Freshman quarterback Travis Jonsen sits at a table by himself and fields seemingly endless  questions at Oregon’s media day on Aug. 8.

Does he see himself as a dual-threat quarterback? Is he completely healthy? If he were a Pokemon, which one would he be?

Jonsen sheepishly smiles and answers all the above. He is admittedly shy about jumping into an open quarterback competition at one of the top college football programs in the nation.

“You gotta appreciate [the spotlight],” Jonsen said. “I was never a big guy about that stuff, but it’s kind of nice, I’m not gonna lie. But I’m still not used to it.”

Just behind him at a separate table sits graduate transfer Dakota Prukop, a 22-year-old senior who already has two seasons as a starter under his belt from his decorated career at Montana State. Prukop answers similar questions in a confident, more matter-of-fact fashion. He isn’t worried that he hasn’t claimed the starting job yet despite his seniority, and yes, he knows that he will need to avoid big hits to survive at the Pac-12 level.

Coming off its worst season in almost a decade, Oregon desperately needs to find consistency at the quarterback position to maintain its status as one of the top programs in the country. In Jonsen and Prukop, the Ducks possess two players with similar flashy playing styles who could stabilize the program in vastly different ways—but neither of them have ever taken a snap in an Oregon uniform.

Prukop, a two-star recruit who scratched and clawed his way to the Division I level, could prove to be another one-and-done superstar in the mould of Vernon Adams Jr.

Jonsen, the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2015, offers Oregon a chance to build continuity at the position over the next several years.

The only question left now is which player gets the keys to the Oregon offense.

“Dakota has worked really hard to use the experience that he has to grow as a quarterback within our system,” Oregon quarterbacks coach David Yost told reporters. “With Travis, he has a good understanding of the offense. Now it’s just getting reps of it over and over and over again. They’re kind of at two different points in the learning curve.”

For all of Prukop’s in-game experience — he accumulated over 7,000 total yards in two years at Montana State — he is still the less-experienced of the two when it comes to engineering Oregon’s up-tempo offense.

Jonsen arrived on campus in spring 2015, his senior year of high school, and has been working in Oregon’s system for nearly 18 months. He could have been thrown into Oregon’s chaotic quarterback battle last year, but was forced to redshirt after suffering a foot injury.

During his redshirt season, he made sure not to suffer the same pitfalls that derail so many quarterbacks during their gap year. He kept going to team meetings and never stopped throwing; if he felt down, or bored, he would grab some footballs and throw into a net.

“I wish when I was Travis’ age, I was as good as he was,” Prukop said. “He’s a very talented guy who’s highly rated for a reason. There’s no fluke there. He can run, he can throw it, he can do everything that needs to be done in this offense.”

A.J. Gass, Jonsen’s former coach at Servite High School in Anaheim, California, has had the chance to watch both Jonsen and Prukop evolve during their respective careers. Prukop’s father, Tim, was an assistant coach at Servite in the late ‘90s, and he and Gass met through a mutual friend. Since then, Gass kept tabs on Prukop’s career while also coaching Jonsen as he grew into one of the top dual-threat recruits in the country.

“[Jonsen] is the type of kid who will flourish in a system like [Oregon’s],” Gass said. “If you need something done… He’s going to demand it in a way that others will want to succeed for him. He’s not a flashy guy when you talk to him; he’s not an all-eyes-on-me guy. But once you put him on the field and under the lights, he really comes out of his shell.”

After Oregon’s first live scrimmage of fall camp, Helfrich said Prukop has been the Ducks’ most consistent quarterback and has begun to separate himself in the race for the starting job. Helfrich said he’d like to name a starter roughly 10 days before Oregon’s season begins on September 3rd.

Numerous Oregon players have said that there isn’t much difference in playing style between Prukop and Jonsen: They each have zip on their throws, the ability to place the long ball and the athleticism to break off big runs.

