Three months ago, who honestly pictured Jordan Kent hauling in a clutch touchdown reception in a pivotal situation? Forget three months ago, how about three days ago?
Whatever your thoughts were, whether you predicted him to become a star or a flop, Saturday’s 68-yard touchdown catch and run in the third quarter turned out to be a game-changing play. But it wasn’t without hard work, and the past three months haven’t been a cake walk for the 6-foot-5 student athlete competing in a trio of collegiate sports for the first time in the Pacific-10 Conference since J.D. Hill in 1967-70.
“You don’t stop working. You’ve got to keep working,” Kent said. “Coach says luck is just opportunity meeting hard work. Maybe it was divine intervention or something, but I was just really happy that … I could do something to help this team out. The best feeling is just knowing I could help these guys out.”
Prior to Saturday, Kent only had two catches. The first, an over-the-shoulder 41-yard grab against Division I-AA Montana, and the other a 5-yard catch in mop-up duty. Other than that, Kent had faced learning the ins and outs of a sport he hadn’t played since middle school without a lot of playing time or success.
So what was running through his mind while he was sprinting down the field? “I wasn’t even really thinking. I was just making sure I crossed that goal line,” Kent said. “The ball just happened to fall in my hands. … I was so happy I could finally help this team out.”
Kent said he had caught the play during practice and the coaches decided to throw it in for the game.
“I thought it might have been overthrown by 20 yards,” Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said. “He’s got great speed. We’ve said that all along. That’s what he can do right now and his role can keep expanding. If he makes that type of play we’ve got to figure out a way to get him in the game more often.”
So has the experiment been worth it? Is one touchdown catch worth a scholarship?
Damn skippy! When Oregon needed a big play the most, it looked to the player with a game-breaking skill: speed. And Kent reinforced his coaches’ belief in him as he not only got behind but outran his defender to put the Ducks up by two possessions.
The touchdown didn’t turn out to be the game-winner, but no one in the stadium could question the importance and momentum swing it had. Nobody was more ecstatic than Kent was after the game.
“I wasn’t worried about, ‘Oh, it was a touchdown for me,’” Kent said. “No, this was a touchdown for the team and more so a touchdown for those guys. Everything they’ve done for me in the last couple of months – (They have) helped me learn everything, helped me feel like a part of the family, not making it hard for me to adjust. I’m just so thankful for that.”

[email protected]