UO waits for recruits to receive clearance.

Byline: OREGON FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK By Bob Clark The Register-Guard

Oregon is still awaiting final academic clearance for two recruits signed last winter, junior college cornerback Marc Walker and freshman Lance Broadus, the latter listed as an athlete when he was recruited and as an outside linebacker in the UO media guide.

Neither player can work out with the Ducks, who open practice this afternoon, until being cleared by both the NCAA and the university.

Walker needs to finish work on a summer course to complete his eligibility requirements. Although all of the information needed for his eligibility has been sent to the NCAA, Broadus hadn't received final approval as of Tuesday afternoon.

UO coach Mike Bellotti said `a couple' of the other freshmen had clearance matters that could delay when they first practice, but not their eventual addition to the squad.

Three signees from the past year, offensive lineman Pat So'oalo, fullback Jerome Johnson and receiver James Finley, were not cleared academically. Brandon Bair, another incoming freshman, has decided to take his two-year church mission and then enroll in the fall of 2005. Another freshman, quarterback Dennis Dixon, will delay his enrollment until January.

More than ever

Even coming off a 7-6 season, Oregon has again set a record for season-ticket sales, which were cut off this week at 40,435. The Ducks sold 40,207 last season, their first in an expanded Autzen Stadium, as they averaged 56,341, with listed seating at 54,000.

Reserved seat tickets, priced at $32, do remain on sale for games Sept. 6 against Nevada, Oct. 25 against Stanford and Nov. 8 against California. Only standing room tickets, priced at $13, remain for the Washington State game on Sept. 27.

Limited promotion

There are still billboards around the state promoting individual Ducks, but so far nothing like past years when something was hung in New York or plastered along a California freeway.

`You have to earn respect, and it's very important that our players understand that,' Bellotti said. `We're back, in my estimation, in the earning mode.'

The league's veteran

In a league where no other head coach has more than two years of tenure in his current position, it makes Bellotti easily the `dean' of the league, as he was introduced to the media Tuesday, as he enters his ninth season as Oregon's head coach.

Not that he's entirely sure what to think of his seniority status.

`I've been one step ahead of the posse,' Bellotti joked. `It's a different world now. When I came into this conference, the average tenure of a head coach was probably 15 years. It's been a dramatic change.'

Absent from top 25

After two seasons of being ranked in preseason polls, the Ducks find themselves only listed among `others receiving votes.'

Asked whether it matters to players, Bellotti said `I hope they care about that. I don't worry about the preseason polls and I've told them that but I'm sure deep down they would like to be ranked.'

One voter they could influence is Bellotti himself, who again casts a ballot for the USA Today/ESPN Top 25.

`It's an opportunity to put your own reflection on it,' Bellotti said of voting. `I try to do a very good job with it but I don't publish it.'