Oregon
Marcus Mariota: Former Ducks OL Doug Brenner ‘more than capable of having an opportunity to play in the NFL’
EUGENE — Marcus Mariota testified that his former Oregon Geese teammate, Doug Brenner, was “greater than able to having a chance to play within the NFL” and that he “completely” believes within the former offensive lineman’s skills to guard him as a quarterback.
Regardless of a number of motions from the authorized group representing the College of Oregon, former soccer coach Willie Taggart and former power and conditioning coach Irele Oderinde to forestall Mariota from showing, together with on Friday morning, the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner spoke in Lane County Circuit Court docket through video convention from Atlanta, the place he’s participating in offseason coaching with the Falcons.
Mariota spoke about Brenner’s potential to play skilled soccer and disagreed with the assertion put forth by the attorneys representing UO, Taggart and Oderinde that Brenner was too quick and likewise not expert sufficient to be an NFL participant.
“Bodily (Brenner) was very able to attending to the following degree,” Mariota stated. “If you’re speaking an offensive lineman, guys need to be athletic, particularly to play the middle place. To have the ability to attain and to have the ability to stand up prime to the second degree, to have the ability to block linebackers which might be athletic. Doug was very fast laterally, may get out and in from the snap to get to the place he wanted to be.
“Secondly, what i feel is type of underrated is his capability to speak. At this degree everyone seems to be gifted, however to have the ability to talk, to have the ability to get guys to purchase in and be all on the identical web page, I actually consider Doug had these qualities that not solely would have made him offensive lineman, but additionally someone that might’ve been an important teammate and someone that you’d need within the constructing.”
Mariota, who performed with Brenner at UO within the 2013 and 2014 seasons, referred to him as a “key cog” throughout the 2014 season, when Brenner appeared in 10 video games as a redshirt freshman.
The previous Geese QB additionally praised Brenner’s versatility with with the ability to play each guard and sort out.
“It simply makes you that rather more worthwhile to professional groups,” Mariota stated.
Requested concerning the arguments put forth by UO’s authorized group that Brenner was too quick and never ok to play within the NFL, Mariota disagreed on each issues and stated Brenner was “completely” in the identical caliber of inside linemen within the execs. There are 9 present NFL facilities who’re listed at 6-foot-2 or shorter, in keeping with The Soccer Database, a lot of whom made it to the league as undrafted free brokers.
“I don’t suppose top and stature is de facto one thing that’s that essential,” Mariota stated. “I feel in the event you not solely can bodily present you might be athletic to stand up doing various things, but additionally be considerably just a little bit completely different, whether or not it’s with the ability to talk, being a frontrunner, these qualities stand out greater than bodily stature. …
“To be fully trustworthy, I performed with him firsthand. I noticed him play middle; he performed guard for us. He moved round, performed completely different positions. He was greater than able to having a chance to play within the NFL, for positive.”
Stephen English of Perkins Coie objected simply twice throughout Mariota’s testimony, when he was requested by Greg Kafoury of Brenner’s authorized group from Kafoury & McDougal and Eiva Regulation about subjects deemed exterior his scope of data.
“I don’t wish to block Marcus Mariota from doing something he desires to do,” English stated. “However having stated that, he has no data of what occurred for 25 years” inside the Oregon soccer program.
Solely hours earlier, English argued Mariota’s testimony was going to be “cumulative and it’s prejudice,” however was overruled by decide Clara Rigmaiden, who stated “I do know why you don’t wish to have him.”
After her ruling within the morning, Brenner’s attorneys knowledgeable the court docket that Mariota would testify after lunch.
“I feel they’re going to wish a while to carry the Heisman award in,” English stated.
That comment was not heard in entrance of the jury, and neither have been UO’s movement that was denied on Friday and the same listening to and movement argued for by Marten King of the identical agency on Monday to restrict the scope of what Mariota and former UO gamers Henry Mondeaux and Tyrell Crosby may testify to concerning Brenner’s professional prospects.
The jury will determine on the $125.5 million being sought by Brenner within the case: $100 million in punitive damages in opposition to the NCAA and $20 million for ache and struggling and $5.5 million for previous and future medical bills from UO, Taggart and Oderinde.
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LAS VEGAS – There’s no time like March.
Kennedie Shuler hit her third game-winner of the year, and Oregon State stunned top-seeded Gonzaga in a dramatic 63-61 victory on Monday to punch its ticket to the Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championship game.
Shuler sunk a layup with 0.8 seconds left to lift the Beavers (18-15) past the Bulldogs in a back-and-forth battle. Oregon State trailed 61-59 with eight seconds left before Catarina Ferreira calmly knocked down two free throws to tie the game. On Gonzaga’s second-to-last possession, the Beavers forced a turnover, setting up Shuler’s decisive shot.