If Prukop indeed wins the job, it could simply be because he has experience at the college level, while Jonsen hasn’t. But it will also partially be due to the confidence and leadership he displayed when he arrived early to Oregon during winter term.

“I think (Prukop) came in and he learned everything so fast,” redshirt freshman receiver Alex Ofodile said. “It’s kind of tough to come in when you don’t know the ropes or know things well and he did a good job just preparing and knowing his stuff. I think that has helped him come in and kind of take a leadership role.”

No matter which one Helfrich chooses, one of the most talented offensive groups in the nation will be controlled by a player who has never played in a Pac-12 game.

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Oregon’s secondary unit was looking to bounce back this year after struggling tremendously last season. On Sunday, the Ducks’ hopes of rebuilding on defense took a slight hit when it was reported that junior cornerback Chris Seisay has left the team.

The story was first reported by 247 Sports. 

Seisay was inserted into Oregon’s starting lineup as a redshirt freshman after former Duck standout Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was injured. Seisay started in Oregon’s Rose Bowl win over Florida State that, as well as its loss in the 2015 National Championship. He retained his starting spot at the start of last season, but missed eight games due to injury.

With the loss of Seisay, Oregon now has two returning cornerbacks with starting experience:  Junior Arrion Springs and sophomore Ugo Amadi. Senior Tyree Robinson also started at cornerback at times for the Ducks last year, but will likely shift back to his original position of saftey this year. Redshirt freshman Malik Lovette is also in the mix for a starting spot.

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Oregon offensive linemen Zach Okun was transported to the emergency room at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend after suffering an injury in practice on Wednesday. Andrew Greif of The Oregonian initially reported the story.

An ambulance was requested to Oregon atheltic department at 11:29 a.m. A nursing supervisor in the emergency department told Greif that there was no status immediately available on Okun’s condition.

Okun, a Newberry Park, California native, is a redshirt freshman for the Ducks.

The story will be updated when more information is available.

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The track and field portion of the Rio De Janeiro Olympics kick off Friday morning, and the U.S. team is filled with athletes who carry University of Oregon ties.

In total, 18 current and former Ducks qualified for Rio, with 11 earning a spot on the American team at the U.S. Olympic Trials in July. Oregon qualified nearly twice as many athletes for the U.S. team as any other school — Arkansas, Texas and Florida all qualified six — and there are more Duck Olympians this year than there were in 2004, 2008 and 2012 combined.

But which of them have the best chance of bringing home a medal in Rio? In 2012, Ashton Eaton and Galen Rupp became the first UO affiliated track and field athletes to medal since 1984. Eaton won gold in the decathlon and Rupp won silver in the 10,000 meter run.

Both Eaton and Rupp will be in medal contention once again, along with a handful of others. Here the Oregon athletes who are near the top of the season form charts in their respective events.

Devon Allen — 110 meter hurdles

Allen delivered the signature moment of the U.S. trials when he won his second U.S. title in the high hurdles and did so on his home track. Just 19 months after he suffered a devastating knee injury during the 2015 Rose Bowl Game, Allen has returned to dominant form on the track and became the first active Duck to qualify for the Olympics since 2008. His winning time of 13.03 seconds at the Trials was the second-best in the world this year behind Omar McLeod of Jamacia (12.98). McLeod has run five of the 10 fastest times in the world this year, but Allen is peaking at the right time; his most recent performance was a personal-best.

Ashton Eaton — Decathlon

The 2012 Olympic champion and world record holder is still the man to beat in the competition that decides ‘the worlds greatest athlete.’ Even at 28 years old, Eaton is still the undisputed champ. Although this will be his last summer working with longtime coach Harry Mara, there is no reason to believe that Eaton will surrender his title. He battled a quad injury to score 8,750 at the U.S. Olympic Trials; 145 points better than any other athlete this year.

