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Oregon coach Chip Kelly has proven adept at shutting out controversy and keeping his team focused on football.
His first season with the Ducks, it was running back LeGarrette Blount's punch. Last season, it was quarterback Jeremiah Masoli's untimely dismissal.
This season, it's purported street agent Willie Lyles.
Kelly addressed the Ducks' recruiting controversy at Pac-12 media day in Los Angeles on Tuesday and his statements were predictable: He's unable to say much of anything while an NCAA investigation is ongoing.
But he seemed more than happy to talk football.
''I think the vision that we have for this football program exceeds any expectations that anybody could write down on a piece of paper,'' Kelly said.
Oregon is coming off of a 12-1 season, a second straight conference title, and an appearance in the BCS championship game this past January.
This season, the Ducks have been picked to finish atop the North Division of the newly reconfigured Pac-12 by media members who cover the conference. The team has also been tapped to win the inaugural conference championship game.
Kelly, while flattered by the attention, said it means little with the season opener still more than a month away.
''You know, it's nice to be picked to win, it's nice to be picked Top 5 in the country, but it doesn't mean anything until you go out and play the game. ... Hopefully, our motivation comes from within and our guys wanting to get better every day and become a better football team,'' Kelly said.
Oregon opens the season against LSU on Sept. 3 at Cowboys Stadium.
Oregon returns the two star players key to its super-fast ''blur'' offense, running back LaMichael James and quarterback Darron Thomas. James was a Heisman Trophy finalist who led the nation with 1,731 yards rushing last season, while Thomas became known last season by his unflappable leadership as a sophomore.
''I don't know if there is a ceiling for him,'' Kelly said about Thomas, ''and I hope there's not. Because college football is a quarterback-driven game. This league is a quarterback-driven league, and we're going to go as far as Darron can play.''
Neither James - who has been linked to Lyles - nor Thomas accompanied Kelly to media day. Tight end David Paulson spoke from the players' perspective, insisting that the outside issues had no bearing on the team.
''We're really just focused on getting better this summer. Working hard in the weight room, doing some 7-on-7, trying to come together as a team and getting ready for this upcoming season,'' Paulson said.
Kelly said the biggest questions for the team as they head into fall camp is on both the offensive and defensive lines, and at receiver. And there are other off-field issues besides Lyles, too.
Cornerback and return specialist Cliff Harris has been suspended from the team indefinitely after he was cited for driving 118 mph on a suspended license in June. The car he was driving had been rented by a university employee. At the very least, Harris will miss the LSU game.
Linebacker Kiko Alonso, projected to be a starter this season, was also suspended indefinitely after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of trespassing and criminal mischief. Alonso was arrested in May after he broke into a stranger's home and fell asleep.
Harris and Alonso were the latest in a string of players who have brought negative attention to the program.
The first was Blount, a promising running back who punched an opposing player in the aftermath of a season-opening loss in 2009. Blount was suspended for the season by Kelly, but played on a limited basis late in the season.
Masoli, a Heisman-hopeful quarterback, was dismissed from the team last season after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a fraternity house theft and a traffic stop during which marijuana was found in his car.
Today, as much as Oregon would prefer otherwise, the specter of Lyles will continue to loom until the NCAA announces the results of its investigation.
Oregon paid Lyles of Houston-based Complete Scouting Services $25,000 last year, purportedly for information about prep athletes for the 2010 recruiting class. But when Oregon released Lyles' scouting report, it mostly included players who had already signed their letters of intent in 2009.
That large payment came soon after the Ducks landed Lache Seastrunk, a highly recruited running back from Texas who had a mentoring relationship with Lyles.
Moments before media day got under way on Tuesday, Oregon passed out a statement from athletic director Rob Mullens that was sent to key Oregon boosters via email on Friday. It essentially said the university is cooperating with the NCAA.
''As part of the university's commitment to accountability, we want to reiterate that the institution takes this matter very seriously and remains dedicated to an open and transparent approach with the NCAA,'' Mullens said.
