Rasuli Webster file

Born: Rasuli Amir Webster on Nov. 3, 1979 in Torrance, Calif.
Oregon: Nabbed fourth career interception against Fresno State on Sept. 7…moved from free safety to rover as a junior in 2001…the team’s sixth-leading tackler recorded 54 takedowns…had season-high 10 stops vs. Stanford…in 2000, ranked fourth on the team in tackles while notching two interceptions…had a career-high 13 tackles in win at Arizona State…in 1999, the converted cornerback appeared in five games…recorded first career interception against Cal.
High school: A three-sport letterman (football, basketball, track)…had 13 pass deflections and four interceptions as a senior safety…named to second-team all-Southern Section defensive team.

For five years, Rasuli Webster has said little about himself.
It’s about time someone did.

“There’s just so many good things to say about him,” said Keith Lewis, Webster’s partner in crime in Oregon’s defensive secondary. “I look at him as a role model on and off the field.”
Lewis should know. Prior to the last season, Webster moved from free safety to rover to accommodate Lewis’ arrival, with Webster mentoring his successor throughout the process.
The two seem to complement each other perfectly as Oregon’s last line of defense — Lewis is the energetic talker, Webster the quiet leader — but not as much as Lewis compliments his elder.
“‘Suli’s the type of person that just wants to go out there and play,” Lewis said. “I talk, and that’s what gets me a lot of glory. And ‘Suli’s just one of those people that doesn’t care about the glory.
“He makes plays when we need plays, and sometimes you don’t even know he’s out there because he’s so quiet.”

Or, as Webster says, he’s like ice — a cool cat — and Lewis is fire, ready to burst.
“Keith brings a lot of intensity to the field. I feed off Keith. He gets me going,” Webster said. “(But) I just try to be supportive of everyone else and provide some solidness to the secondary.”
Although his stats may not be mind-boggling, Webster’s experience as a three-year starter stabilizes an otherwise youthful secondary that has two new defensive backs this season.
“I try to keep the guys on the level,” said Webster, a native of Brea, Calif., who is fourth on the team with 34 tackles this season.
Lewis said Webster is a leader
by example.
“He’s the true veteran,” Lewis said. “He’s like the father of the secondary. He’s the older dog, and everyone has to follow him.”
But, as Lewis said, Webster makes the big plays when they’re needed.
Take Webster’s consecutive stops of UCLA tailback Tyler Ebell in the Bruins’ final drive at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. On first and second down in Oregon territory, Webster found Ebell behind the line of scrimmage and tackled him for losses, eventually setting up UCLA’s missed 46-yard field goal and preserving the Ducks’ one-point win.
Webster, though, takes little pride in personal accomplishments. His focus is on the team’s goals. And after breaking his foot during his redshirt season in 1999, Webster has also put an emphasis on life after football.
“It made me look at the big picture more,” Webster said of his injury. “Sometimes football has to take a back seat.”
Thus, Webster has worked hard to earn his bachelor’s degree in education. He is taking one class this term to complete his diploma, and he eventually would like to work with children.
“It’s a good feeling,” Webster said of his degree. “I’ve done what I needed to do.”
“How many people do you know who graduate in four years?” Lewis said.
Graduate and learn to play every position in the secondary and learn to play golf.
Golf?
Webster’s roommate, Oregon golfer Chris Carnahan, has tried to mold Webster into the next Tiger Woods, but with little hope.
“Every now and then we go out and golf,” Webster said. “But I have a pretty bad slice.”
In the quarterback-friendly Pacific-10 Conference, Webster has seen his share of bad coverages, although has learned to take big plays with a grain of salt.
“It comes with the territory,” Webster said. “You just have to keep your head up and erase it.”
Webster’s played every position in the secondary during his Oregon tenure. Before his injury in 1999, he was a second-unit cornerback who recorded an interception in a 24-19 win over Cal that season.
Listed generously at 6-feet-4-inches and 214 pounds, the long-armed Webster looks the part of a small forward in basketball, one of three sports he played in high school.
Perhaps that’s why he seems to be often overlooked.
“I’ve always played on a good team, but I’ve always been the underdog,” he said.
Perhaps, too, because he says little about himself.