A field day for the faithful.

Byline: Carolyn Lamberson The Register-Guard

Each year at Fan Day, Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti fields a lot of questions about the offense, the defense and his team's chances for the year.

Then there are fans who want to know one thing: Will the clean-shaven Bellotti regrow his mustache?

So, will he?

`I'm leaving it up for public debate," Bellotti said as he signed autographs at the University of Oregon's Moshofsky Center.

Hundreds of fans, many pint-sized, flooded the team's indoor practice facility Saturday morning, jumping at the chance to meet players, collect autographs, take photos and even participate in drills.

The Ducks' season begins Thursday with a game in Texas against the University of Houston. But many folks consider Fan Day the season's inauguration.

`It's the start of football season. It's like the kickoff party," Heather Brown of Salem said. "We wait nine months for this day."

Brown and her husband, T.J., came with their little Ducks, 11-month-olds Luke and Grace.

The twins didn't go to games last season. They were born in September three months early and spent their first two months in the neonatal intensive care unit at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. But they had Duck spirit from the start, their mom said.

`Their bed in the NICU was decked out with Duck gear," Brown said.

Luke and Grace posed for pictures with players and with the Duck mascot, but at their young age, it's probable they didn't grasp what it all meant. For some of the older kids at Fan Day, however, it was a chance to meet their favorite players.

Marshall Davis, 10, of Springfield, was after Jordan Kent's signature.

"I just really like him as a player. He's good," Marshall said.

When Marshall is reminded that Kent, a track and basketball star, has never played in a college football game before, he said, "Well, he sounds like a really good player."

Kent said he hadn't heard from hard-core basketball fans anxious about his decision to add football to his sports resume.

"Everyone's been really supportive," he said. `But I'm not going to be surprised if (a hoops fan) comes along.'

But fans peppered him with questions throughout the session. Which sport does he like more? How does his dad, basketball coach Ernie Kent, feel about his decision? Is he getting used to catching an oval ball?

He doesn't name a favorite, but he does say that basketball preseason is less strenuous.

"This fall camp has been a lot of work," Kent said. "I just hope I can hold up for the year."

As for Dad: "He was nervous at first, but I brought him around."

Kent is no stranger to autograph tables, having manned them before with his other teams. Heralded freshman running back Jonathan Stewart, however, is new to this game.

"It's pretty cool," he said. "It's a new experience."

As he gets ready to sign another poster for a fan, he's asked if he has practiced his signature.

`I'm trying to now," he said.

Bellotti said Fan Day is a great chance for fans, many of whom only have an Autzen Stadium perspective of the players, to get to know them on a more personal level. He and his team relish this opportunity to interact with their fans.

"I think it's fun for the kids and it's fun for the players to get this kind of attention," he said.

Some fans gave something back, too.

"I get a lot of good advice on days like this," Bellotti said. "And I always appreciate that advice."

Players and Bellotti signed T-shirts, programs, shoes, footballs, hats, photographs, magazines, a file folder or two, scraps of paper and anything else that people brought in.

"You wonder how much of this stuff is going to end up in their trophy case at home," Bellotti said, "and how much of it is going to end up on eBay."

CAPTION(S):

While her twin brother, Luke, samples the Moshofsky Center turf at the University of Oregon's Autzen Stadium on Saturday, 11-month-old Grace Brown of Salem appears to have had her fill of Fan Day. The Ducks'

football season officially begins Thursday. Marshall Davis, 10, of Springfield, gets his picture taken with freshman running back Jonathan Stewart. Brian Davies / The Register-Guard Asher Krauel of Portland takes a gander at the Oregon Duck mascot on Saturday from beneath his homemade helmet. New Ducks wide receiver Jordan Kent, son of University of Oregon basketball coach Ernie Kent, chats with a fan while signing autographs at Fan Day on Saturday at the UO's Moshofsky Center. Brian Davies / The Register-Guard