This past Monday, our players had the opportunity to help gather supplies to aid in the relief effort of the Samoan Islands after the recent tsunami devastation.

With the help of the community, the Oregon Football Team collected 35,380 pounds of supplies including water, rice, flour, clothes, canned goods, tents and over 20 wheel chairs. The estimated worth of the materials gathered was over $40,000.

Lile Relocation Services graciously donated the use of a 51’ trailer and workers to facilitate the packing. Driver Tim Galus volunteered to transport the semi to California where he was greeted by Fairfield Mayor Harry Price and a host of Samoan Organizations. The supplies will be shipped via boat on October 16th to arrive in the Samoan Islands about a week later.

This is why Oregon is such a unique place. The community support is unreal, and our players understand the importance of giving something back. We had a large group of players volunteer their time because they feel that it’s important to help others and appreciate the opportunities they have.
I can’t say how thankful we all are to the people who took the time to come out and donate goods. It’s just a small part why Eugene is such an unbelievable place to live and work.

Win the Day,
Chip Kelly

I don’t have to tell you that the game on Saturday against California is going to be a big one. It is a great opportunity for our team to challenge ourselves against an outstanding football team.

Our players have had a great week of hard work in practice, and in the meeting rooms. They’ve put in the work all week so that they’re ready to test themselves on Saturday.

Competition is what our players thrive on. They will enter Saturday’s game ready to compete for 60 minutes. It’s the competition with a great opponent that they live for.

We have set very simple but very ambitious goals for our team this year. Our primary goal is to work harder than any team in the country. The only proven shortcut to success is hard work. Everything else takes longer, and requires more.

This game against California will come down to who plays the hardest, the longest. I think we’re ready for 60 minutes of mayhem.

We also need the crowd to be a factor in the game. We need you to be as loud as you can for the entire game. They have a tremendous team, with fantastic coaches, but they will not have the crowd behind them.

Cal THINKS they know what Autzen will be like (http://cal.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=992884), but I don’t think they have any idea how loud it can actually get.

This is a great opportunity for our team, and for our fans to show California that we will compete as hard as we can for the entire game.

The team will begin our March to Victory through the Moshofsky Center at 9:45am, we’ll see you there.

Win the day,

Chip Kelly

At Oregon, we’re very privileged to have advantages that are very rare in college football. We have amazing facilities, a staff that I wouldn’t trade for anyone else in the country, and unmatched community and fan support. We understand that this did not happen overnight.

Many people worked countless hours since before most of us were born to make Oregon Football what it is today. I understand that, our team understands that. We’ve spent a lot of time during fall camp discussing the traditions of Oregon football, and some of the men and women who dedicated their lives to help us achieve our goals today.

Our motto is that, “We can see farther than anyone else because we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.”

Last night, we started a new tradition… We held the first annual Oregon Football Bowling tournament. Prizes were awarded to the first, second, and last place finishers.

We all had a great time after everyone understood the rules. Some people, (Talmadge Jackson, Michael Clay, and intern Mike Keldorf) played like they were trying to NOT hit any of the pins.

We had a few ringers who brought their own balls, and Malachi Lewis bowled a 245!

When it was all over, the team of Mike Keldorf, Scott Grady, Pono Kam, and Kenny Rowe were victorious in a tight battle with Coach Frost’s group of Keaton Arden, Eddie Pleasant, Simi Toeaina, and Terrell Turner. The Dead Last award was regretfully presented to Coach Campbell, Titus Jackson, Will Tukuafu, Mavin Johnson, and Kiko Alonso.

We’re going to post a video very soon so be sure to check that out.

On a final note, we had a new member join the Duck family yesterday. Brandon Bair and his wife Jordan had a baby girl Brooklyn. Congratulations to Brandon and Jordan, we can’t wait for you to bring her by!

Win the Day,
Chip Kelly

Hello again from fall camp 2009, or, as well call it around here, “Groundhog Day.”

