 60 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, August 28, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 6, 2003 Oregon QBs downplay any talk of controversy Duck Notes By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune Duel, battle, competition ... whatever. Just don’t call it a controversy. Jason Fife and Kellen Clemens enter today’s start of fall camp in a virtual dead heat for the Oregon football team’s starting quarterback job, according to head coach Mike Bellotti. That doesn’t mean the two buddies will stop being civil. Advertisement "I feel very comfortable," says Clemens, a 6-foot-2, 214-pound sophomore from Burns. "Jason and I hung out all summer. There’s no tension between us. We’re just, ‘Let’s go out there and make each other better. Let’s make this team better, and let’s go out and win some games and get this team back on track.’" Fife, a 6-4, 222-pound senior, started all 13 games last year and fared well, at least statistically. He threw 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and completed 52.9 percent of his passes for 2,752 yards. Where he didn’t measure up to the legacy of previous Duck quarterbacks like Joey Harrington, Akili Smith, Danny O’Neill and Bill Musgrave was in routinely making the clutch play and lifting the entire team. Those shortcomings were especially apparent down the stretch, as Oregon limped in with a 1-6 finish to what had been a 6-0, ranked-sixth-in-the-country start. Fife, who got married in the off-season and says he’s "more excited for this fall camp than any one since probably my freshman year," knows what he needs to do to reclaim the starting spot. "Not worry about anything else except for playing football," Fife, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., says of his approach. "Worry about completing passes, making the right decisions, playing quarterback." Simplicity is the key, but it escaped Fife some in 2002. "It was outside influences that kind of messed with my head," he says. "Love you guys, but I can’t read everything that you write. Just the pressure that I put on myself to perform, to try to make something happen, got to me." Clemens, a heralded recruit out of his tiny eastern Oregon hometown, received significant playing time late in the season. In the 42-14 home loss against Washington, Clemens started the second half, and in Wake Forest’s Seattle Bowl victory, he took the majority of snaps. Overall, he was 23 of 40 (57.5 percent) for 201 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. In the spring game, Clemens impressed with a 12-for-18, 189-yard performance. "I continued to work out with Danny O’Neill," Clemens says of his summer improvements. "I watched a lot of film in the off-season, worked on my footwork, worked on my different throws. Just worked on my overall knowledge of the game of football and how to play the position, especially at this level." Fife says it his understanding, via Bellotti and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, that if the season started today, the two quarterbacks would split time. Although each would obviously like to win the job outright, neither Fife nor Clemens appears too caught up in beating out the other — at least not at the expense of keeping the Ducks, and their friendship, in one piece. "Jason and I are about the team, not about each other," Clemens says. "I think that really helps to present a unified front. Bottom line, no matter who is in there playing, is that we’ve gotta win games this year." Nothing controversial about that. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times