A year before he sealed No. 5 Oregon’s 26-14 win over Washington with a 64-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown, Ducks wide receiver Malik Benson didn’t think he’d play another snap of college football.

He was closing out the season for 2-10 Florida State University, and expected 2024 to be his final year of eligibility. Instead, he transferred to Oregon, where he became a deep threat — and a mentor.

The door opened for Benson when the NCAA’s December 2024 blanket waiver gave former junior-college players like him an extra year of eligibility. Without it, his career would’ve ended with that season at Florida State. The case gave players like Benson whose eligibility would’ve expired that season one more shot play.

He thrives on those.

He’s averaging a career-high 17.0 yards per reception in Eugene this season. He’s been employed as a sparkplug, and became one of quarterback Dante Moore’s most-trusted targets. After the Ducks started the season without Evan Stewart and lost Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr. midway through the year, he turned up, over and over again.

What about Week 11, when Oregon had 23 seconds to get in field goal range in the rain at Iowa? Benson got open, and Moore found him.

Or Week 13, when explosive offenses were keeping the Ducks mired in a back-and-forth battle with USC? Benson (the third returner on the depth chart) was underneath one in the second quarter. He hadn’t returned big-game punts since JUCO, but he housed that 85-yard return for a game-breaking score.

Or Week 14, when Washington was still within a score in the fourth quarter at Husky Stadium? Benson came open over the middle and skirted would-be tacklers en route to a 64-yard score. In the end zone in Seattle, he made a “W” with his hands, and broke it over his knee. 

“It just came to me in the moment,” he said.

In high school, Benson “didn’t really take classes serious.” He ended up in junior college with a promise to his mother: he’d work in school, because he knew his talent could take him “somewhere.”

“Somewhere” ended up being Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he caught 13 balls in 14 games under former head coach Nick Saban. He scored his first NCAA touchdown in a 66-10 blowout of Chattanooga off a coverage bust.

But Saban retired after the Crimson Tide bowed out in the Rose Bowl that season, and Benson moved on. Then, “somewhere” was Tallahassee, Florida, where he scored another touchdown for a Florida State team that wound up as one of the season’s great disappointments. Benson, again, moved on. He thought that was the last place — until, after the season, he got a phone call. He could get an extra year of eligibility off the waiver. He knew where he was going.

Back in junior college, Benson had been recruited by Oregon, too.

“The reason why I didn’t come was because I thought that it was kind of far,” he said after Oregon’s win over USC. “But for a full-circle moment, to come out here and just to get another opportunity to be able to play for Oregon, it was just nothing but a blessing.” 

He signed on as Oregon sent receiver Tez Johnson to the NFL Draft. Benson visited and stayed with expected starter Dante Moore — they went over plays, but got to know each other, too.

Benson had 51 yards and a highlight-reel score in Oregon’s opener against Montana State University. A week later, he posted 48 yards and another touchdown. After he racked up 201 yards off 14 receptions in the Ducks’ first four games, he had become one of Moore’s go-to options. Finally, “somewhere” was Eugene.

Then, Benson flew under the radar. He caught just four balls in the next four weeks. Oregon lost its first game to No. 7 Indiana. He was on the sideline, telling teammates, “Bro, we’re good. It’s going to be the spark.”

It was.

In Oregon’s last four games of the regular season, Benson had 13 receptions for 249 yards. He topped it with the score against Washington.

It’s unknown whether Dakorien Moore, Stewart or Bryant will be available for Oregon’s home playoff game Saturday. Oregon has flown in spite of its missing stars, and Benson — finally — has risen as one of his own.

With 1 yard against James Madison University, he’ll hit 1,000 in his NCAA career. What the future holds isn’t clear for the 23-year-old, but he’ll ask a team to bet on him one more time with a phone call at the NFL Draft.

If he gets one more shot play, after all, chances are he’ll make a house call himself.