Jeff Maehl came from the left side and sprinted across the middle of the field on the 47-yard line. As he reached the left hash mark, a 15-yard strike zoomed into his hands, delivered from quarterback Justin Roper.
A split second after the pass was lodged in Maehl’s hands, Oregon State free safety Al Afalava leaned his left shoulder and helmet into the chest and head of Maehl and clotheslined the Duck receiver to the Autzen Stadium turf.
“It’s a YouTube highlight,” Maehl said, laughing. “I don’t know how I caught it. To this day, it’s just like I had super glue on my hands, it just stuck to my hands. Watching it on YouTube, it’s ugly.”
Maehl popped right up after the hit on that cold day in December in 2007. The Ducks ended up losing in overtime 38-31 to the Beavers, but the newly converted receiver from the defensive secondary proved something that has served him well since: he catches the ball.
“The one thing with Jeff is that he’s consistent and quarterbacks are really comfortable with him out there,” head coach Chip Kelly said.
The junior from Paradise, Calif., has been so consistent that with his first catch against Arizona State on Nov. 14 he extended his consecutive games with a catch streak to 18 straight games, dating back to Oct. 4, 2008, at USC.
Not bad for a guy recruited as a defensive back and who was converted to wide receiver after the Arizona game in Tucson in 2007.
“It was tough at first,” Maehl said of the transition. “I was only 170 pounds and I’m not much bigger now, but moving from defense was offense was tough … after focusing on defense so hard for four months then having to switch your focus onto a whole new position that dealt with whole new skills was challenging for me, but I’m starting to feel way more comfortable with it now and start to take it to the next level.”
The pure athleticism of Maehl is what attracted the Ducks in recruiting him out of high school. He was also a standout basketball player at Paradise High, but football was where he really excelled, getting 14 touchdowns his senior year while also intercepting seven passes on the defense.
“That’s what he is,” wide receivers coach Scott Frost said. “He’s a really good football player. That shows in everything he does. He’s improved a lot and he’s continued to improve steadily. He’s very reliable. He’s always where you need him
to be.”
A lot of him being at the right place at the right time comes from his knowledge of the defense and how coverages work. In 2008 he spent most of his time just getting comfortable as a full-time receiver, but now that he’s had one more year under his belt, he’s savvier.
“I look at what we used to do on defense and I look at what other teams do and it’s the same stuff,” Maehl said. “I know where it’s vulnerable. I try to give other receivers my knowledge about what to look for out there and little keys that guys do in
the secondary.”
Maehl has also worked on his bond with quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who is also a junior.
“We worked very hard through fall camp,” Maehl said. “We knew we had two more years together and we’re justtrying to do the best we can.”
“Me and (Jeff) are real cool,” Masoli said. “It’s easy to communicate with him and he’s always telling me what the DBs are doing. He’s definitely a good receiver to have.”
This year Maehl has had a decent year, with 434 yards and 34 receptions and three touchdowns. Not stellar numbers, but the Ducks don’t need him to catch 10 balls every game and go for 100 yards. He’s just one weapon in a stable full of them. He is Kelly’s “Steady Eddy.”
“Our offense has a great chemistry and the way Chip puts us together, he gives guys opportunities to get balls all across the field,” Maehl said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you talk to me in 10 games from now and Drew Davis has a catch-streak too, or Jamere Holland or guys like that.”
Maehl will always go back to that Oregon State game as a testament that no matter how hard the hit, he’ll hang on. But he will also go back to that night because it was also the game where he caught his first collegiate touchdown. It was the first quarter when he got a 31-yard pass from Roper.
“It was awesome, just awesome,” Maehl said. “I scored in the end zone, where my family was sitting. Just the feeling of looking around and seeing the crowd after scoring
is overwhelming.”
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Catching on
Daily Emerald
November 18, 2009
Ivar Vong
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