Josh Huff is one elusive fellow and I learned this week it is true both on and off the field.
Defenders across the country already know all about the freshman wide receiver from Houston. Through his first five games, Huff scored three times.
Using game-breaking speed, he has earned consistent playing time.
At times, I felt like one of those helpless defenders as I tried to track Huff down after practice for an interview. Through no fault of his own, class commitments kept him rushing out the door as soon as the final whistle blew.
When I finally caught up with him, the chase turned out to be well worth the time. His soft Texas drawl barely registered above a whisper as he patiently answered each question. There was no sign of the ego America has come to expect from its wide receivers, just a quiet confidence. Chad Ochocinco or Terrell Owens he is not.
“I wouldn’t act like I’ve never been (in the end zone) before,” Huff said. “I just try to limit my celebrations.”
The truth is, he has been there plenty of times. He’s been playing football since he was nine years old and has scored his fair share of touchdowns along the way. Yet upon first introduction to the game, Huff wasn’t entirely sold.
“It took some time for me to like it,” he said. “I didn’t start liking it until mid-season my first year. From there, I just took it real serious and figured this is what I want to do.”
By the time he reached the high school level, Huff was, quite literally, all over the field. He played quarterback, wide receiver, running back and cornerback for Nimitz High School in Houston. During his senior year, he gathered close to 2,000 yards on offense, scoring 11 touchdowns while running for 1,147 yards and throwing for 856 more.
His fondest memory, however, was a team victory over the fifth-ranked team in the Houston area during his senior season.
“Everyone thought we weren’t going to beat them,” Huff said. “That will always hold a spot in my heart, and that was one of the greatest games I played.”
When he arrived in Eugene, Huff had no expectations for playing time early on. He decided he would simply work as hard as he could, and see what happened.
His coaches quickly took notice, particularly wide receivers coach Scott Frost.
“It started at the very beginning of camp,” Frost said. “He came in here with the kind of attitude that he was very serious about working hard to learn everything he needed to learn.”
The physical abilities were obvious (he was a four-star recruit, according to Rivals.com), but Huff won his coaches over with his work ethic.
“He obviously has a lot of talent,” Frost said. “But it took a special mentality and a special kid to come in here and pick up everything as fast as he did.”
The hard work paid off in the team’s first game of the year against New Mexico. In front of his home fans, Huff hauled in three passes for 45 yards, finishing the day as Oregon’s third leading receiver in a 72-0 win.
He scored his first career touchdown two weeks later against Portland State (on a running play, for good measure) and has now found the end zone in three straight appearances.
Last week against Stanford, Huff’s 41-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter ignited the crowd. True to his word, he acted like he had been there before, sharing a chest bump with D.J. Davis and calmly handing the ball to the official. He ended the day with five catches for 64 yards, tied for the team lead.
It can be easy to forget that Huff is just a freshman, doing his best to survive on dorm food (“Only breakfast is good.”). He is well built for someone his age, according to Frost, and boasts the maturity of a fifth-year senior.
Far more improvement is to be expected, which should send a shiver down the spine of cornerbacks across the Pacific-10 Conference.
So catch him if you can, Duck fans. It isn’t easy. But rest assured: this Houston native appears to be right at home in Eugene.
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