Hyping Mr. Smith

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Oregon senior quarterback Akili Smith (11) rushes the ball while USC junior defensive end Sultan Abdul-Malik (44) gives chase. Smith has 1,870 yards passing and 19 touchdowns this season. The Wildcats play Oregon tomorrow at Arizona Stadium at 4:30 p.m.

But when he lays his head on his pillow at night, he only dreams of two things.

Both of these dreams involve sitting with his parents in a banquet setting with a brand new Armani suit on.

The first dream is to be sitting in the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City with the other top college players awaiting the presentation of the Heisman Trophy.

The other is to sit in the back room at the NFL Draft, waiting to hear his name called by commissioner Paul Tagliabue so he can go put his respective jersey and hat on.

At the pace he is going, Oregon senior quarterback Akili Smith will achieve both dreams of the everyday college football player.

On being associated with the Heisman Trophy, Smith said, "I am just happy to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys. I am the dark horse in this thing and I probably won't win it, but it still is fun."

As for the NFL, Smith said, "It is a dream and I definitely think about it. I want the opportunity to play there and hopefully I can get drafted to a team with a veteran quarterback who I can back up for a year or two in order to learn."

Before Smith thinks about that December day in New York or draft day, he has an Oregon team to lead into their biggest game of the year against Arizona.

"This is the biggest one, now," Smith said. "It is in their house on Halloween and it is going to be tough. We both have similar records and goals which is to get to the Rose Bowl. It's gonna be a good one."

One year ago, Smith was sharing the quarterback duties with Jason Mass, but that one year of experience with the Oregon offense has given him the ability to raise his game to the next level.

"Last year we felt to be effective we had to use both quarterbacks," Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said. "This year Akili has passed Jason with a better understanding of the offense."

Last year Smith was 108 of 200 for 1,385 yards and 13 touchdowns in 11 games played. This year the experience has surfaced for this one-time community college All-American and minor league baseball player in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, as he is 103 of 185 for 1,870 yards, 19 touchdowns and only five interceptions in seven games.

"There is no doubt he is having the best year (of any quarterback in the Pac-10)," UA head coach Dick Tomey said. "He has the most tools in the conference. It is impressive what he has learned in a little over a year."

This run for Smith has not been easy as just two weeks ago in an overtime thriller at the Rose Bowl in which the Ducks suffered their only defeat, Smith saw junior tailback Reuben Droughns break his leg.

With Droughns out, the running game for the Ducks loses its prestige and the offensive load falls on Smith's shoulders.

"I got a pretty big load that I need to fulfill, but the running game did a good job against USC as we picked up some positive yards," Smith said.

Arizona junior quarterback Keith Smith was quick to praise Oregon's Smith and how he is handling the lack of a running game and for that matter the entire season.

"Akili Smith is playing really well this year, he is leading their team like never before," Arizona's Smith said. In regards to the running game, he responded, "He is not letting that phase him at all."

After the loss to UCLA, Smith took the leadership role and led his team back on the winning track against Southern Cal at home as he went 15 of 28 for 231 yards and a touchdown in the 17-13 victory.

As for the loss to UCLA, Smith said, "It still kind of hurts because we had that game. We just have to move on and get the rest of the games."

Smith and the Ducks are 6-1 and ranked 12th in the nation, but still think that nobody knows who the guys are from Eugene.

"I still think nobody respects us, but that is okay," Smith said. "It is not about respect, it is about Ws and right now we have six and are looking for more down the road."

That road has taken a turn into Arizona Stadium this Saturday as the Ducks and Wildcats battle for second place in the conference.

Dan Rosen can be reached via e-mail at Dan.Rosen@wildcat.arizona.edu.