Take Five — Tim Day

Friday, Nov. 11, 2005 | 9:30 a.m.

Full name: Timothy Gene Day

Position: Senior tight end, University of Oregon

Size: 6 feet 4 inches; 265 pounds

Born: Sept. 3, 1983

Hometown: Las Vegas

Resume: Excelled at both tight end and defensive end as a senior at Western High School and was named Nevada's 4A boys player of the year in basketball. His 12 career touchdown catches at Oregon is three shy of the school record for a tight end.

1. DUCKS VS. BEAVERS

Day very nearly wound up an hour north of Eugene in Corvallis, Ore., playing for the Oregon State Beavers.

Day, who befriended Eldorado High running back and current St. Louis Rams star Steven Jackson during their senior season in high school, committed to OSU along with Jackson before Day had a last-minute change of heart.

"It was pretty close," Day said, "but the Oregon coaches stayed on me and I ended up coming here. I've had a pretty good career here so I've got no regrets at all."

2. CHANGES

After catching 35 passes for 457 yards and eight touchdowns last season as a junior, Day was forced into a new role this year with the arrival of former BYU head coach Gary Crowton as the Ducks' offensive coordinator.

Crowton's spread offense drastically has limited the number of times Day touches the ball; through nine games, Day has 16 receptions for 146 yards and no touchdowns.

"It's definitely different," Day said of the Ducks' new offensive scheme. "It's the complete opposite of what we've been doing here the last five or six years. I don't really want to dwell on the fact that they changed everything around; I've just been trying to stay positive and do what I can when I get the chance."

The Ducks' 8-1 record and No. 11 ranking have helped eased Day's frustration.

"I can't really complain about what's going on because we're winning games," he said. "I just have to accept my role this year. As long as we're winning, I have no arguments."

3. FEELING A DRAFT

Day said he is not sure how his diminished role in the Ducks' offense this season will affect him in the upcoming NFL draft. Prior to this season, one scouting service projected Day to be drafted as high as the third round.

"I've been talking to a lot of people and they say the (Oregon) offense is not a conventional NFL offense, and in some ways it might hurt me and in some ways it might help me because it shows I can split out and block people," Day said.

"In other ways, it's not showing what I can do when I'm in a three-point stance and blocking people on the line and running routes off the line. Hopefully, after the season I can get down for a couple of all-star games and get back into a regular offense and show what I can do."

Day already has received invitations to play in every major collegiate all-star game with the exception of the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., in January, and he still is hoping to be the final tight end chosen to play in that game.

4. ROUGH YEAR

Day's senior season started on a tragic note as his father, Gene, died during a surgical procedure in Las Vegas in early August. Tim Day, a fifth-year senior, said he is grateful his father was able to see him receive his degree in education last spring.

"My parents have always said the one thing you should do is finish school and (my dad) got to see me finish," Day said. "I'm glad I did; he got to see me graduate, and he always told me he was proud of me."

5. THE UNIFORMS

The Ducks have the most unusual -- and varied -- uniforms in college football. With an almost infinite combination of green, yellow and white pants and jerseys, the Ducks players don't know from game to game what combination they will be wearing.

"They change every week," Day said. "We go with some odd colors. I just think that Coach (Mike Bellotti) is trying to keep everybody on their toes and keep us relaxed."

Day said there is a rumor that the Ducks could sport an even more bizarre look in the regular-season finale against rival Oregon State or, possibly in a bowl game: camouflage uniforms.

"I've heard some talk about it, but I have no idea, but that would probably take the cake."