Oregon running back Kenjon Barner is smiling. He looks relaxed. A native of Riverside, Calif., Barner was able to spend his three-day Christmas break with friends and family before trekking 60 miles to Los Angeles on Christmas night, where he met with his teammates. In the midst of practices and events for the Rose Bowl, he and the rest of the Ducks have enjoyed each other’s company.
“It’s cool. We’ve had a good time together,” Barner said. “Lot of laughter, lot of quality time together. It’s been a very good experience.”
“This experience doesn’t always come. There’s a lot of people that play college ball that never get to this stage.”
Most of America never thought the Ducks would get there, either.
National media members have been intrigued by the Oregon’s road to rosy redemption. Lest we forget, the Ducks persevered from an embarrassing 19-8 loss to Boise State on Sept. 3 – compounded by LeGarrette Blount punching Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in the face and confronting fans after the game – to winning the Pacific-10 Conference title.
The improbability of the starting point and the endpoint understandably sparked media interest as to what happened in between. Players have fielded questions about Blount – who has not spoken to the media and was absent at today’s team press conference – all week, handling them admirably.
“That feels like years ago,” wide receiver D.J. Davis said. “It’s funny how things change. Like day one, everybody was counting us out, and then we won the Pac-10 Championship and now we’re in the Rose Bowl. Just knowing how it’s a long season and all things can happen helps us stay focused.”
That focus has led to what offensive players have considered some of the best practices of the season in the weeks leading up to Friday.
“We’ve been getting a lot of plays in. We’ve been going through all our plays before the period is over,” tight end David Paulson said. “We’ve been running and stuff for a couple weeks. The way we practice, I don’t think we should have much rust. We’ve practiced the same way we have in a game week. We practiced like that last week too.”
“The tempo’s been extremely high throughout the past couple of days,” Barner said. “[Quarterback Jeremiah] Masoli is keeping everybody together, keeping us on the right page. (The coaches) haven’t really changed anything as far as practice goes. It’s just the team is much more into practice and getting it to how we want it to go, getting ready to play fast.”
The sixth-best rushing offense in the nation now has Blount back in good graces following his appearance in the Civil War, and Masoli and the rest of the Ducks’ major contributors are healthy. Oregon has a lot to smile about, and the Ducks are taking the time to stop and smell a certain breed of flower.
“It’s been a zoo all week,” offensive lineman Carson York said of the week’s events. “But I think we’re just trying to appreciate it, you know? Not take it for granted. We’d love to do this every year, but we’re not sure we’re going to get to, so especially right now I’m just trying to enjoy the last couple of days in LA here before the Rose Bowl.”
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