Never underestimate a guy who can bench press you 10 times.

People say the Oregon offensive line is a question mark this year, that Oregon can't compete with the elite defensive lines or teams that have extra time to prepare for the spread, that the Cowboy Classic will be just like Boise in '09 because the Ducks lack experience in the offensive line. People say a lot of things. People are dumb.

Darrion Weems started seven games for Steve Greatwood last year, starting at left tackle against Tennessee, Portland State, Stanford, Washington and Auburn.  He was on the field for a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns. He started at left tackle against USC as a sophomore  Left tackle is the anchor of the offensive line.  Steve Greatwood and Darron Thomas trust him, and you should too.

Andre Yruretagoyena
OL – 6-5, 260, 4.94
Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chaparral HS)
Under Armour ALL-AMERICAN

2010 Team Record: 14-0 season, back-to-back Class 5A-II state championships.

3,700 yards rushing (263 per game), 54 TDs  7.4 yards per carry

1st Team All-State, consensus 4* recruit

Yruretagoyena: rolled r - etha - go - yehna.  It looks Russian but it's Basque, the proud, dispersed people of the Pyrenees Mountains. Andre Y is likely to be a well-deserved affectionate nickname, as Duck fans will love his intensity and agressive blocking, but it shouldn't be adopted out of mere laziness.

Anthony Wallace

LB – 6-0, 221, 4.55
Dallas, Texas (Skyline HS)
Under Armour ALL-AMERICAN

2010 Stats: 115 tackles and earned honorable mention All-State distinction at linebacker in 2010 (90 tackles in 2009)
Team Record: 9-3 7-0 league, league champions, lost to DeSoto, 38-0, in the area round of the Class 5A Division I Region II playoffs.
GPA: 3.5
RANKINGS
Rivals: #4 ILB, Rating 5.8, National 112, Rivals 250
Scout: #4 MLB
ESPN:  #7 MLB, Grade 81, ESPN 150

Anthony Wallace had a lot of options.  He was offered scholarships by an honor roll of football schools, including LSU, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Penn State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Auburn, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

He's been training to be a football player since he was 6. Rainier Sabin of The Dallas Morning News related the story in a February 2010 interview:

Rahsaan Vaughn
WR – 6-2, 192, 4.37
Fremont, Calif. (Washington HS/College of San Mateo)

2010 stats: 59 catches 1007 yards 17.1 ypc  11 tds

JC All-American,  rated #1 JC receiver by jcgridiron.com, 4 stars by rivals and scout.  Team record 8-3

Eligibility: junior with 3 years to play two

The San Mateo JC Bulldogs run a smash-mouth offense.  Rahsaan Vaughn was only the fifth receiver in the school's 75-year history to crack a thousand yards, and he was named the team's MVP, an amazing honor for a receiver on a team that likes to run first.  They won a state championship in Vaughn's freshman year.

De’Anthony Thomas
ATH – 5-9, 160, 4.41
Los Angeles, Calif. (Crenshaw HS)
U.S. ARMY ALL-AMERICAN

2010 Stats:

114 carries 1,299 yards (11.4 yards per carry) 18 touchdowns
 16 catches for 359 yards (22.4 avg.) four tds
defense,42 tackles five interceptions totaling 122 return yards
voted MVP by the City Section coaches, All-City first-team on defense and City Section Player of the Year

Team record: 12-2, 5-0 league, City Section Champions

Inner city Los Angeles has produced some amazing athletes, but De'Anthony Thomas is the one other athletes talk about.

A legend since his Pop Warner days, he's been compared to Reggie Bush and Percy Harvin.  Rapper Snoop Dogg nicknamed him when he was 12 years old. Reporter Ramona Shelburne from espnlosangeles.com relates the story:

Tacoi Sumler
WR – 5-9, 166, 4.24
Miami, Fla. (Christopher Columbus HS)
UnderArmour ALL-AMERICAN

2009 Stats: 54 catches 994 yards 17 touchdowns … Recorded two scores on kickoff returns and accumulated four interceptions, including one for td

Tacoi Sumler is the fastest freshman football player in the United States.  At a Nike SPARQ camp last summer, he was clocked in the 40 at 4.24.  That's faster than anyone on the Oregon roster, including Kenjon Barner, Dior Mathis, Lache Seastrunk and LaMichael James, and they've all competed for the Oregon track team.

Jamal Prater
OL – 6-4, 290
Etiwanda, Calif. (Etiwanda HS)

2010 stats: Team Record 6-6, 3-2 league, lost in round of eight in CIF Southern Section playoffs

                   2,036 rushing yards and averaged nearly six yards per attempt in 2010

                   All-State and All-Valley League first teams

                   Rated three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com while garnering two stars from ESPN

Off the field he's a normal kid, who likes Nu Movement and Erykah Badu, and wishes his friend's houses were connected to his by secret tunnels (who hasn't wished that).

But putting on a football uniform, Jamal Prater is the rare raw material, a 16-year-old who 6-4 and 290 lbs., naturally strong enough to take other large, determined young men and stack them like Pringles next to a hot dog.