Superman slips into a nearby phone booth, changes into a Duck practice jersey

At Gardena Serra High School they call him Superman. It's apt, because incoming Duck freshman football player Rodrick Pleasant is faster than all the speeding bullets who have outrun locomotives in Oregon green and yellow.

Last week he ran the fastest 100 meters in the 108-year history of the CIF California State Track Meet, winning easily out of the blocks, two strides ahead at the tape, setting a meet record of 10.2 seconds. 

As a junior he eclipsed the state record for high school boys, finishing in 10.14. That's among the top 20 prep times in the history of the sport. For example, Super Bowl champion Tyreek Hill clocked 10.19 in 2012.  Hill is one of the fastest receivers in NFL history.

Rodrick Pleasant, of Serra, repeats as 100 meter champion. Breaks state meet record at 10.20 seconds. Oregon football commit. ⁦@CIFState⁩ ⁦@SerraCavaliers⁩ ⁦@SacBee_JoeD⁩ ⁦@DarrenSabedra⁩ pic.twitter.com/yvBWlUWDqj

— Mitch Stephens (@MitchBookLive) May 28, 2023

How fast is that? Thomas Tyner, the fastest sprinter ever to come out of the state of Oregon and a 5-star football recruit in 2013, posted a personal best of 10.35. De'Anthony Thomas, six years in the NFL, the electrifying author of many Webfoot highlight moments as a returner, receiver and running back, plodded to his all-time top mark of 10.57 at the L.A. city championships in 2010.

At 10.2, Pleasant is faster than LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, Devon Allen, Jordan Kent, Samie Parker, Patrick Johnson, Ronnie Harris or J.J. Birden were as preps. That's fast company, a group that could leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Oregon's all-time leading rusher, LMJ won the 2006 Texas 100 meter championship for Liberty-Eylau High School in 10.51. His friend and running mate Barner finished 14th in the 2010 PAC-10 Championship meet, 10.71.

When Pleasant committed to Oregon on Signing Day in February, Dan Lanning fired up another victory cigar. He'd plucked college football's quickest prospect right out from under the upturned Trojan nose of Lincoln Riley, stolen him in a whiff of smoke.

pic.twitter.com/KGQNnGEGrZ

— Dan Lanning (@CoachDanLanning) December 22, 2022

Zachariah Branch, USC's prize 5-star recruit at wide receiver? He's never run faster than 10.33. Nice try, bubble eye.

Speed matters on the football field, because speed induces shock and awe. It changes perception, changes the way an opponent prepares, ramps up intensity in practice, challenges teammates to prepare better and know their assignments.

He's faster, so I have to be smarter.

It's been a hallmark of Oregon football for 40 years.

 

At Oregon, Pleasant will play cornerback and return kicks. He's a 5-11, 180-pound consensus four-star prospect rated one of the Top 100 recruits in the country, an UnderArmour and Polynesian Bowl All-American with 33 scholarship offers.

Not every fast guy learns how to translate his gift to the football field. Pleasant does so by aggressively breaking on the ball and playing at speed. He's aggressive and physical, fighting off blocks or running through contact.

If he applies himself the way he has in his high school career, Pleasant will become another of Oregon's legendary speed merchants. His physical tools rival the very best.