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Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

Both quarterbacks, both transfers from BYU, both walk-ons, Sam Doman and Cade Cooper joined the Oregon football team for practice Monday.

Cooper, who became a Duck on Aug. 29, returned to the team after undergoing surgery to remove surgical pins from his injured foot. Doman, meanwhile, was a new addition, having requested his scholarship release from BYU just last week.

Each will redshirt this fall, and each will try to eventually earn a scholarship. That will be an easier task for Doman the rest of this season, as Cooper rehabilitates from a foot injury that will keep him from practicing.

"They're both good athletes," UO coach Mike Bellotti said. "We'll see. After this year, with two seniors, it's sort of an unsettled position. And I also think Sam can play other positions. He was slated to possibly play linebacker or tight end at BYU.

"Right now, they're both walk-ons. We need more quarterbacks for drills, and they're great athletes."

Oregon has seven quarterbacks on the roster, including starter Dennis Dixon, who is eighth nationally in passing efficiency with a 182.6 rating.

The Ducks, who are 3-0 and open Pac-10 Conference play at Stanford on Saturday night, are one of just seven teams in the country who have yet to throw an interception.

Dixon and backup Brady Leaf are seniors, and third-stringer Nathan Costa is a sophomore, though the Ducks would like to redshirt him this season. Cooper will be a junior with two years to play two beginning next season, while Doman will be a sophomore with three to play three.

Doman joins the same class as current redshirt freshmen Justin Roper and Cody Kempt, a class Costa would join should he redshirt

Doman said he was originally committed to Oregon as a senior at Canby High School in 2004. He took a church mission that summer, and accepted a scholarship offer from BYU before returning in 2006.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder redshirted last season with a broken foot - a season that ended with the Cougars pounding Oregon 38-8 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Part of the attraction to BYU, Doman said, was the fact that his brother Rex was a senior linebacker there in 2006. Their cousin Shawn is a linebacker with the Cougars, and another cousin, Brandon, is the quarterbacks coach.

"Having my cousin as the quarterbacks coach was a little difficult," Sam Doman said. "We're still friends - family - but I mean, it was tough for him. It was a tough situation."

Doman said he had a scholarship offer from Weber State to play quarterback and an offer from Colorado to play tight end, but he instead chose to walk on with the Ducks.

"I'm willing to do whatever I can for the team," he said. "I'd like to earn a scholarship, so wherever they see me, I'm willing to do it. They've asked me to try quarterback first, and I feel good about it. The one thing I didn't get at BYU was a chance to compete. And that's what coach Bellotti has offered me, a chance to compete. So I'm happy to be here."

One of the guys Doman might ultimately end up competing with is Cooper, a 6-3, 215-pound lefty from Lehi, Utah. Cooper is a 2001 high school graduate who took a church mission, then played two years at a junior college before transferring to BYU this past winter.

He left the Cougars after suffering a foot injury in spring drills, a setback that required him to sit out this fall and essentially handed the long-term starting job to another player.

Cooper had pins inserted to help the torn ligaments in his left foot heel, pins that were removed last week.

"Everything's perfect," Cooper said upon returning to the team. "The appointment couldn't have gone any better."

Cooper has begun rehabilitation workouts, including on the submerged treadmills in the Ducks' expanded medical treatment center. He can begin jogging in a month, and in two months can do running drills with cutting.

"I can't play this season anyway, so we figure, no rush," said Cooper, who was the passer for a set of wide receiver drills Monday. "Might as well take things easy and see how it goes from there."

U O f o o t b a l l

OREGON AT STANFORD

7 p.m. Saturday, Stanford Stadium. TV: None. Radio: KUGN-AM (590), KZEL-FM (96.1). More UO coverage at www.registerguard.com/blogs