Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert and wide receiver Dillon Mitchell are on the same wavelength.
In the fourth quarter against UCLA, Herbert went deep to Mitchell, who broke away from the defense, but UCLA defensive back Stephan Blaylock came sprinting toward him. Mitchell put on the brakes and sent the defender past him, allowing the Oregon junior to ease his way into the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown.
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— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) November 4, 2018
“It’s something special,” Mitchell said of his relationship with Herbert. “It’s something you have to work on every time and it’s more than football. … [It’s] taking criticism from each other to get better and continue the special connection.”
On Saturday, it wasn’t noticeable that the two were under concussion protocol just days before. Things were back to normal in Oregon’s 42-21 win over Chip Kelly’s Bruins. The duo linked up eight times for 156 yards and two touchdowns to lift the Ducks to victory.
“It felt regular because they’ve been out there this whole time all season,” freshman safety Jevon Holland said.
Mitchell and Herbert have been vital to Oregon’s offense this season, with Mitchell being the main target for the Ducks’ junior quarterback.
Against Arizona, Mitchell only went for 69 yards on six catches and went down with a concussion. During the week, Arizona defensive back Tristan Cooper, who injured Mitchell, said he was glad he did so.
“If I was him, I’d try hurt me too,” Mitchell said in response.
Mitchell said he was most upset with how Herbert was criticized for the pass to him on the play in Tucson.
“Dillon’s a competitor, and I’m glad he’s got my back, and I’d never want to put him in a situation like that again,” Herbert said. “He’s a guy who stood up and proud to see he came back today.”
Against UCLA, Mitchell was lively. He got open down field to make big plays like his fourth-quarter score, and when he didn’t get loose, he managed to fight off tight defending from the Bruins to make tough catches.
“He’s always going to face man coverage, throw coverage, over-under, one on the top,” head coach Mario Cristobal said.
In one instance, Mitchell dove low to his left near the sideline to get to a pass just before the ball hit the turf.
Herbert used Brenden Schooler early on in the game but once Mitchell came into the game after the first several plays, the one-two punch of Oregon’s offense was back in business.
“I think this is still college football, and I think that college guys need to practice throughout the course of a week,” Cristobal said. “We just wanted to ease it back from an emotional standpoint.”
Ahead of the UCLA game this season, Mitchell had 677 receiving yards, leading the next best receiver — Jaylon Redd — by more than 400 yards.
“They zero in on him,” Cristobal said. “The combination of him knowing that and not being able to practice with us the entire week and still going out there and performing like that — tremendous credit to him as a competitor, to his teammates for supporting him, to Justin for finding him.”
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
