When receiver Bralon Addison tore his ACL during spring practice 16 months ago, he simply tweeted, “Life is tough man.”
After posting 890 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2013, the injury cost Addison the entire 2014 season. With time to reflect, however, he found a silver lining to the injury.
Addison said he benefited from spending a year away from the playing field, as he was able to spend more time studying opponents’ tendencies.
“You notice certain things that you probably wouldn’t notice when you’re on the field,” Addison said. “I just noticed certain things that (defensive backs were) trying to do when they’re trying to press coverage or bluffing as far as coverages, things like that.”
It might be safe to assume that he studied his own teammates as well. During Oregon’s spring game on May 2, Addison caught four passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Addison said he hopes to return punts or kickoffs this year as well, but is not sure how many chances the coaching staff will give him.
“We have so many guys that could do it,” he said. “It’s going to be a good problem for the coaches to have.”
Another Ducks receiver, Devon Allen, is still recovering after suffering an ACL tear of his own in the Ducks’ 59-20 win over Florida State in the Rose Bowl. He finished the year with 684 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns.
While he feels good, Allen said he wants to wait until he is “100 percent” before playing in a game. Though he offered no timetable for a return, Allen said his goal is to be ready for game action within a month, though he’s prepared to sit out longer.
“I’m not going to rush it,” Allen said. “If I’m not feeling good by game eight, then I’m not going to play until game nine. It’s not beneficial to me as an athlete or to this team if I play that first game and reinjure myself.”
In addition to being healthy towards the end of the season, Allen, who won a national championship in the 110m hurdles in 2014, said he wants to be at full strength next spring, when he will focus more on track in preparation for the 2016 Olympics.
“My whole athletic career is based on what I do in these next couple of months,” Allen said.
Should Allen miss significant time, the Ducks will still have depth at the receiver position between Addison, Dwayne Stanford, Charles Nelson — although he may play defensive back this year —, Darren Carrington — after a possible six-game suspension —, and Byron Marshall, who led all Oregon receivers with 1,003 yards along with six touchdowns last season.
Addison said the competition for playing time amongst Oregon’s talented receiving corps will only make the team stronger.
“You saw Ohio State had three quarterbacks last year,” Addison said.” People see competition as a question mark or as bad, but you never now what can happen. We saw so many guys go down last year, and I think it kind of caught up to us. Being able to be as deep as possible this year, I think it will help us along.”
One such injury that may already affect the Ducks in 2015 — at least early in the season — is Allen’s ACL.
Known for his speed, Allen said he expects to be as fast or faster than he was before when he returns from injury. If he follows in Addison’s footsteps while possibly missing games, he may be a smarter player as well.
Follow Jack Heffernan on Twitter @JackTHeffernan