Coach's Time Playing Football at the University of Oregon

Coach’s Time Playing Football at the University of Oregon

By: Ashton Bryson

Date: March 2025

Ashton: What was your favorite moment playing football at the University of Oregon?

Coach: Being able to contribute to our team. We made it to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 30 to 40 years. It was a really big thing that an Oregon team hadn't done for a long time, that the state got excited for and rallied around us.  It was just really cool being part of that.  For me, personally, making an important play against Oregon State with a special catch to help get us to the Rose Bowl was pretty fun, too.  I received a game ball because of that play. 

Ashton: What was your work ethic like? What did you do to prepare for the Football season? 

Coach: My work ethic was one of my biggest strengths. I did not receive a scholarship coming right out of high school, I had to work my way up and work harder than the kids who had received scholarships to prove that I deserve to be there. So I was always someone who felt the need to go above and beyond what was ever asked of me. So I would put in extra running and conditioning and lifting before practice, I would take on extra reps during practice, I put in extra time after practice. I would attend coaching clinics to learn plays that players never attended. I would just do anything I could to make it so that I was always the most prepared person and the one who worked hardest on the team.

Ashton: What was your pregame routine?

Coach:  So before each game I would go into the weight room right next to the locker room with some of the quarterbacks and throw and catch a football just to warm myself up. Then I would put on my uniform a certain way, with specific wristbands and special tape. They always had to be done correctly. People involved in sports sometimes are very superstitious and have to ensure things are a specific way for them to feel confident about what they're about to do. There was a routine that I had to follow that put me in the right mindset for the game I was about to play in.

Ashton: What was your experience overall? Did you enjoy playing? Why?

Coach: Playing football in college was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life. Most importantly the people that I met, both players and coaches and contacts have had a significant impact on who I am today. It allowed me to be able to go places I most likely would not ever be able to have gone to on my own. And just being part of something as memorable as a Rose Bowl team and a Division 1 Collegiate program is something that very few people ever get a chance to say in their life and I'm very proud of that. 

Ashton: What would you say is your biggest athletic accomplishment and why? 

Coach: As an athlete, playing in the Rose Bowl. My biggest athletic accomplishment as a coach is giving kids an opportunity to see things in themselves they didn't know they had inside of them, and give them the confidence to succeed in life where they wouldn't have before.