At a moment of utmost turmoil and doubt, Lache Seastrunk turned to God. He flipped through his Bible in search of something, anything to quell the frustration and homesickness. His life had reached a crossroads, and something had to give.
It was early in the fall of 2010. The college football season was in full swing, and Seastrunk was nowhere to be found on the playing field. When the season began, he had been handed a redshirt. Barring an emergency, he would sit out the year and return in 2011. His only time on the field would be during practice, when he played running back for the scout team.
Fellow freshman running back Dontae Williams had also been assigned a redshirt. Yet, where Seastrunk felt disappointment, Williams saw an opportunity. To him, the redshirt was a one-year mandate for improvement.
The experience of redshirting affects all players in different ways. As it turns out, Seastrunk and Williams represent both ends of the spectrum.
A fork in the road
Seastrunk was a star running back at Temple High School in Texas. Scouting websites gave him the coveted five-star rating, and Duck fans rejoiced when he decided to attend Oregon. He had arrived on campus expecting to play early and often. When he found out about the redshirt, he was devastated.
“I’m not used to sitting and watching,” Seastrunk said. “I’m used to being somewhat incorporated into the program, or somewhere I feel like I belong at least. It’s been really tough, I really didn’t like it.”
Running backs coach Gary Campbell noticed Seastrunk’s struggles right off the bat.
“It’s tough,” Campbell said, “because when you’re used to playing, it’s just like if a starter was playing and then all of a sudden somebody comes and beats him out.”
Thousands of miles from home, without football to distract him, Seastrunk felt a sharp pang of homesickness. All of a sudden, transferring to a different school was a possibility.
“Me being homesick and wanting to go back home, it just … it really started to add up on me,” Seastrunk said.
It was then that he asked for guidance from God.
“I really just read my Bible,” Seastrunk said. “And asked God, ‘where do You really want me to be?’”
He also received calls from various acquaintances, each urging him to stick it out. In the end, he chose to stay put.
“There’s a benefit from me being here,” Seastrunk said. “And I think that I’m going tostick it out.”
Away from the playing field, Seastrunk has found solace in class work and a blossoming social life.
“Classes (have) been great,” Seastrunk said. “Classes (have) been real good, and my social life is awesome. I couldn’t ask for better people to be around, God-fearing Christians, I can’t beat that. You know, I’m around a great group of people that genuinely care.”
Seastrunk couldn’t leave all of that behind, and hopes that the wait will eventually pay off. Until then, he will continue to flip open his Bible whenever frustration begins to creep in again.
Seizing the moment
Dontae Williams wakes up every day ready to work. He may not play on Saturdays, but in his mind, he plays an integral role to the team’s success.
Playing on the scout team, Williams takes on the role of opponents’ running backs. So when Stanford or USC looms on the calendar, it is Williams’ job to imitate the opposition. (Seastrunk does this also.) If he does his job properly, the defense will be far better prepared for what it faces on game day.
“I actually found a passion in going to practice,” Williams said. “Because on Saturdays, when I see the team, the defense stopping the offense, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m on the scout team. I gave them a good look so that they can stop that offense.’ So it’s like motivation every time I go to practice.”
Of course, no amount of practice can entirely replace the feeling of playing in live games. Asked if he missed competing, Williams answered quickly.
“Always,” he said. “Especially on third down plays … you know like third and short, fourth and short plays when we just need a big back to get in there and push in for the first down.”
At 5’11” and 207 pounds of pure muscle, Williams certainly fits the description of a short-yardage specialist. Yet he arrived on campus with no illusions of playing time.
“Honestly, I felt as though I wanted to redshirt,” Williams said. “I wanted to redshirt, because I could take that year to get to know the playbook, get faster in my case, maintain my strength, get a lot more flexible, and work on the other areas that I need to work on, rather than just being thrown into the fire right away.”
For his part, Campbell quickly took notice of Williams’ optimistic attitude.
“I think Dontae took it a little bit better than Lache did,” Campbell said. “He’s a little bit more grounded. But I think Lache has come to live with it, and understands that he’s not quite ready to play.”
Indeed, neither Seastrunk nor Williams will be fully ready to play until next season. The transition from high school star to practice-only player has not been easy, but both players see better things on the horizon.
“I’m gonna stick it out,” Seastrunk said. “I’m going to grind it out, I’m going to keep working hard, because you can’t run from everything.”
He could have run. He could have taken his blazing speed to another school, forever separating himself from Williams and Oregon football.
And yet, here he is. Standing tall, right alongside Williams, practicing hard every day and waiting his turn.
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