This is GameDay’s quick Q&A with a person who works behind the scenes of Oregon football, either on or connected with the team. Rory Cavaille is a redshirt junior receiver with six career catches for 42 yards. Four years after he joined the program as a walk-on, the Shelton, Wash., native recently was one of four walk-on players to receive a full scholarship from the team.
Oregon Daily Emerald: You recently received a scholarship. How did that feel?
Rory Cavaille: It was good. It was definitely fun. There’s not really much I can say because it was, I mean, everything I worked for and it came one day and it just shocked me.
ODE: What did your parents say?
RC: I told my dad that he can finally retire. So yeah, it definitely was tough putting my parents through three kids going to college, and I was the last. Now it’s definitely a weight off their shoulders and mine.
ODE: What was it like playing at SC last week?
RC: It was fun, man. I traveled two years ago to SC. I stepped on the field two years ago, so it was definitely nothing less than what it was last time. It was definitely eye-opening, and I was in awe the whole time.
ODE: You scored your first career touchdown against Utah State. What was that like?
RC: It was unreal. It didn’t really hit me until the next day. Because, I mean, it doesn’t happen every day of course, but no, it was definitely a good experience.
ODE: There were a lot of guys trying to walk on last week. Did you have to do that your freshman year?
RC: No, I was a preferred walk-on when they come in, it was actually a week or so after fall camp so I came in and didn’t actually have to do the tryouts because one of the receivers got hurt, so they called me. I think it was Andrew Murphy. He’s a good friend of mine, but I think he got hurt so I was just coming to help out.
ODE: Anything you want to do in the last half of the season?
RC: Football-wise? Just keeping working. Just keep rehabbing because little injuries in the offseason slow you down a little bit. Hopefully just keep working and get better every day. It’s all I can ask for.
ODE: Do you ever have to tell someone, “No, really, I actually am on the team”?
RC: You don’t get a lot of credit, which I’m actually completely fine with. I mean, I don’t really need another thing complicating my life, but yeah, you do that a little bit.
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