Ferreira led OSU with 19 points and nine rebounds, shooting 3-of-4 from three-point range and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. The game was her second-straight with 19 points after leading the Beavers in scoring against San Francisco on Sunday.
AJ Marotte added 15 points with 13 in the second half, while Kelsey Rees contributed 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists.
The Beavers started strong, jumping out to a 17-9 lead in the first quarter behind hot perimeter shooting. Gonzaga responded with a dominant second period, outscoring OSU 23-10 to take a five-point halftime lead. Oregon State clawed back in the third, holding the Bulldogs to just 12 points while closing the gap to two entering the final frame.
Defense proved critical down the stretch, as OSU limited Gonzaga to 38.3% shooting and forced 13 turnovers. The Beavers also hit a season-high 11 three-pointers at a 42.3% clip.
Conference player of the year Yvonne Ejim paced the Bulldogs with 18 points and 14 rebounds, but the Beavers’ defensive adjustments in the second half slowed her impact and forced her to take 19 shots to get to 18 points.
Oregon State now advances to the WCC Tournament championship game against Portland. The game tips off on Tuesday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.
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The Oregon Ducks have lost a commitment from 4-star recruit Bott Mulitalo from the class of 2026, according to a report from 247Sports. The Washington Huskies, USC Trojans, BYU Cougars and Utah Utes are pushing to flip Mulitalo to their respective programs.
What caused the Highland (Utah) Lone Peak talent to decommit from Oregon coach Dan Lanning’s Ducks? Mulitalo has changed the position he wants to play in college from defensive line to offensive line, causing him to reevaluate his options.
“I committed to Oregon for defensive line but since that has changed I now want to see where I’m evaluated and which schools will be recruiting me for the offensive side,” Mulitalo told 247Sports.
“After a lot of conversations, I am going to be putting my energy toward offensive tackle,” Mulitalo continued. “It’s the position where I believe I have the highest potential, especially when you look at what other Polynesian players have been doing in college to get to the NFL. That’s my ultimate goal and my biggest objective.
With the switch to offensive line, Mulitalo’s de-committment doesn’t come as a huge shock. Oregon has retooled its offensive line, headlined by five-star offensive tackle commit Kodi Greene. The Ducks are also among the finalist schools for the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked offensive tackles in the class of 2026, Jackson Cantwell and Immanuel Iheanacho.
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound lineman Mulitalo will be a hot commodity on the recruiting trail. Mulitalo committed to Oregon in December of 2024. He is the nation’s No. 90 overall prospect, No. 8 among offensive tackles and No. 3 in the state of Utah for the 2026 class, per the 247Sports rankings.
Mulitalo has a looming visit to USC this June.
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He also has ties to the Washington program. The Huskies defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi is Mulitalo’s uncle and he visited for their Junior Day event.
“The biggest takeaway for me from Washington is how much attention to detail they put in everything, whether it’s nutrition, film study, or even strength and conditioning,” Mulitalo told 247Sports. “My interaction with the staff was great. I got to meet the rest of the staff that just got there and got to talk more with the strength staff and nutrition staff more, too, and I felt like a top priority to them.”
En route to the Utah 6A state championship game in 2024, Mulitalo finished the season with 45 total tackles, including 16 for a loss, six sacks and an interception.
Of course Utah and BYU will have a strong pull as the “hometown” teams.
USC currently has the No. 1 recruiting class for 2026 in the nation and the Ducks sit just behind at No. 2.
SEATTLE — — Nate Bittle scored a career-high 36 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Oregon hit 6 of 10 from the line in overtime to get past Washington 80-73 on Sunday in a regular-season finale.
The Ducks (23-8, 12-8 Big Ten) closed out the regular season with seven straight wins and completed a season-sweep of the rival Huskies (13-18, 4-16). Oregon advances to the second round as the No. 8 seed and faces ninth-seeded Indiana in the conference tournament on Thursday. Washington joins Penn State and Nebraska in falling short of reaching the 15-team tournament.
A finalist for the Kareem-Abdul Jabbar Award given to the nation’s best center, Bittle scored 21 points in the first half and his 3-pointer a minute into the second gave him 26 to set a career high. He was 13 of 20 from the floor and knocked down 3 of 4 3-pointers while converting 7 of 8 at the line. He led Oregon with 12 rebounds.
Great Osobor hit the second of two free throws in the final minute of regulation to tie it at 68 and force overtime. The Huskies did not score again until Osobor hit the first of two from the line with two minutes left to play in overtime, making it 75-71. Mekhi Mason’s layup with 31 seconds left was Washington’s only field goal in the extra period.
Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 14 points for Oregon. Kwame Evans Jr. had 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench and TJ Bamba had 10 points and four assists.
Osobor led the Huskies with 21 points, four assists and three steals in the final game of his senior season. Zoom Diallo scored 13 points with five assists, Frank Kepnang had 12 points and seven rebounds, Mason contributed 11 points and Tyler Harris chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
——
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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