The Oregon football team has had it’s fair share of pleasant surprises this season.
First it was the steady play and leadership of senior quarterback Dennis Dixon. Coming off of last season’s meltdown few expected him to play this well.
Then it was Matt Harper stepping into the starting free safety role and rising mightily to the occasion, averaging 10 tackles per game to lead the team. The defense as a whole has also surprised many with its play.
Now, with the season-ending injury to Jeremiah Johnson, the coaches are stepping back up to the roulette wheel and putting their money on another relatively unknown quantity – sophomore running back Andre Crenshaw.
But according to running backs coach Gary Campbell, it’s not as much of a long shot as some might think.
“I’m confident that Crenshaw can come in and be the same type of player that J.J. was,” said Campbell. “Not quite as fast but with some of the same qualities.”
These qualities include his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield or the slot, something Johnson was known for his ability to do. Crenshaw has run the ball 33 times this season for 156 yards and a touchdown, but has yet to catch a pass. Still, Campbell described Crenshaw as the team’s second-best receiver at running back behind Johnson.
“He understands the game,” said Campbell. “He knows how to get into open spots to catch the ball.”
That “understanding of the game” is a big factor in the success that Oregon coaches see in Crenshaw’s future. Coach Mike Bellotti characterized Crenshaw as “probably the best reader of the scheme on our team.”
Campbell also praised Crenshaw’s understanding of the offense.

“He’s a great guy to coach. He’s a very smart football player. You tell him once and he’s got it,” he said. “He’s been that guy this year, when J.J. was a little banged up or when the game got to a point where we could rest J.J. Andre’s been the guy. In my mind he’s the next guy.”
The coaches have compared Crenshaw’s “shiftiness” and vision to Johnson’s and have said that he will be an upgrade for the position when it comes to blocking.
Crenshaw, for his part, said he is ready to step in. “I’m excited to get my opportunity to play. It’s just fun to get to play football, to get to do something you love,” he said.
Crenshaw is much more reserved than the boisterous Johnson, who always seems to be the life of the party, and Crenshaw said that not having Johnson around as much is just as hard on the team as losing his production on the field.
“It hurts me that he can’t be out here. He makes everything a lot more fun,” he said. “He always has a smile on his face, he’s always energetic, he’s just a great guy.”
Crenshaw dealt with injuries last season and said he sympathizes with what Johnson is going through.
“I just know how hard it is to get an injury and go through it because I went through it my freshman year and it’s just tough,” he said. “As a running back group we all have to step it up for him and fill his shoes because he’s a hell of a running back.”
Coming into the season Crenshaw obviously couldn’t have foreseen this increase in playing time, but he said he was committed to being ready to help the team in whatever way was necessary.
“I just knew I had to help out the team any kind of way I could, if it’s special teams or coming in to relieve either J.J. or J-Stew,” he said. “And I just knew that when I got the opportunity I had to make due.”
Now that the opportunity is here, Crenshaw said he is determined to make the most of it. When he was recruited by Campbell out of Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, Calif. (North of Los Angeles), he said the coach told him that there were good players ahead of him at the position and he would have to work hard and take advantage of any opportunity if he wanted to get significant playing time at Oregon. This honest approach is what Crenshaw said sold him on Oregon football.
“He was straightforward, not just telling me what I want to hear,” he said of Campbell’s recruiting style.
The coach didn’t change a bit from the living room to the football field either, said Crenshaw.
“He tells me how it is. He tells me what I need to do, what I’m not doing right, and he just keeps it real with me,” he said.
Crenshaw said that he gets that same kind of honesty from Stewart and Johnson as leaders among the running backs, and he values that. “They’re just like coach (Campbell), they just tell me how it is,” he said. “They tell me what I need to do, what I’m not doing. They say ‘Dre we need you to step it up,’ or ‘Dre we need you to work harder.’ They just keep my head focused, they’re good leaders.”
And his respect for Jonathan Stewart shows when asked how he will complement Stewart compared with how Johnson did. “I’m just going to try to complement him as best I can,” said Crenshaw. “I mean, he’s Jonathan Stewart.”
Crenshaw said he is more excited than nervous about the prospect of an increased role in this Saturday’s game at Washington.
“I’m a little anxious, but I’m ready to play football. When you know you are going to get the opportunity, you just want to play football because it’s something you love,” he said. “I’m not nervous … It’s just do what I’ve been doing, just run hard and play football.”
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