Last Spring Game, Addison was forced to watch from the sidelines. Now, he’s ready to get back on the field.
Let’s take a trip back in time to the offseason of our previous football season. Our receiving corps was a bigger question mark than the quarterback battle is now.
Starters Josh Huff and De’Anthony Thomas left for the NFL draft, Daryle Hawkins graduated, and Tight End Colt Lyerla had parted ways with the Ducks.
In the midst of all this, there was a lot of hope placed in a young receiver of promise – Bralon Addison. Addison quietly managed to be the team’s second leading receiver among a deep and talented roster.
Oregon fans received a heavy blow to the gut when they discovered that Bralon had torn his ACL, and would miss the rest of the season.
Now it is a new day, and Bralon is back and better than ever. The redshirt junior is eager to lead a young receiving corps to new heights. We met up with Addison to pick the brain of who is sure to be a major asset to whoever starts at quarterback.
Daniel: “As the quarterback battle goes on, it is kind of at the expense of the receivers. How are you adjusting to different quarterbacks every day?”
Bralon: “Besides Travis [Jonsen] being able to work out with the guys in winter, I think it gives us a big advantage. We have to do the right things, so they can trust us to help them compete at a higher level. Overall it’s been going pretty well.”
Daniel: “Is there anyone that is stepping up in your mind?”
Bralon: “The guys that have been here, they are all doing great. I have really been surprised with Travis; he came in and has been confidant. He is further along than a lot of people thought he would be, coming out of high school into the spring, as far as knowing the strategies and the plays, etc.”
Addison celebrating with his team during the title game — though, the celebrations were short-lived.
Daniel: “It’s a loss on the offensive side with Charles Nelson switching to defense, how have you guys been adjusting to that?”
Bralon: “Losing a guy like Charles is key, he can do a lot of things. He’s been on defense for a short time, and he looks like he has been on defense for years. The advantage that we have, though, is that we have so many guys. We have so much depth at the receiving position that somebody else is going to step up. We have young guys who redshirted last year, and guys coming in this year that we think can help us a lot.”
Daniel: “Is there anyone you see stepping up this year in particular?”
Bralon: “I think it’ll be a number of guys. We have Byron Marshall, he was the leading receiver, Dwayne Stanford another veteran, Darren [Carrington] is coming back as well, and we have all seen what he can do. Some of the guys who you might not have seen last year, Jalen Brown is one, and Alex Ofodile has been great this Spring.”
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Daniel “Kantor” Kantor is a soon-to-be graduating 5th year senior at the University of Oregon majoring in advertising with a double minor in business and music. He hails from Southern California and grew up in a UCLA family, where he learned from a very young age to despise the USC Trojans. He switched to the green side when he committed to attend the U of O and witnessed his first ever Duck game: Oregon: 72, New Mexico: 0. That season turned into the magical roller coaster that was the year of the 2011 BCS National Championship against Auburn (I will argue to the death that he was down).
Aside from rooting for the Ducks, you can find Daniel rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Giants, Dodgers, and the 6th grade Eugene basketball tem he coaches. I also have a husky as a pet, but she’s definitely a husky fan. Daniel plans to move to Portland after graduation to pursue a job in media.