By the time David Paulson broke into Oregon’s everyday playing rotation as a redshirt sophomore in 2009, it had been nearly three full years since he’d lined up at tight end in a live game.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1149812@@
Paulson quietly spent his first two years with the Ducks football program developing his knowledge of the playbook and learning what it took to compete as a Division I athlete. Oregon lacked in tight end depth and featured just two other true freshmen his first year — Chris DiVincenzo @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=3656267@@and Malachi Lewis @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1149792@@— and sophomore Ed Dickson @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=175551@@was coming off a freshman year in which he helped fill a major void along the defensive line.
Despite Oregon’s inexperience at the position, Paulson kept his redshirt and earned scout team player of the week honors three times in 2007. He went on to make just one appearance in Oregon’s dismantling of Utah State in 2008, and by the time his sophomore season rolled around Paulson was more than ready.
“David’s first two years here, he didn’t play a single down. But every fall and every spring he kept getting better and better,” Oregon tight ends coach Tom Osborne said. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1387913@@“Between his second year and third year he really made some jumps, and then that spring we kind of had some guys go down a little bit so he got more reps. And that helped him get better. I think it helped his confidence more than anything else.”
In Paulson’s senior year at Riverside High School in Auburn, Wash., the 6-foot-4 tight end knew he had a Division I scholarship coming his way and opted to try something new his final prep season. Riverside was in desperate need of a quarterback and despite being tabbed one of the top 50 tight ends in the country, Paulson welcomed the challenge. He and his brother, Chris — the offensive coordinator at Riverside and former Washington State Cougar  — shaped Paulson into an efficient option quarterback, while also having him playing safety in the defensive secondary.
All the while, Paulson attended tight end-specific camps and continued to perfect the craft that eventually earned him numerous Division I offers. He made official visits to both Oregon and California, and with his mind all but set on becoming a Duck, Paulson received late interest from a struggling Stanford program.
“I did have to kind of sit back and think about that Stanford degree,” said Paulson, who graduated with a 3.9 grade point average. “Definitely something you have to think about, (it) puts you ahead.
“But when I sat back and thought I’d be putting all this time and effort into football — at that time Stanford was really struggling and here it looked pretty good — and thought if I was going to put so much time and effort in, I thought I’d want to have a good experience.”
Paulson has certainly put in the time and effort since arriving in Eugene, and the payoff has been huge for both him and the Ducks. He played an valuable role as the second tight end behind Dickson in Oregon’s run to the Rose Bowl in 2009, catching 12 passes (11 resulting in a first down on a scoring drive) for a modest 185 yards.
Though Paulson didn’t reach the end zone his sophomore season, he proved himself as a big play-threat and was one of Darron Thomas’ go-to guys in last year’s run to the BCS National Championship Game. He pulled in 24 receptions for 418 yards and four touchdowns, en route to receiving honorable mention All-American status by SI.com.
Even more importantly to Paulson, he was named a first-team Pac-10 all-academic selection for the second year in a row before graduating with a degree in business administration last winter. He’s now working toward his master’s degree, and hopes to crack into the competitive sports marketing field once his playing days are over.
“He’s a naturally intelligent guy,” Osborne said. “But I know a lot of naturally intelligent guys that get a 2.2 (GPA). He works at it because it’s important to him and he’s devoted a lot of time to it.”
Paulson hasn’t shied away from shouldering an extra load on the field, either. With his primary backup, Brandon Williams, @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204866233@@going down with a career-ending back injury this offseason, Paulson finds himself as the lone tight end with game experience on the Oregon roster.
The Ducks have plenty of talented athletes at the position, with freshmen Colt Lyerla @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205125608@@and Christian French,@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205238221@@ but it’s been Paulson’s job to make sure they’re up to par mentally.
Not generally known to be a vocal leader, or vocal at all for that matter, it’s been a unique challenge for Paulson to step into that new role in his final season.
“The guy never says two words really at practice or on the field, and that’s something that we’ve tried to bring out,” offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204770343@@“Because he is such a good influence and positive influence. Great teammate, great guy to have around, and we need and expect a lot from him.”
His role on the field remains the same, a capable blocker and consistent pair of hands (something the Ducks lacked greatly in their season-opening loss to LSU) for Thomas to find in those third down pinches.
And his role off the field?
“It does change,” Paulson says. “I’ve got to bring the young guys along. Help them learn the offense; help them learn everything involved with the program. So it is a little different, especially being the only one, but it’s good for me to try and prove myself as a leader.”