English Gardner — 100 meter dash

One of the top sprinters in UO history, Gardener won five NCAA titles in two years as a Duck and has continued to build her career as a professional competing for Nike. Gardner ran the second-fastest time in the world and the seventh-fastest time in history when she won the U.S. Olympic Trials with a time of 10.74 seconds on July 3. Gardner’s times have steadily improved this year — she ran a 10.81 to win the Prefontaine Classic on May 28, and built on that with her performance at the trials. In Rio, Gardner will attempt to become the first U.S. gold medalist in the women’s 100 since 1996.

Galen Rupp — 10,000 meter, marathon

Marathons are a tricky thing to predict, and trying to guess how Rupp will fare in his Olympic marathon debut is even more difficult. A 14-time NCAA All-American while at Oregon, Rupp ran the first and only 26.2 miler of his career at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in February. He won that race easily, finishing in two hours, 11 minutes and 12 seconds despite running in temperatures that reached 78 degrees. It was an impressive debut effort for a runner who is already one of the top Americans ever at 5,000 and 10,000 meters and is looking for a fresh challenge. He will have his work cut out for him in Rio, though; Rupp’s time from the U.S. trials wasn’t among the 25 fastest in the world this year. Rupp hasn’t run a 10,000 meter time that is anywhere near the fastest in the world this year, either, but he proved in 2012 that he is capable of out-kicking the world’s best.

Matthew Centrowitz — 1,500 meter

Centrowitz experienced and up-and-down outdoor campaign during the spring. He ultimately shrugged off questions about his form by winning the U.S. Olympic Trials in convincing fashion with a time of 3:34.09 to earn his fourth U.S. title in six years. His time at the trials was his fastest of the season, but just the 19th fastest in the world. However, Centrowitz has delivered podium performances on the world stage in the past and he owns the fastest mile time in the world this year (3:50.61). One of the most exuberant figures in the sport will be hungry to top his fourth place finish at the 2012 London games.

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Oregon’s Wednesday afternoon practice marked the first workout of the year in which players were allowed to wear shells. With shoulder pads and helmets, players were allowed to hit, but not tackle to the ground.

“First three days of camp have gone pretty well,” quarterback Travis Jonsen said. “Obviously there’s some mistakes out there but I think by next week, when we’re full go, it will be all good from there.”

Jonsen and quarterback Dakota Prukop each pointed out players from the receiver and tight end groups who have stood out early on.

“All of our tight ends can move, all of our receivers obviously can move and do what they gotta do,” Jonsen said.

Tristen Wallace, a 6-foot-3, 228 pound freshman athlete who was originally recruited as a quarterback, has made the transition to receiver and lined up all over the field in Matt Lubick’s offense thus far. In the first three days of fall camp, Wallace has spent extensive time in the slot receiver position, where Oregon has traditionally lined up players with much smaller frames.

“(Wallace) is big, but man, he can move,” Jonsen said.

Charles Nelson (5-9) and Taj Griffin (5-10) are also in the mix at the inside receiver position and fit the speedster mold that Oregon has traditionally filled the position with. That group of players will work to fill the void left by NFL-bound Bralon Addison, who finished last year with 63 catches and 804 yeards while playing primarily out of the slot.

Prukop noted Jalen Brown as a receiver who has stood out as well. Brown, a 6-1, 188 pound wideout, played in all 13 games last year and finished the season with seven catches for 89 yards. Teammates and coaches raved about his athleticism during the spring, and the former four star target is one of several Oregon receivers with the potential for a breakout season.

“It’s hard for me to really talk about other guys’ improvement from spring ball, because I was so worried about my own stuff during spring ball,” Prukop said. “But Jalen Brown has had a really outstanding fall camp in my opinion.

“I think one of the beautiful things about this offense is that the quarterback just goes through the offense and finds the open receiver, and coach Lubbick just does such a good job of making sure all the receivers are running all the routes really similarly.”

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With the departure of second team All-American DeForest Buckner, Oregon defensive coordinator Brady Hoke will turn to a deep group of young players to step up on the defensive line as he implements a new 4-3 scheme.

