There’s not much Carson York hasn’t accomplished during his time at the University of Oregon, yet those closest to him say York is really just getting started.
As a 26-game starter on the offensive line for the Oregon football team, York has been a model of consistency, tough as they come physically, and extremely motivated outside of football.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3378&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1550510&Q_SEASON=2011@@
Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing over 290 pounds, the junior left guard is well-versed in executing Oregon’s zone-read blocking schemes. Now in his third year as a full-time starter, York, a first-team All-Pac-10 performer during the Ducks’ run to the BCS title game last January, is a steady voice of reason among a group that replaced three starters this offseason.
“His poise on the field and the way he’s been carrying himself with not only assignments, but just his overall demeanor … he doesn’t have to take a backseat to anybody in the leadership role,” offensive line coach Steve Greatwood said.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=22673@@
Taking a backseat in any walk of life would be foreign to York, who graduated with honors from the Oregon School of Journalism and Communications last spring after being selected to the first-team All-Pac-10 academic squad the last two years.
Advertising in Shoulder Pads
Away from football, York is one of the most dedicated student-athletes on the Oregon roster.
He just finished his second week in the Communication in Society masters program and has garnered attention for his work as strategy director for the University’s ad team in the National Advertising Student Competition last spring. York has such a knack for advertising he was tabbed the top presenter in the region while leading his group to a second-place finish in team competition.
“I get to focus on stuff I’m passionate about and care about, and get to surround myself with people who feel generally the same way,” York said of the masters program. “I think it’s a fun point to really be studying how we’re communicating with each other as a society, because it’s all changing.”
According to his Twitter bio, York considers himself an, “Idealist, U of O Graduate Student, and Football Player #77. In that order.”
That message rings true in the first moments of meeting him. Despite his physically imposing build, York has the ability to put you at ease with his sharply articulate words and genuine responses. That comes with experience, which York has plenty of, but it’s also been a key factor in bringing the Ducks’ front line together in 2011.
“He can put himself in situations where there’s a calming effect over the group,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. “He’s really not losing his mind and going crazy in certain situations because there’s a maturity to him.”
York is active in social media — a given in today’s communication industry — and also maintained a blog entitled, “Advertising in Shoulder Pads,” for a few months. And with another year of eligibility remaining after this season, York has high expectations for his thesis on branding and communication, though he doesn’t expect to see a lot of progress until football slows down.
Finding his way
York says he was “just a pissed-off kid” when he arrived on campus in the winter of 2007. He laughs now at the idea of it, but York’s early years with the Ducks weren’t always so attractive.
As the top-rated recruit from the state of Idaho, York signed with Oregon and planned to compete for the Ducks following his graduation in 2007. Instead, York spent the next several months recovering from right shoulder surgery before enrolling at Oregon that winter.
That right shoulder had given York more than his fair share of trouble late in his high school career, but with doctors saying everything was okay, he continued to compete. His senior year he went on to place third at the state track meet in the shot put with a school-record throw of 53 feet, 5 inches.
While he awaited his opportunity to come to Eugene, York spent the fall of ’07 coaching the freshmen lineman at his Lake City High School.
“Not sure I really did them any service,” York said, “but I learned a lot about a lot of stuff, so it was fun.”
Once York began practicing with the Ducks in the spring of 2008, he was as fiery as they came, and it was nothing out of the ordinary to see a fight among the linemen at any given practice. Nowadays, under Kelly’s revamped practice regiment, fighting is almost entirely a thing of the past.
“It was a lot more of an offense versus defense mentality (back then),” York said. “Sort of a militant attitude at practice. Maybe fighting was — I wouldn’t say promoted, but it was praised occasionally.”
Since then, York has overcome reconstructive surgery to his left shoulder following his redshirt freshman year (during which he started 12 of 13 games despite the shoulder constantly popping out of place), and played through a painful neck injury in all 13 games last season.
York’s physicality certainly hasn’t subsided since those early days, either. In fact, Kelly says York has become more of a physical presence this season than the last two, but even York will admit he never really minded the mid-practice scraps.
“Essentially it’s a controlled fight every play,” York said. “Sometimes that just spills a little bit over the top.”
A maturity about him
When York finished his undergraduate studies last year as a fourth-year sophomore with two years of football eligibility remaining, there was never really any question what he would do next.
“If I took billiards or ball room dancing or yoga for a year and a half, my dad would kill me,” York said.
Unlike several of his teammates who have come before him, York continued to challenge himself in the classroom. York says that he understands his future “probably doesn’t involve a helmet or shoulder pads,” and for the most part, he was never opposed to more schooling.
“Carson’s just a gifted kid in that regard and works very, very hard in school,” Greatwood said. “He’s as talented in the classroom as he is on the football field.”
The offensive line is collectively one of the top units academically on the team, with York undoubtedly leading the way in that category.
“The truth is I enjoy school, and I enjoy that sort of environment,” York said. “I think I would be really bored if I wasn’t sort of challenging myself there or learning new stuff. I’ve always been that way since I was a little kid, sort of a desire for more knowledge.”
When asked what kind of advertising director York will make in the future, Kelly gave way to a rare smile and said, “I can see him doing anything. I think he’ll be really successful in anything he chooses to do, and he’ll be hiring us someday.”
You see, he really is just getting started.
From the gridiron to the conference room, Carson York is on his game
Daily Emerald
October 5, 2011
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