Never Count Out a Coach's Kid

It isn't because of favoritism.  Coach's kids invariably make smart football players.  They grow up around the game, and the motivated ones absorb it.

Which is part of why Eric Dungy is an intriguing addition to the Oregon receiver corps.  Rob Moseley noted today that Dungy stood out in an otherwise lackluster morning for the receiver corps.  Cole and Tuinei dropped the ball.  Justin Hoffman blocks well, but has trouble getting open.


Then there's Dungy.  Look back at practice reports from last summer and last year, and his name keeps popping up.  Dungy made a great catch.  Dungy stood out for scout team.  Dungy has great hands, runs good routes, plays smart, keeps working at getting better.

The redshirt freshman is just 6-1, 171, but the Ducks have a long history of crafty little receivers who just keep winding up with the ball in their mitts on third and ten.  Joe Reitzug.  Cristin McLemore.  Keenan Howry.  Guys who run the route perfect and find a soft spot when their quarterback is running out of time.  Guys who come back to the sideline between possessions and pipe up with an observation from film study like, "23 keeps cheating up on the hitch; we can get behind him.  We should run the four verticals."

Maybe Dungy develops into that kind of player and maybe he doesn't.  The Ducks have a raft full of highly-touted speedsters scheduled to arrive this summer, B.J. Kelley, Tacoi Sumler, Devon Blackmon, and Rahsaan Vaughn. All have more physical talent than he does.  But Dungy knows the playbook.  He keeps getting open and catching the ball. 

He could be the classic late bloomer.  A two-star athlete out of Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, Dungy played both ways and made second team all-county on a team that won three state 5A titles and went 17-1 in the postseason over his four years.  Players with that kind of background know how to win.  They keep competing, and keep getting better. 

Unfortunately, you can't teach speed.  If anything holds number 19 back, it's that.  But never count out a coach's kid.  They understand the game, and what it takes to succeed.