Statistically speaking, Keanon Lowe is nobody special. The senior receiver is on pace to break his season high for receptions, but that mark was set his sophomore year with a meager 22 catches. If you ask Head Coach Mark Helfrich or Offensive Coordinator Scott Frost about what Lowe means to this team, I’m positive they will give you a much different answer. Lowe is a leader and mentor for this young Ducks team, who week in and week out provides much-need guidance for this very talented, but also very young Ducks team. So, as you can imagine, when Lowe went down in the Arizona game with a three-week-long injury, it impacted the team greatly.
I had the chance to sit down and talk with Lowe at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex today in an interview for FishDuck.com. For starters, I asked Lowe how it feels knowing his time with the Ducks is running out. He said, “I feel like I’ve been here a long time. It’s pretty crazy knowing I’ve only got one more game here at Autzen.” Luckily for Lowe, his last game at home will be against Colorado, the team with the worst record in the entire Pac-12.
The return of Keanon Lowe is a huge plus for this already potent Ducks offense.
Moving on, I talked to Lowe about how the WRs have progressed thus far, during a season in which many expected the Ducks to struggle after losing star WR Bralon Addison to an injury. Lowe laughed, saying, “The only people that were really questioning our receiving corps were the media.” Lowe has helped develop young guys such as Dwayne Stanford and Devon Allen, therefore helping the Ducks sustain the dynamic passing attack that they have now. I asked Lowe what it’s been like stepping up in to his huge role of practically being another coach for the team. He said, ”We’re all family; we all look out for each other. Being the older guy, I’ve kinda been the leader and the mentor for this group. I’m happy when I see all those guys succeed and make huge impacts on the game.” Lowe, very humbly, has taken a back seat this season to watch some of the younger and more talented WRs bloom, and it’s paying off in bunches for the Ducks.
Finally, I asked Lowe what it was like to suit up and get back in action after his three-week absence. He said, ”It was nice to get out there for the first couple plays and touch the ball a little bit. I was itching to compete and play.”
Regardless of his statistical impact, Lowe means more to this team than almost anyone else and it was great to see him out there again. Welcome back, Keanon.
Top photo by Craig Strobeck
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Caleb is a sophomore at the University of Oregon intending to double major in Journalism and Sports Management. He is the Managing Editor for FishDuck.com, along with being a lifetime Saints and San Francisco Giants fan, as Caleb fell in love with sports at a young age and developed that love into a passion for sports analysis. He is looking forward to cheering on the Ducks throughout his career at Oregon, and is always willing to talk sports with any fellow fan.