When LaMichael James was sidelined with an elbow injury and De’Anthony Thomas had his hands full with plenty of offensive and special teams responsibilities, sophomore walk-on Chad Delaney found a way into Oregon’s punt return rotation. The 6-foot, 181-pound wide receiver from Elmira, Ore., has seen action in four games this season with one punt return for five yards to his credit. The Emerald spoke with Delaney after practice this week about his experience as a walk-on and what Civil War week means to him.@@CE@@
ODE: Being from the Eugene area, what are some of your early memories of the Civil War?
CD: Always a big game, always big talk around town. You know, the focus is on the Civil War, and it’s just one of those things that everybody in Oregon gets excited for. We don’t have a big pro team, so it’s kind of the Super Bowl for the state of Oregon.
So were you a Duck or Beaver early on?
I always grew up as a Duck.
Did you ever see yourself playing in a game like this?
You know, when I was growing up, I didn’t. I would always picture myself being a fan. But now that I’m in it, I realize that the rivalry is intense, even more so as a player. We just look forward to playing them. It’s always a good game and one you look forward to.
You were a three-sport standout in high school, but baseball was kind of your thing. I’m curious how you decided to walk-on for football at Oregon and what went in to that process?
As a walk-on, I had to worry about my schooling first. I’m in the human physiology program here, and I wanted to get into physical therapy. Even though I was a little bit better at baseball, I still love football.  
Did you get recruited at all for baseball?
A little bit, but I got injured my senior year (with a torn ACL), so I had to do other things.
You were chosen as the scout team’s Player of the Year on special teams last season. What sort of things did you do in practice to earn that award?
I would do a little bit of everything. Whatever the coaches told me, if they needed a special look, each team’s unique so if they had something that was special for that game plan, then I would do my job and do the role I was supposed to do that week.
Your high school football team is having a pretty good season. They play in the OSAA 4A State semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Have you been following along much?
I’m proud of ’em. They’re doing something at Elmira that hasn’t been done in a long time. They’ve got some studs out there.
Lastly, what have you got planned for Thanksgiving?
You know, I’m going to go home with the family and just eat as much food as I can.