By
Maxx Wolfson
Arizona Summer Wildcat
LOS ANGELES - Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington tried to pull a fast one on Oregon State running back Ken Simonton.
Harrington and Simonton received the most attention at the Pacific 10 Conference's annual media day on Wednesday in Los Angeles for a good reason.
Not that they were taking themselves too seriously.
Harrington picked up a notebook and tape recorder and started to interview Simonton in front of a group of reporters.
The reporters gladly let Harrington take over the interview, where the senior quarterback proceeded to ask Simonton questions about his chances of winning the Heisman trophy.
"It's great to be in the race, but if you are in it, be in it to win," Simonton said. "I'm greedy, but the only way I have a chance to win is for our team to be successful."
Harrington said earlier in the day that he was excited about his chances of winning college football's most coveted individual award. Harrington is an early favorite already and a Nike ad campaign already has the Ducks' signal-caller posted on the side of a Manahattan building.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited (about winning the Heisman Trophy)," he said. "How many times do you get to see yourself 12 stories high in downtown Manhattan?"
The success of Harrington and Simonton marks the first time that two Heisman candidates have come from the state of Oregon.
"Not often in the state of Oregon are there two candidates for the Heisman," said Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson. "It will be nice to showcase our university on the national level."
Last season, Arizona's game against Arizona State decided each teams' postseason fate.
This season, it might also decide which first-year coach will have a bigger impact on his team's success, ASU's Dirk Koetter or UA's John Mackovic.
Despite being located only 100 miles apart, Koetter and Mackovic talked for the first time at media day.
"(Mackovic) is a true gentleman," Koetter said of his in-state counterpart. "He and I are in a tough situation because we are opposing coaches in a rivalry like this and the opposing fans want us to hate each other. Personally, I don't like to be put in that situation."
Koetter said he would rather let the game do the talking rather than adding fuel to the rivalry by trash-talking the Wildcats.
"I want to beat Arizona as much as anyone, but saying bad things about them isn't going to help us accomplish that," Koetter said. "I'm not going to be giving away any locker-room quotes about Arizona."
ASU will open the 2001 season against San Diego State in Tempe on September 8, one week after the Wildcats open their season against the Aztecs in San Diego.
UA fans might remember power forward Teyo Johnson from Stanford's basketball team, but this season, the two-sport star might have an increased roll on the football team.
Johnson, a sophomore from Mira Mesa High School in San Diego, played both wide receiver and quarterback in high school and should see significant playing time in 2001.
Johnson decided to redshirt in football last season but came off the bench for the Cardinal's basketball team, where he helped lead the Stanford basketball team to a No. 1 ranking while averaging 4.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
Stanford head coach Tyrone Willingham said that Johnson, who led the Cardinal in receiving in spring practices, might also get a chance to play quarterback.
"Hopefully, Teyo will be prepared to do a lot of things this season," he said.
Johnson will compete with senior Randy Fasani and junior Chris Lewis for the starting job.
