Cooling vests unavailable due to compressor flap.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

Disappointed?

Yes, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said, that is how he feels about the Ducks not being allowed to test in Saturday's opener the cooling vests that have raised such a furor this week.

Bellotti said he was particularly unhappy because the cooling vests would seem to be in line with recent NCAA moves to lessen the impact of heat on football players, and it promises to be hot and humid in Starkville, Miss., where Oregon opens the season against Mississippi State.

The Ducks will use all the conventional methods of warding off the heat, but the word from Mississippi State is that the Nike-designed vests can't be used because of possible safety problems with the gas-powered compressor needed to pump cool air through the vests.

`When this type of thing happens, it's sort of ridiculous,' Bellotti said of the rejection of the vests. `It's a slap in the face at the people who are trying to make the game safer.'

Bellotti said the Ducks will `probably' use the cooling vests in their home opener Sept. 6 against Nevada and possibly later in the season, but playing in the deep South in late August offers a sampling of weather unlike anything Oregon will play in again.

`That's a perfect environment to test them, and it's a shame that neither team gets the opportunity,' Bellotti said. `We've never used them ... (so) we haven't lost anything, but unfortunately the science and the athletes have lost something.'

Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill first raised the question of ethics with Nike providing the vests to Oregon and not the Bulldogs, though both schools have contracts with the clothing and shoe company. Nike then worked on a plan to provide both teams with the vests, and share a compressor.

But Sherrill said Wednesday neither team could use the vests in this game because a gas-powered compressor isn't allowed `within a block' of Davis Wade Stadium.

When the Ducks play at Autzen Stadium, the compressor required for the cooling air will be powered by electricity. That option, however, isn't available at most stadiums, including Mississippi State's home facility.

`We've been planning this for two years,' Bellotti said. `It's interesting how this whole thing occurred.'

Sherrill said the ban on gasoline-powered generators or compressors inside Davis Wade Stadium or in the immediate area of the facility is the result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

`Even the generators for the television trucks, they have to be a block away,' Sherrill said.

Forster is out

Oregon received the expected bad news on the knee injury suffered by starting right guard Joey Forster, and he's out for the season.

Both the ACL and MCL were torn in Forster's right knee, an injury that occurred in Wednesday's practice.

Forster was the most experienced of the offensive linemen. He had played in all 37 games of his previous three seasons and started 35 times, including every game last season.

Forster was also one of the captains for the opening game, and Bellotti said he hoped to take the senior from Salem on the trip.

`He's one of the acknowledged team leaders, and I think it would be nice to reward him for his hard work and for his teammates to see him there,' Bellotti said.

Another punter

Though Paul Martinez will be Oregon's punter for the opener, the Ducks continue to work out all four of their freshmen at the position.

That's four, with the addition of Josh Thomas-Dotson, the Siuslaw High School graduate.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Thomas-Dotson joined the Ducks as a walk-on a week into drills after playing in an all-star game and has spent most of his time with the defensive line as an end. He was a punter for Siuslaw, gave it a try one practice with the Ducks and was encouraged to continue taking rotations with the punters.

`Josh is going to be a really good player,' Bellotti said. `He could play a lot of positions. The biggest thing for us is to find one.'

Speaking of quarterbacks

If Oregon's quarterback situation seems up in the air, how about what former Duck coach Rich Brooks plans for his Kentucky team? Brooks said Wednesday he'll go ahead with using his top two quarterbacks in the huddle together.

Jared Lorenzen is the senior starter and the better passer, but junior Shane Boyd offers so much athletic ability Brooks wants him on the field, often at the same time as Lorenzen.

`We'll use their abilities in different ways,' Brooks said. `There will be plays where one will be under center and the other at a different position.'

The guy in charge of attempting to defend that will be Mike Gillhamer, who coached the secondary at Oregon last year and is now the defensive coordinator at Louisville. Kentucky makes its debut under Brooks against Louisville on Sunday in a game that will be televised on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m. PDT.

Odds at the end

Don't be surprised if the start of Oregon's game Saturday isn't shown as scheduled. The Ducks and Mississippi State are scheduled to kick off at 6:04 p.m. PDT for the ESPN2 cameras, but that's the same cable channel that will be showing Fresno State and Tennessee starting at 3:05 p.m. PDT. Figuring it's probable that the Bulldogs and Vols will play more than three hours, the Ducks are likely to be joined in progress. ... Jason Fife is among 26 quarterbacks named as candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's top college quarterback.