At times last season, Buckner played like a one-man army, obliterating opposing double teams while lining up all over the defensive line. Buckner finished with 9.5 of Oregon’s 38 sacks, and anchored an abysmal Oregon defense that surrendered the third-most passing yards in college football.

With a shift to the 4-3 — meaning, Oregon will now play with four down linemen, as opposed to the three that it played with in Don Pellum’s 3-4 scheme — Hoke hopes to create a frenetic Duck pass rush in order to reach opposing quarterbacks on a more consistent basis. Oregon doesn’t have a pass-rusher anywhere near Buckner’s caliber in the fold this season, but it does have several talented players who could emerge immediately in Hoke’s rush-happy play-style.

Junior defensive end Henry Mondeaux was the lone underclassmen to crack the starting lineup along Oregon’s defensive front last season and finished with four sacks and 22 tackles. The Portland, Ore., native will likely be Oregon’s top pass rushing threat, and emerged as a team leader during the spring. At 6 feet, 5 inches and 280 pounds, Mondeaux will start at strong-side defensive end.

Starting opposite Mondaux at weak-side defensive end could be senior Torrodney Prevot. Prevot was inserted to Oregon’s starting lineup at outside linebacker for the final five games last season and will slot into Hoke’s scheme as an edge-rusher. One of Oregon’s longest tenured players, Prevot has appeared in 28 consecutive games, but a starting job is not a formality. Redshirt sophomore Justin Hollins sat out the entire 2015 season with an injury, and like Prevot, is shifting from outside linebacker to defensive end this year. Hollins led all Oregon players with eight tackles during the Ducks’ spring game and at 6-6, 230 pounds, he posesses the prototypical build for an edge-rusher.

Junior Austin Maloata and sophomore Rex Manu will likely anchor the defensive tackle positions, and there will be few players with game experience to spell them — Of Oregon’s nine interior linemen, six are underclassmen. The most promising of the bunch is Canton Kaumatule, a massive 6-7, 295 pound sophomore nose tackle who garnered five star accolades before coming to Oregon. Kaumatule was ranked as the 15th overall prospect by ESPN in the class 2015 and became the gem of Oregon’s recruiting class when he signed in November of 2014. Kaumatule was thrown into the fire for eight games last season as a true freshman and should benefit heavily this year from that crash course.

Oregon’s defensive line as whole is another question mark on a defense filled with them. But the pass rush should benefit immediately from a change in scheme, and Hoke’s arrival offers a fresh start for players who may have felt buried on the depth chart last year.

“All the guys are freshmen again; no one has a spot,” Mondeaux said following Oregon’s spring game. “We’re returning starters but it doesn’t mean anything because everyone’s starting from the same point. It was definitely a good motivator because guys have maybe gotten discouraged or guys that were maybe in the three-deep or four-deep last year now are on the same level as the guys starting last year.”

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Following her fifth-place finish in the women’s 1,500 at Hayward Field Friday, July 29, U.S. Olympian Emma Coburn’s eyes began to wander toward the scoreboard as she addressed the media.

Coburn did her best to field questions, but when the gun for the women’s 800-meter race went off, she laughed and said, “I’m sorry. I’m gonna go cheer for Team New York in just a second.”

Coburn was one of many athletes who found themselves enamored with the team aspect of the inaugural TrackTown Summer Series meet on Friday. The meet featured four 35-athlete teams representing Portland, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia, each of which competed for a team title and cash prizes.

The Summer Series offered the first major team-based professional track and field event in recent history. It also broke the mold of a typical professional track meet and provided a loose, carefree environment that pro track athletes rarely experience.

Athletes weren’t as concerned with beating a certain time. “I kept thinking about how close the team score was,” men’s 1,500 meter winner and San Francisco runner Colby Alexander said. “That kind of brought me back to the [University of Oregon] days, the high school days. This is a lot of fun; I was only hearing positive stuff from other athletes.”

