As a college football season, this is the worst time of the year. We haven’t had football in months, and our patience has run thin in anticipation. Spring games are fun and all, yet they are like giving a sip of water to someone who hasn’t had a drink in days: It’s just not enough. The only news that has …
Kani Benoit: The Small Division Underdog
Kani Benoit*, a redshirt freshman from Phoenix, Arizona, thought it was over. His dream of playing football for a top-tier program seemed unattainable. Though he received initial offers from 10 schools, he had trouble keeping them. And Oregon was really the only one in the running for the BCS National Championship. Benoit’s head coach from Phoenix Thunderbird High School, Brent …
Now or Never: How Next Season Will Decide the Fate of Certain Ducks
When a new class of freshmen arrives to a football program, it’s always a mixed bag. Players of all positions gather from different high schools or junior colleges, states and backgrounds, to come together as teammates. Some are prized recruits coming in from premier high school programs; some are lesser-known players that the coaches hope are diamonds in the rough. …
Juwaan Williams: The All-Around Athlete
Juwaan Williams is a long way from home. Almost 3,000 miles away to be semi-exact. However, the distance hasn’t stopped him from making a big impression — on the Ducks. Williams hails from Tucker, Georgia, an unincorporated community in the northern part of the state. There, he attended the aptly named Tucker High School and became a star athlete. The …
From U.S. Soccer to the Ducks, It’s a Small World After All
Americans are coming down with a severe case of World Cup Fever over the past week — and it has to do with team spirit. With the United States winning its first match against Ghana and playing Portugal to a draw, the national team has (so far) beaten the odds in the “Group of Death” and given the U.S. a …
My Best Fish (Duck) Story — and Closing Memoir
I’ll never forget the date: Oct. 10, 2011. I remember feeling completely lost, staring into my computer screen for literally hours. You see, I had my first post due for something called “FishDuck.com” at 3 a.m. the next morning. And, while I had been able to come up with a topic and the basis of what I wanted to say in …
Duckling Profile: Arik Armstead – A Force on the Field and on the Floor
Not every high school athlete makes it in college sports, especially at the D-1 level. Success at this level requires diligence, athleticism and commitment much greater than even the most demanding high school programs. It’s a rare athlete who can star at even one college sport, but Arik Armstead has his eyes set on two. Armstead, a 2012 graduate of …