We’re only 3 weeks away from a huge challenge in traveling to Boise St, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Our players are doing a great job in practice every single day. Fall camp is a very, very difficult thing, and our players are facing that challenge head-on, and winning every day. We’re at the point where it’s easy to let physical and mental fatigue overwhelm you, but our players are learning how to strain, and battle through. We have guys battling illness, injuries, you name it, but they’re still making the choice to get better every day, compete with their teammates, and I couldn’t be more proud.

Every night, our team gets the opportunity to have meetings and listen to guest speakers educate them in areas outside of football. We had a fantastic speaker the other night in Howard White, VP of Sports Marketing, Jordan Brand at Nike. He is the creator of “Believe to Achieve,” Nike’s youth motivational program, and he also wrote a book by the same name.

Howard, or “H,” did an unbelievable job speaking to our team about too many things to list here. At one point, he asked our team how many of them made their beds every morning. It may seem like a pretty trivial question, but he made the point very clear to us that it’s the little things that count in your life.

Getting up every morning and taking just a little bit of time to make your bed even when you’re tired, even when you don’t feel well, builds three things: Habits, discipline, and structure. These three things will make us better in everything that we do for the rest of our lives.

We’re doing a much better job lately of paying attention to the small details that will help us become a better team, and I bet if “H” ever comes back to see us, he’ll see a lot more hands raised when he asked who made their bed this morning (including mine).

Don’t forget, get out here and watch us practice! Our players and staff love having you around. 2:15pm every day but Sunday, and Saturday is our first scrimmage of fall camp. It’s going to be exciting for us, and I hope you can make it.

Win the Day,
Chip Kelly

We’ve made it through 3 days of practice, and I’m very pleased with the direction we’re heading. If you’ve been out to practice, you’ll recognize the intensity and speed instantly. If you haven’t made it out, stop by! We need your support.

Something else you may notice that is different from a lot of other teams is that our newcomers are thrown right into the mix. I don’t think that any team we play will ever take it easy on our younger players, so we won’t either. They will practice and compete the same as every one of our players from day one.

Even though we’ve made progress, and are on a good path, we are not satisfied. Something our players realize is that having a good practice isn’t something to brag about, or a badge to wear on your chest, it is setting a standard of excellence that we have to live up to every day. For us to reach our potential, we have to go beyond what normal people are willing to do.

Many of you probably watched the NFL Hall of Fame induction yesterday. Those men did not get there by taking days off, or having “OK” days, or “average” practices. They became the best because they set their goals above what everyone else was willing to do, and by living up to the standards that they set every day of their lives. Last time I checked, there is no “Hall of Average.”

We will not settle for average, we will strive for greatness.

Win the Day,
Chip Kelly

Hey everyone, it’s been a while!

We just finished dinner and our first full day with the new members of our team. It’s really exciting to think that in less than a month we get to travel to play a great team in Boise St. to start what we think is going to be a special season.

The rest of our team reports to camp tomorrow, and then we have our first practice on Friday, August 8 at 2:15pm. If you’re able to get out, COME WATCH US! We are going to start fast, and continue our goal from the spring to practice better than any team, ever!

Myself and the rest of the coaching staff will be posting to this blog on a regular basis throughout all of fall camp and the entire season, so always check back.

Win the Day,
Chip Kelly

Aside from the injuries that we’ve sustained in the backfield, I think it’s been a pretty productive spring. The backfield has seen a lot of injuries throughout practice, but it looks like some of those guys will be able to participate in the Spring Game on Saturday which is very encouraging.

As most of you probably already know, this past weekend was the NFL draft and several of our players had the great fortune of being drafted. On Monday, Jeremiah Johnson signed a free-agent contract with the Houston Texans. I’m very happy for Jeremiah getting closer to realizing his dream of playing in the NFL. I spoke with him and I think that being with the Texans is a great opportunity for him. As I told him, I think that he just needs an opportunity to show what he can do, and he’ll be able to prove that he can be a viable back in the NFL.