San Francisco won the team event with 179 points, largely due to a personal-best effort from Alexander and a first place finish from high jumper Erik Kynard. The winner of each event earned a $4,000 prize, and Team San Francisco received a $36,000 check as a team following the award ceremony. Non-profit TrackTown USA announced before the meet that up to $500,000 would be distributed to athletes.

TrackTown USA President Vin Lananna spearheaded the event, which was squeezed into a two and a half hour time window in order to air on ESPN, partially to draw attention to the American track scene and spark fan interest. However, the event is also intended to give U.S. track and field athletes a chance to compete on a large stage — and earn a living — without having to travel overseas. Lananna hopes to expand the series to three meets next year and five meets the following year.

Amid the success, there was also a bit of mystery to the process. While a draft was held on June 25, it was never made clear who was pulling the strings on draft day. Numerous athletes from all four teams said that there was no head coach and no general manager for any of the teams. Triple jump runner-up and San Francisco athlete Omar Craddock didn’t know he had been drafted until fans started bombarding his notifications on Twitter.

“I don’t know half the people on my team; or didn’t know them until now,” Craddock said in an interview during the meet. “It’s so much fun […] I really hope it catches on, I hope it gets more sponsors and I just really hope the ratings on ESPN are going up right now.”

TrackTown USA went above and beyond to make the meet as athlete-friendly and fan-friendly as possible. Younger fans were allowed to sit by the triple jump pit and high-five competitors between attempts. Every fan in the stadium was invited to move down to the rail along the track in order to get a close-up view of the co-ed 4×400 realy, the final event of the night. Athletes also passed out their race bibs to fans after their races.

“I love the community feel of it,” Team New York runner Jessica Tebo said. “It was funny racing and hearing people yell ‘Go New York!’ at me. It’s easy to be kind of jaded with track and field in this day and age, and it was really refreshing to see a group of people who have their hearts in the right places and are doing really positive things to better the sport.”

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According to a report from DuckTerritory.com, Oregon sophomore point guard Kendall Smart will transfer from the Oregon program. Small’s father told DuckTerritory that his son will transfer on Thursday.

A former four-star recruit, Small played in 36 games for the Ducks during the 2015-16 season and averaged 1.7 points in 7.8 minutes per game. Small was ranked as a top-100 prospect in the class of 2015, and ESPN listed him as its 17th ranked point guard and 92nd overall prospect.

An Anaheim, Calif. native, Small was slated to join a crowded Oregon back court as the 2016-17 season approached. Oregon returns last year’s starting point guard, Casey Benson, as well as combo guard Tyler Dorsey, who spent large chunks of time at the point guard position last year. Senior graduate-transfer Dylan Ennis was also recently granted a waiver that will allow him to return for the 2016-17 season after missing all but two games last season with a foot injury.

The Ducks also recently added class of 2016 four-star point guard Payton Pritchard, a Portland native whom ESPN lists as its 54th overall prospect in the class of 2017.

With Small’s departure, the Ducks now have two available scholarships for the upcoming season.

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After months of hype and promotion — as well as the stripping of Autzen Stadium’s turf — a highly touted International Champions Cup match between futbol super clubs Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain was played in Eugene on July 24.

When the match was announced in the spring, University of Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens stated that the Oregon athletic department and ICC parent company Relevant Sports hoped to draw a sell-out crowd to Autzen.

They didn’t even get halfway there.

In the 84th minute, just before Serge Aurier scored his second goal of the day to give PSG a 3-1 lead that would hold as the final score, the official attendance flashed across the Duck Vision scoreboard:  24,147 people showed up to watch. The average attendance of an Oregon football home game in 2015 was 57,324.

“The crowd was good,” Inter Milan defender Davide Santon said. “It was a little small during the match. Obviously in Italy there’s a little bit more people in the stadium.”

Fans traveled from locations all over the world to watch a top-caliber brand of soccer that they may never have another chance to see in person. Tickets were reasonably priced — some were listed for as little as $25.00 in the week leading up. But at slow points during the match, the stadium fell grave-quiet and the emptiness of Autzen was obvious.

