Aleman eager to take field as Duck

By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN

At the tender age of 18, he's already been to a bowl game with a major-college football team.

To Hawaii, of all sweet places.

Not bad for one of the best players in Ashland High football coach Jim Nagel's illustrious stint.

Cy Aleman, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound redshirt freshman, would seem to have a bright future as an Oregon receiver. He has it all: size, speed, instincts and skills.

Aleman soaked in the sights and sounds of Honolulu for a week as the Ducks prepared to meet Colorado in the Aloha Bowl Christmas Day.

Because he's redshirting, Aleman didn't play in Oregon's 51-43 loss. He was on the cusp of being thrust into the action a couple of times this season, which would have negated his redshirt status.

The way things went in the bowl game, Aleman wishes he could have helped out.

Now that his redshirt year has been used, it proved a positive experience. And the best news is that Aleman has four years to play four seasons.

Aleman and senior-to-be Tony Hartley will be Oregon's fastest returning receivers next season. Aleman is faster than Hartley, although it's barely measurable.

"I'd like to start on the opposite side from Tony," says Aleman. "That's my ultimate goal. But mainly, I want to play next year and get used to the system.

"I see next year as a chance for younger players in the freshman and sophomore classes to get their feet wet and get ready for their careers. I think the year after, Oregon will be ready to take a step up to another level. It's time for us to be a national championship contender."

Back to the Aloha Bowl. Aleman found himself confused as the Ducks went through a listless pregame warm-up and gave up a 93-yard kickoff return to start the game. They were in the hole the rest of the game.

"It was like we were asleep when we got there to play the game," says Aleman, who's back at home in Ashland for the remainder of the holidays. "I didn't understand.

"Coach (Mike Bellotti) told the players to wake up and start playing at halftime. Finally, we did, and we started playing our game when there was hope we could still win."

But Oregon had fallen behind 44-14 by the time it stopped sleepwalking.

Playing catch-up, the Ducks almost pulled it off. Senior quarterback Akili Smith and receivers Damon Griffin, Bobby Nero and Donald Haynes led a second-half rally that featured a 22-point fourth quarter.

Oregon concluded what looked like it could have been a banner season by giving up 96 points in losses to Oregon State and Colorado.

"I'm not sure what went wrong with us in our last two games," says Aleman. "It was like we weren't there. It was a different team. You could tell we weren't ready on the bus ride to Oregon State, either."

Oregon finished with an 8-4 record.

Aleman, who was being groomed all season to come off redshirt status and play receiver or flanker in 1998 in case of injuries, was put on alert for the Aloha Bowl after Hartley was suspended for violating team rules.

"I dressed the first half, but I didn't want to go in at that point," says Aleman. "I would have wasted a full year of eligibility if I had gone in."

Griffin, Haynes and Nero all had exceptional games catching passes from Smith.

"I thought Damon played real hard and had a great game for us," says Aleman. "It was a good final game for him. I just wish some of the others had stepped up like he did.

"We felt we should have won that game. We wanted it badly because Colorado's players were talking trash to us the whole game."

Oregon fell to 2-4 in bowl games since its current run of bowl appearances began in 1989.

"I thought we were ready to play, but it turned out we weren't," says Aleman. "There were a lot of distractions in Hawaii, and I guess that hurt our focus. We spent time on the beach and free time in town.

"It was like some of the seniors changed. It was their last game, and they were thinking more about themselves than the team."

With Griffin and Haynes graduating, and sophomore wide receiver LeCorey Collins being moved to H-back, Aleman hopes his chances to play significant minutes will come next season.

"My ultimate goal is to be a starter, but I still have a lot to learn about the offense to get to that point," says Aleman. "But since I was being groomed to play in an emergency this year, I'm ahead of the other redshirts who were on the scout team running the other teams' plays in practice."

Aleman says he will go back to Oregon in January with a new sense of urgency.

"It's nice not to be a redshirt anymore," he says. "Now, I'm working to play in games. It's a big difference."