As a high school senior in 2004, Cameron Colvin announced on SportsCenter that he was bypassing Michigan, USC and Miami to play football at Oregon. At Oregon’s media day on Monday, Colvin said he is ready to take over the top receiving spot in an effort to lead the Ducks to their first National Championship.
The Ducks lost their leading receiver Demetrius Williams, who caught 59 passes for 1,059 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, to graduation and therefore are searching for a bona fide No. 1 wideout.
Colvin will battle senior James Finley for the top role, a coveted position that will likely entail more than 1,000 receiving yards and a handful of touchdowns.
“I want to step up and be the No. 1 receiver,” Colvin said. “I think me and Fin will battle each other to be that go-to guy. We are going to make each other so much better this year. I think this year me and Finny should be able to step up and make each other better.”
Both Finley and Colvin recognize the depth of their position, which has 14 players – five who caught at least 10 passes last season – on the Fall roster.
“At wide receiver, certainly James Finley returns and heads up that group,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. “James believes and is capable of catching 100 passes this year. I don’t throw that number out to challenge him or to set a standard or whatever. I know in his own mind he’d like to catch 200.
“Cameron Colvin returns. After that we have great depth. We have to develop more proven players. There’s a whole cast there and we need people to step up.”
What is the key to becoming the top guy?
“Just make plays … I figure that will be the biggest key to stepping up as a leader as the No. 1 guy,” Finley said. “There’s a lot of competition, but it’s friendly. We all want to play, but we all should be able to get out together and prove something to the nation.”
Colvin believes Oregon’s receiving corps is the best he has ever seen or been a part of.
“I wouldn’t compare us to USC’s receiving corps. I think we’re better,” Colvin said. “You need depth in order to be successful because guys are going to get tired, guys are going to get hurt.
“Everyone is good at something. Whether you have route runners, deep ball guys, strength guys, all that, everyone has their strengths.”
Finley finished with 57 catches for 571 yards and two touchdowns last season, his first with the Ducks. Meanwhile, Colvin caught 22 balls for 332 yards and three touchdowns last season. In his freshman year, Colvin snagged 14 receptions for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
Of the 17 Ducks who had at least one reception last season, 13 return to the team. The Ducks also welcome Derrick Jones, a freshman from California who originally signed with USC. Jones’ eligibility was reinstated in the spring, but he hasn’t played competitive football for two years.
“I anticipate, based on what I saw, that he will compete for playing time,” Bellotti said. “Right now, it is again just a lack of knowledge and experience. Certainly he brings the athleticism to be a significant playmaker.”
Jones also competed for the Oregon track team last spring, running the third leg in the 4×100-meter relay that won the Pacific-10 Conference title. He has a personal best 10.44 in the 100, a time he set in high school.
Oregon has 22 more days of practice before the season-opener against Stanford on Sept. 2.
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