Brenden Schooler went down. Then Mycah Pittman went down. Then Juwan Johnson went down. Then Cam McCormick went down.
It was the story of the offseason: the Ducks had one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Justin Herbert, but who would he throw the ball to? Through five weeks of the season, any answer to that question wouldn’t be complete without Jacob Breeland’s name front and center.
Breeland has been nothing short of spectacular so far in 2019. He’s caught 18 balls and is leading the team in receiving yards with 265. He leads all tight ends in college football in touchdown receptions, and his five scores through the air rank third among all pass catchers in the Pac-12 Conference, trailing only Easop Winston Jr. of Washington State and Isaiah Hodgins of Oregon State. The former has played five games in an air-raid offense, and the latter has looked every bit the part of a First-Team All-Pac-12 selection so far.
At this rate, Breeland might be right there with him.
“He’s determined to be an excellent football player,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “He’s worked at it, and he’s been extremely productive.”
He’s worked at it.
That’s the key phrase from what Cristobal had to say about Breeland after a second consecutive two-touchdown performance against Stanford. Breeland wasn’t always destined to be a star, and the road to becoming one of the brightest in the Pac-12 wasn’t an easy one.
Ranked as the 642nd best player in the class of 2015, Breeland committed to Oregon over middling programs like Colorado, Duke and San Jose State. He switched from his high school position of wide receiver to tight end, then redshirted his first season. He only caught six passes in 11 games in his second in 2016 and watched as the program suffered its worst season in over a decade.
A lot has changed around the program since that fateful day in 2016 when the Ducks walked off the field at Reser Stadium losers of the Civil War, but Justin Herbert and Jacob Breeland are still here. And now, not even three years later, they’re the headliners of a passing attack that is one of the most efficient in the country.
“He’s a great guy. He’s so deserving of this,” Herbert said of his teammate of four years. “He makes plays. Whenever we can get him the ball, we try to. He’s such a tough guy. So much fun to watch him succeed.”
Whenever Breeland is asked post-game about a touchdown reception or a game-changing play that he made, he mentions how easy it is to have an NFL quarterback throwing to him.
“When you’ve got an NFL quarterback playing as your quarterback, it’s pretty nice,” Breeland said after going for 112 yards and a score against Nevada. “I just run up the hash, honestly, and he throws a perfect ball every time. I just catch it and run.”
After 78 yards and two scores against Stanford, he again deflected the attention straight to Herbert.
“NFL quarterback right there,” he said. “He throws the ball perfectly where it needs to be and I just catch it every time.”
And he’s right. Catching passes from a potential top-10 NFL Draft pick is nice, but it’s also time to consider that Herbert might be throwing to an NFL tight end. A variety of draft projections slot him somewhere between rounds two and four, and almost always among the top-five tight ends available in the class. After being the 22nd-ranked tight end coming out of high school, it’s safe to say Breeland has made a name for himself in the eyes of the NFL.
“I’m gonna come out here every day and prove that I can be in the NFL,” Breeland said. “I can do it.”
And while he knows just how life-changing a potential opportunity in the NFL would be, he’s also been through far too much as an Oregon Duck to move on from that chapter of his football career just yet. Instead, he’s investing time and energy into the younger players on the team to ensure that something like the 2016 Civil War won’t happen during their time in green and yellow.
“Listening to him open up and lead in that locker room was another step for him and for our football team,” Cristobal said. “Really fired up about him.”
Breeland’s football career has been all about proving something. Proving to college evaluators that he can play at the Power 5 level. Proving to college coaches that he can play tight end. Proving to NFL scouts that he can play in the league. And most importantly, proving to himself that he can be a star.
“It means a lot,” Breeland said. “I put it on myself that I need to prove to [Herbert] that he can trust me.”
And Herbert has made it clear that he does.
“I’ve had complete confidence in him the past couple years,” Herbert said. “I trust him, the entire team trusts him, and he makes plays.”
Cristobal feels the same way.
“Breeland has really stepped up his game,” Cristobal said. “His run blocking has really improved, he’s become such a sure-handed guy and become a legitimate vertical threat. It’s great to have that.”
With the quarterback and head coach on his side and a lot of the offense on his shoulders, Breeland’s point has certainly been proven. Once the 642nd best player coming out of high school, he now finds himself among the best tight ends in the country. And he’s done it at a time when his team needed every bit of it.
Follow Brady on Twitter @BradyLim619