It’s been a little different spring because we’ve had a couple of entire weekends off which gave me an opportunity to spend time with my family, my wife, my granddaughter, my two daughters, and my son. Having a couple of entire weekends free has really made my spring a lot more pleasant.

I hope that everyone out there gets a chance to come watch the Spring Game on Saturday. The players are excited, and I think everyone will be impressed with how hard they play.

God Bless, and Go Ducks!
Gary Campbell

Spring ball has been great so far. I love our tempo, how physical both sides of the ball have been and just the overall speed of our practices is very impressive. We practice harder than any team I’ve ever been a part of. It’s exciting to watch.

I haven’t had a chance to explore much of Eugene beyond the Cas Center, but I hope to change that after recruiting. One thing I have found is Starbucks. I love Starbucks, I can’t survive without it. That, and PF Changs, I could eat there every night of the week.

When people come to the spring game on Saturday, I want them to watch the defensive line. I think everyone will be impressed with how hard they play. You will see our guys make plays all over the field because they never stop running and pursuing the ball. After every tackle, count how many defensive players are around the ball, if there aren’t 11, somebody’s in trouble!

I hope everyone can make it Saturday, it should be a great day.

Go Ducks!
Jerry Azzinaro

It’s been a great spring so far. I absolutely love our guys’ energy level, their sense of urgency to do things the right way, and their competitive spirit.

At TE, Ed Dickson has stood out in all phases, the running game, the passing game, and he’s a much more physical player than he was in the past. David Paulson’s effort has been really, really good all spring. He came in with a much more competitive attitude than in the past, and it really shows. Malachi is better than he has been because the competition at the position is better and he has been forced to step up his game. Dion Jordan has also been excellent. He’s moved here from WR, so he’s still learning, but he has shown some really good things and I’m excited to watch him develop.

On Special Teams, the LB group as a whole has been the most productive. They’ve really done an awesome job. Bryson Littlejohn, Josh Kaddu, Eddie Pleasant, Spencer Paysinger, Casey Matthews, Dewitt Stuckey, Riley Showalter, Kiko Alonso, Brandon Hanna, and TY Irvin who was a LB, but is at DE now have all shown up with great plays and unbelievable effort. Kenjon Barner and Scott Grady show up on film every day. Anthony Gildon is performing better than he ever has in his two years here. It’s been really encouraging to see the effort level and the importance that our players are placing on being special teams contributors.

This Friday morning we’re scrimmaging at 8:30am, so if you have a chance, come watch our guys compete. I promise you won’t see a group that plays harder anywhere else!

After a beautiful week, I’m hoping the sun stays around because, this weekend, I’m going to get a chance to go watch my daughter’s soccer game which is always a blast. Then, I think my entire family will all go to a movie so I can eat lots and lots of buttered popcorn! Make sure you all enjoy any time you have off too!

Go Ducks!
Tom Osborne

I’ve only been in Oregon for a couple of months, but I’m loving it so far. In a short time, I’ve gotten to an opportunity to experience lots of new things outside of football.

Two weekends ago I got to spend an amazing two days snowboarding. I went to Mt. Bachelor, and it was beautiful the whole time. This weekend, I’m going fly-fishing Friday night, going hunting Saturday, and then playing a round of golf at Bandon Dunes on Sunday. Now that the sun looks like it’s going to stay around for a while, I think I’ll be able to get out a little more.

Practice has been good so far this spring. We have a long way to go, but I’ve never been a place that practices so fast. The tempo at practice is unbelievable. It really contributes to our identity as a football team, and our ability to play faster and harder than other teams.

I know we lost today, but next time we get the opportunity, the offense is going to DOMINATE the defense and get the black jerseys back. You heard it here first!

Go Ducks!
Scott Frost