STANFORD, Calif. – After senior wide receiver Brian Paysinger hurt his knee during practice Thursday, fellow senior Cameron Colvin was assured of playing a larger role in Saturday’s game.
How he responded to regaining a starting role was another matter.
But from the very first play from scrimmage, Colvin eased any thoughts of concern to how the Ducks would offset the loss of Paysinger, who head coach Mike Bellotti confirmed Sunday night would miss the rest of the season because of a serious knee injury. Paysinger will undergo surgery this week.
Hauling in 71-yard touchdowns can have that effect and, much to Oregon’s delight, Colvin didn’t stop there. He caught seven more passes and finished the night with a career-high 136 yards.
“We knew Cameron was capable of that,” coach Mike Bellotti said. “It’s a shame to get the opportunity, in that regard, of an injury to another but it’s also great to step up and take advantage of that.
“He’s been a guy that’s gotten lost in the shuffle sometimes.”
Receiver Jaison Williams was happy to see Colvin stage a semi-comeback and know that if a receiver does go down to injury, there’s a guy with plenty of experience and skill to take his place.
“It’s fortunate that we have so much depth at receiver,” Williams said. “Cameron came in and you couldn’t tell where the drop-off was because there wasn’t any.”
For Colvin, the game was part of mourning the loss of a teammate and part of a redemption story for a player who came to Oregon as a five-star recruit from De La Salle (Calif.) High School and always showed glimpses of his potential but never having it fully materialized.
“It was an unbelievable feeling when Brian went down,” Colvin said. “It was a heartfelt feeling of just hurt because Brian had worked so hard with us all during the summer and he was having an awesome year.”
Now that he’s able to receive consistent playing time for now, as the full extent of Paysinger’s injury has been disclosed, it’s a matter of Colvin making the most of it. And there couldn’t have been a better place to have a comeback game than in front of his family in the Bay Area.
“It means so much. A lot of my family’s here,” Colvin said. “They’ve just been waiting for me to have an opportunity to play. I just had to show up.”
What’s a fair catch?
Part of Bellotti’s post-game frustration was directed at the special teams’ performance, particularly at punt returner Andiel Brown.
Although Brown had a near-touchdown 64-yard return to the five yard-line, he had several miscues at the position as well, notably the second fumble of the second quarter. He also ran into a teammate while attempting to field a punt and failed to call a single fair catch despite being surrounded by defenders before he received the ball.
Brown cites communication issues for punts that weren’t fielded.
“I probably could have made better decisions as far as being aware of where my own players were,” Brown said. “I just need to be more alert of what’s going on down field.”
As for being tackled upon catching the ball, it’s something Brown isn’t accustomed to yet.
“In all honesty, I haven’t practiced fair catching,” Brown said. “It’s not really a courage or pride thing by any means.
“There were basically all red jerseys coming down and I have to be more alert of what’s going on the field so I can make a fair catch.”
Although Bellotti had receivers Derrick Jones and Aaron Pflugrad field punts, he maintained that the job is still Brown’s.
“It’s not an open position but he has to make better decisions and part of it is that we have to coach him better,” Bellotti said.
Brown remains optimistic that there’s still plenty of time for him to have better performances, and touchdowns to be scored.
“There’s going to be a lot more punts going on this year and more opportunities to bust them,” he said. “It’s just something you have to take in stride.”
Extra note
Pflugrad made his first appearance in a game, marking the 10th true freshman Bellotti has used this season.
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