Seven career appearances. No career catches.
 
For a wide receiver, that can be downright emasculating. After all, the criteria for judging a receiver’s effectiveness appear to be black and white.
 
If Justin Hoffman is bothered by this, he does not betray his feelings.
 
“It’s in the back of my mind,” the redshirt sophomore conceded. “But it’s not a big deal.”
 
Hoffman is a Eugene native, a graduate of Churchill High School and a longtime Ducks fan. Early memories of watching Joey Harrington sling passes around Rich Brooks Field at Autzen Stadium came flooding back when the former Oregon quarterback made a cameo appearance after a fall camp practice.
 
The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Hoffman walked on to the team in 2008 and has steadily transformed himself into a reliable and valuable depth piece for the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
 
“I think the world of Justin Hoffman,” Oregon wide receivers coach Scott Frost said. “He came in here … nobody gave him much of a chance to do anything, and he’s worked his way in a very short time into (a) position where he’s going to play and help us. Justin’s one of the toughest, most reliable people I’ve ever met.”
 
The Oregon wide receiver corps took hits in the offseason.
 
Garrett Embry, who was involved with of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house burglary with Jeremiah Masoli, and Jamere Holland were dismissed for violations of team rules.
 
Two more receivers, Tyrece Gaines and Diante Jackson, failed to meet academic benchmarks.
 
Because of this, the starting troika of Jeff Maehl, Drew Davis and Lavasier Tuinei had little by way of established depth behind them.
 
Hoffman — along with freshman Josh Huff and fellow redshirt sophomore Will Murphy — has stepped up to fill the void.
 
“He’s been coming on ever since late spring,” Davis said. “He brings a little energy to the group when we’re slacking off.”
 
In the spring, Hoffman brought a reliable set of hands, catching every ball in sight and many eyes among the onlookers. When not thrown to, he was erasing defensive backs from plays with his fundamentally sound blocking.
 
“He’s a real technician,” Frost said. “He’s tough, so that makes him a good blocker. You have to have a real willingness to do that. His route-running really took a step forward in the spring, and he’s had a great fall.”
 
Hoffman’s efforts through spring and fall camp were a continuation of his efforts with the scout team, where he continually impressed his coaches.
 
“When he was on the scout team, it was a complete willingness to do everything for the team,” Frost said. “That still wouldn’t have gotten him where he is; it’s a lot of hard work. He’s cut 15 pounds, he’s faster, he’s gotten stronger. He’s done absolutely everything physically that he could. When he was on the scout team, he would sacrifice anything from himself to help the team. That’s a great trait to have.”
 
Spring was “time to get off the scout team and prove something,” said Hoffman, who has appeared in both of Oregon’s games this season.
 
“The year before I was (indifferent) if I wasn’t going to make it, if I was going to get cut. This year, I was a little bit more into it,” Hoffman said.
 
On August 11, head coach Chip Kelly announced during a team meeting that Hoffman — along with center Max Forer and defensive backs Chad Peppars and Brian Butterfield — would receive a scholarship for the 2010 season.
 
The hard work paid off.
 
Davis and his other teammates with scholarships in hand were proud of him.
 
“Sometimes, people take their scholarship for granted, and sometimes, people take playing football for granted,” Davis said. “Hoff, he’s been working real hard for two years, and he’s finally earned his scholarship. I’m sure he’s going to work even harder now.”
 
“I couldn’t be prouder of him,” Frost said. “We had the same situation with Rory Cavaille last year and they’re both real similar players, guys that came here without anything fair, without any hope. That’s why people that get recruited sometimes make it and sometimes don’t, people that don’t get recruited sometimes make it and sometimes don’t. Those are two guys that came in here at the bottom and worked their way up.”
 
Hoffman called the announcement “very exciting,” but downplayed it with his parents, William and Jan.
 
“I wasn’t going to tell them until I got a check for school and stuff, but they found out kind of through the grapevine and called me,” he said. “They said, ‘Why didn’t you call us?’”
 
But his first career catch — he won’t be able to downplay that. That gets players noticed.
 
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