http://www2.registerguard.com/cms/i...nting-the-days-until-oregons-opener-with-lsu/ “I’ve been doing individual workouts with those guys almost every day,” Darron Thomas said. “Those guys look good —fast. Everybody talks about how we got speed — now we have real speed.” News about the NCAA’s investigation into Oregon’s $25,000 payment to scout Will Lyles hasn’t disrupted the players’ preparations on the field, Thomas said. “We’re not worried about the outside media. We’re worried about football,” he said. “We know we can play. No matter what happens, we know we gotta play.” If anything, he said, the attention surrounding the investigation has forced the players to hunker down this summer. “It’s actually making us work harder,” Thomas said. “We’re just ducking our heads and working hard. We needed something — I’m not going to say we wanted that — but we needed something (to overshadow) all that hype and the talk of ‘best Oregon team ever’ and all that. “We want to get back to the same position (of a national championship appearance) and do it again. We’ve got guys who are ready to go again.” Speaking of which, Thomas said sophomore receiver Josh Huff has shown no ill effects from a minor knee injury that sidelined him for much of the spring. Thomas has also been in touch with junior cornerback Cliff Harris, who hasn’t attended the summer workouts since being cited last month for driving 118 mph on Interstate 5. On Wednesday, Harris paid nearly $4,300 in fines related to that and other citations. “I know he’s ready,” Thomas said. “He’d love to be back out here; he’s just waiting for all those other processes to get finished.” In the meantime, Thomas said it’s generally been a productive summer for the Ducks so far. “This is a good group,” he said. “Everybody’s dedicated and everybody wants to win.” Just 56 days from today, the Ducks will again get that chance.
