Oregon left tackle Darrion Weems@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1149823@@ has been one of the Ducks’ best blockers this season in his first full year as a starter. The senior from Winnetka, Calif.,@@see previous@@ sat down with the Emerald last week to talk about how he chose to come to Eugene, his opinions on smack talk and what he listens to on game day.
How did you end up at Oregon?
(Offensive line) Coach (Steve) Greatwood@@CE@@ came to one of my games, he saw me, liked what he saw and he courted me. I went through the whole recruiting process and I thought Oregon was the place I wanted to be at and where I liked it the most.
Do you prefer run blocking or pass blocking?
I don’t know. It’s just different plays that you prefer. It’s not run blocking or pass blocking that you prefer, because there’s times where you’re in pass protection and you’re like, “Oh my God, I’m solo over here on the backside of the play,” and those times can be a little unnerving, but it all depends on what the play is and what’s going on and what the situation is.
What’s the most memorable block you’ve ever done?
I don’t know. I’ve been here for a long time. Last week, on the first touchdown run, I drove a guy all the way out of bounds and took out a camera guy. I guess that was pretty cool. It’s the most recent one I can remember.
What’s your favorite smack talk you’ve gotten on the field and the favorite you’ve given?
Because of our offense and how fast we move, it makes the smack talk have to become a minimal thing. Because you’re so tired and you’re moving so fast, you don’t even have time to say anything. If you get a good block, you’re like, “Yeah!” but then you’re like, “I have to line up and play football.” There’s a lot of times that guys make fat jokes and all that stuff — it’s funny because we always end up kicking their tail.
What do you do with your time outside of football?
Hang out with my teammates. Terrell (Turner)@@Ce@@ and a bunch of other guys that I spend a majority of my time with. Schoolwork, stuff like that, nothing too groundbreaking.
What’s your favorite class you’ve ever taken at the University?
My favorite class … I’ve had a couple good classes. I remember the whole sign language sequence with Jo Larson,@@Johanna Larson in directory@@ that year was pretty cool. She’s a good person. I’ve had some English classes that were thought-provoking and kind of opened your eyes, think like “Oh, gosh, that’s poetic,” but I can’t think of one particular class. I’ve liked the education as a whole here; it’s been good.
What do you listen to before a game?
There’s like stages leading up to the game. Say you’ve got a couple hours to go before the game, you’re just sitting there, I just listen to angry music to get the mood going. But right before we come out and right before we play, I always listen to something very calm and soothing. I don’t like to play angry. Just come out and listen to something soft. I listened to piano music one week right before we came out just as a mechanism and I just felt good about it. Leading up to the game, it’s just this angry mix of things, curse words and stuff, and right before we leave out of the locker room, it’s something very calm and that will level me off.