Portland Tribune: Hoping that his Day has come

Tight end is among the Ducks ready to fill in for injured QB

By JASON VONDERSMITH

He’s ready, willing, able and healthy. Oregon tight end Tim Day just needs some action.  “I’m the best I’m going to be. I feel good, awesome,” he says. With the Ducks de-emphasizing the tight end, Day has just 13 catches — and no touchdowns. “I just gotta get the ball in my hands, and I’m ready to rumble,” he says. Day, Demetrius Williams and Terrence Whitehead have vowed to pick up the slack now that their buddy and leader, Kellen Clemens, is out with a leg injury. The three senior offensive playmakers want to be there for new QBs Dennis Dixon and Brady Leaf, starting with Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. home game against California.  Williams says he will block, play decoy or catch balls — which he has done quite well, as he ranks high in the Pac-10 in catches (46), yards (895) and TDs (8). The quintessential go-to guy just wants to win the next three games.  “The biggest thing is I want to contribute as much as I can,” Williams says. Whitehead, finally adjusted to his role in Oregon’s spread offense, wants to make plays when his number gets called. It’s his duty, which he has performed to the tune of 686 total yards and five scores.  “I’m looking to take on a load,” he says. Day caught the winning touchdown against Cal in 2003. Last year, he had five catches for 46 yards and two TDs against the Bears, before sitting out the second half injured. This year, he and tight end Dante Rosario have 25 combined catches — not the kind of production Day expected. But they have alternated plays, and the Ducks sometimes go without tight ends and throw elsewhere.  Coach Mike Bellotti once said Day could be the greatest of all the great UO tight ends. Day says he isn’t worried about his lesser role, “as long as we’re winning.”  He still is dealing emotionally with the death of his father, Gene, during training camp. He has attended church with offensive lineman Ian Reynoso and others and leaned on his girlfriend and mother to find peace and understanding. “It’s been hard,” Day says, “because I want to be the standout and the star, but it hasn’t worked out.”  Like Day, Williams has one eye on the NFL but prefers not to look past his time with the Ducks. Williams has been sensational this year, running good routes and making tough catches and returning as the Ducks’ big-play receiver after nursing injuries last season.No stranger to superlatives, Bellotti finally called Williams one of the nation’s best receivers. Two years ago, Williams exploded on the scene, and many thought he simply was benefiting from playing opposite Samie Parker.

“I took offense to it because I thought I was a better player, but he did help me get open,” says Williams, who needs 30 catches and 266 yards to pass Parker (178 catches, 2,761 yards) as UO’s all-time leading receiver. Clemens and Williams had an innate connection. Clemens, even going back to his redshirt freshman season, always extolled the virtues of the 6-2, 190-pound Williams.  “A guy like that has a great career, and now he’s finished. It’s sad to see,” Williams says. “I wish we had a chance to finish together.”  The Ducks recruited Whitehead as a rover. He switched to linebacker before landing at running back in 2002. All he has done is rush for 2,541 yards, 218 shy of second all-time behind Derek Loville (3,296).

Like Day, Whitehead’s touches have been limited in the new offense, because offensive coordinator Gary Crowton likes to spread the wealth. That perturbed Whitehead early on, but he continues to put up highlights, like the 42-yard catch-and-run TD against Fresno State and the 100 yards receiving and rushing against Arizona State.  Not bad for somebody who lacks breakaway speed and who has dreamed of playing in the major leagues (as a catcher) — and not the NFL.

Solid, durable and equally effective running and catching the ball, Whitehead will take his touches and try to make something happen the rest of the season.  “Like (position) coach (Gary) Campbell says, ‘Don’t count your reps, make your reps count,’ ” he says.