Victor Ferral, a fan from Boise, Idaho, traveled to Oregon with a group of friends for a “soccer weekend” to watch the Portland Timbers and Los Angeles Galaxy play in Portland on Friday and then the ICC match on Sunday. While he thought the ICC draw was more enjoyable because of the caliber of players, he also felt it lacked a certain atmosphere.

“I think Portland and L.A. was much more intimate,” Ferral said. “It was the same amount of people, but the stadium is much smaller than Autzen and Portland’s fans are attached.”

The ICC match was part of  a 10-team annual tournament in which some of the world’s top club travel around the U.S. and Europe to prepare for their respective domestic leagues while giving fans pre-season glimpse. In the past, tickets have sold remarkably well for some matches. When Manchester United and Real Madrid played in Ann Arbor, Mich. in 2014, 109,000 fans packed “The Big House” on the University of Michigan campus.

For some reason, the match in Eugene didn’t result in the same sort of fanfare.

“[Eugene] would probably never be one of the cities where, off the top of their head, they say ‘let’s go visit Eugene,’ but this gives people an excuse to visit, as well as fans from all over the country,” Charlie Stillitano, chairman of Relevant Sports, said. “There may be a Paris fan from New York coming out to see the game.”

Stillitano said that both PSG and Inter Milan’s affiliations with Nike played a large part in each side being selected to play in Eugene, but the selection also left the match without a true megastar who is recognizable to non-soccer fans. Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t playing. Lionel Messi wasn’t playing. PSG’s Ángel Di María is arguably the most well-known player for either side, and spent all but nine minutes on the bench.

Neither Relevant Sports nor the University of Oregon athletic department have announced if Autzen will host another match next summer. But if attendance is any indicator, Eugene’s soccer community isn’t interested in meeting the lofty attendance expectations that Mullens and the athletic department hold.

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A group of veteran strikers and midfielders drew all the attention in the week leading up to the International Champions Cup draw between Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.

But it was 23-year old right back Serge Aurier who stole the show at Autzen Stadium on Sunday in front of a crowd of 24,147.

Aurier, an Ivorian international who has been with PSG for two years, bagged two goals and led the Red and Blue to a convincing 3-1 victory in their first match of the tournament.

In the 14th minute, PSG forward Hatem Ben Arfa sent a bending free kick towards the Inter Milan goal that was shoved away by Inter keeper Samir Handanović.  Handanović made the save without much trouble, but pushed the ball right to the foot of Aurier, who blasted the ball into an empty net to give PSG a 1-0 lead.

In stoppage time of the first half, Inter leveled the score when Stevan Jovetic converted a penalty kick after Lucas Moura was called for a hand ball in the penalty area.

In the second half, however, Aurier gave the Autzen fans an encore as he constantly ran up and down the right flank, often unmarked, and cut holes in the Inter defense. PSG took the lead once again in the 61st minute when Layvin Kurzawa scored on a stunning free kick from 25 yards out.

https://twitter.com/francguer1/status/757355943550156800

In the 75th minute, PSG star strike Edinson Cavani entered the game and found himself with the ball at his feet just a few moments later. Cavani received a pass in the box and as he pivoted to his left side, curled a shot near the left post to try to beat Handanović as he rushed out but missed wide left.

In the 87th minute, with Inter still reeling, Aurier put the finishing touch on the match when he netted a soaring header on a cross from Alec Georgen to make the score 3-1.

“It was a great game,” Inter Milan defender Davide Santon said. “Paris Saint-Germain is a really strong team. They played champions league this year and you can see a little bit of the difference between the two teams.”

PSG won the match despite not starting star winger Angel Di Maria or Cavani, their top striker. Both entered the match late, but the score was already decided by the time Di Maria saw the pitch.

PSG will play its second match of the tournament on July 27 when it faces Real Madrid in Columbus, Ohio. Inter Milan will matchup with FC Bayern Munich on July 30.

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