As I began preparing for the 2009 Oregon football Spring Game, I found it hard to imagine that for the first time in four years, Patrick Chung will not be in the Oregon secondary, after being drafted by the NFL’s New England Patriots. I remember watching my first game at Autzen Stadium in 2006, Chung’s sophomore year, and being absolutely fascinated by the way he handled the game. Chung quickly became one of my favorite players to follow on the field as he seemed to get better and better.
So in honor of tomorrow’s festivities and the spirit of the weekend, I’ve decided to take a little stroll down Patrick Chung Memory Lane.
After redshirting in 2004 and being named scout team player of the week on three separate occasions, Chung burst onto the seen nationally during his first season as a starter in 2005. He was named the Pacific-10 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year and also received freshman All-American recognition by The Sporting News magazine. At that time Chung stood 5-foot-11 and a little over 185 pounds, and he still managed to earn All-Pac-10 honorable mention accolades.
Chung started every single game his freshman year, which he then turned into a string of 51 consecutive starts in a Duck uniform, tying none other than Max Unger for the school record. His ability to stay healthy and competitive year in and year out is something that is not easy to come by these days, making him all the more impressive in my mind.
After racking up 91 tackles during his freshman campaign, Chung followed that up with 84 tackles his sophomore season. As he became more comfortable at the rover position, Chung was again named All-Pac-10 honorable mention.
In 2007, Chung started receiving more recognition nationally and was named second-team All-American in addition to being named first-team All-Pac-10. He also began to shine on special teams as a kick returner, averaging 22.3 yards on nine attempts late in the season. His nose for the ball only got better as he recorded a career-high 117 tackles (71 solo).
This past fall, Chung was named to the first-team All-Pac-10, as well as receiving third-team All-American recognition. He surpassed 80 tackles for the fourth time in his career with 92.
There is no doubt that Chung, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, will go down as one of the most consistent and hard-working individuals the Ducks have ever seen. As I’m sure most of you know by now, Chung was selected 34th overall by the Patriots last weekend, making him the highest drafted Oregon defensive back since Alex Molden went 11th overall in 1996.
And while I was sorry to see the Patrick Chung era end, I was happy to see that a very solid NFL organization picked him up. The Patriots have had one of the strongest defenses in the NFL over the past few years, but many of the players from the Patriot “dynasty” are getting older and will not likely be around for very much longer. Which, in my mind, will be the perfect fit for Chung.
He should be able to pick up a majority of the smaller things an NFL player needs to learn over the course of the next few seasons – before he could have a very significant impact for years to come.
While Chung still stands at 5-foot-11, he has been able to increase his size and strength tremendously during the past four years. He now weighs more than 210 pounds, and can bench-press 345 pounds and power-clean more than 320 pounds.
He has the nose for the ball, physical strength and collegiate experience to succeed in the NFL. It will be interesting to see just how much he truly can accomplish.
[email protected]