Another Harrington debuts at Autzen.

Byline: CHRIS HANSEN The Register-Guard

As far as college football debuts go, Joey Harrington has nothing on his younger brother.

Michael Harrington, a redshirt freshman for Idaho, took the first snaps of his career Saturday afternoon on the same field where his brother ruled for nearly three seasons.

With the Vandals trailing 58-21 and 1:58 on the clock, his family watching from the press box and his brother listening on the Internet in Charlotte, N.C., where the Detroit Lions are playing the Carolina Panthers today, Michael Harrington entered the game to a loud, warm ovation.

"That was a pretty good greeting," said Harrington, who like his brother stands 6-foot-4 but is much lighter at 198 pounds. "I wasn't expecting that."

What, he thought an Autzen Stadium crowd would boo a quarterback named Harrington?

"Well, I just didn't know," Harrington said. "Some people think I chose not to come to Eugene. But then adrenaline took over my body."

He completed 2-of-4 attempts for 15 yards in a performance notable only because of the name on the back of his jersey, a replica of which was being worn by his mother, Valerie, who was cheering for someone other than the Ducks for the first time at Autzen.

"It was very weird," she admitted. "But we weren't rooting against the Ducks, just for the Vandals for this one game. Hey, blood is thicker than water."

While the fans showed some appreciation for the Harrington name, the Ducks did not. On his third play from scrimmage, Harrington set up under center and saw the Oregon defense preparing to blitz.

"I looked up and thought, `Good God, they're bringing pressure off both ends up 30 points,' ' Harrington said. "I was hoping they'd go easy on me."

No such luck, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said.

"It doesn't matter what the quarterback's name is, we're not going to deviate from our defense," Bellotti said through a smile. "Besides, he should know the defense, he's seen it before."

If nothing else, Michael Harrington can at least say he completed some passes in his first game.

That's a claim that can't be made by Joey Harrington, whose first pass attempt came against Southern California at Autzen on Oct. 24, 1998. He had lined up as a tailback, took the pitch, rolled right and set to throw down the field when Trojan linebacker and current Lion teammate Chris Claiborne planted a helmet in his chest and drove him into the turf.

"Yeah, (Michael) looked better," Valerie Harrington said before laughing. "It wasn't too bad for a debut."

Even though Michael Harrington would have preferred the game end with his team victorious, he was still happy to have been involved.

"I came into the game not expecting to come in," he said.

"I was pretty excited to have the first (six) snaps of my college career in front of my family. It was a thrill."

CAPTION(S):

UO coach Mike Bellotti greets Idaho's Michael Harrington, brother of former Duck Joey Harrington.