David Paulson is a man of few words, but many receptions.
Last season, Paulson hauled in 24 passes and scored four touchdowns, the most of any returning Oregon player.
But you’d never know it by talking to him.
“If I get him to say more than, ‘Hi, Coach,’ I’ve done pretty well,” Oregon tight ends coach Tom Osborne joked. “If he says, ‘Hi, Coach, how are you doing today?’ then I know I’ve made great progress. He doesn’t say two words.”
Instead, Paulson lets his play do the talking.
“What David brings is a sense of leadership,” Osborne said. “He’s the epitome of doing it by example. He doesn’t make mistakes. He knows what to do, he knows where to do it, and he has a great feel for the game.”
Paulson’s presence is a big reason why, in contrast to previous years, Oregon feels good about its quality and depth at tight end. With multiple big-bodied scholarship athletes in fold, Osborne thinks this season’s tight end crop has the potential to be a strong asset for the Ducks.
“They all have the right size, they all can run, from a talent standpoint, a numbers standpoint, no question we’re very happy,” Osborne said.
Added Paulson: “I think at the tight end group we’ve been doing pretty well.”
And unlike some spread offenses in which tight ends have gone the way of the dinosaurs, Oregon still prominently features the tight end in its offense.
“We not only use a tight end but we put him in line,” Osborne said. “They have to be involved in the running game, pass protectors, and be involved in the passing game. We have to be pretty good at everything.”
The Ducks have several qualified physical athletes on their roster poised to complement Paulson in that role.
Senior Brandon Williams, for one, has made significant strides since transferring from Joliet Junior College before last season.
“Now he’s in year two, now he gets it,” Osborne said of Williams. “He’s played so much better this spring than he ever did last fall.”
The depth chart behind Paulson and Williams is muddled. Highly touted redshirt freshman Curtis White is still adjusting to the college game after missing time in fall camp following shoulder surgery, but his talent is evident.
“He missed most of the fall with that injury, so because of that he’s a little bit farther down the learning curve than most guys who redshirted,” Osborne said. “But he can really, really catch the ball, and he’s really a good athlete.”
Colt Lyerla, who was among the highest-ranked recruits in the recently-inked 2011 class, enrolled at Oregon for the spring term, and he has opened eyes in his first week of practice.
“(He’s) a really athletic kid but brand new, trying to figure out everything,” Paulson said of Lyerla. “It’s tough when you get thrown right into it straight out of high school.”
The tight end group will receive an additional boost next fall with the arrival of touted recruit Christian French, who committed to the Ducks over schools such as Notre Dame and Iowa. French is still raw as a football player, but is as physically talented as anybody.
“Christian’s only played two years of football, but he’s a tall, really athletic long strider who can really, really run,” Osborne said. “He ran a 10.7 (second) 100 meters as a junior, and he’s 6-foot-5 and 1/2, (and) 230 pounds. He grew up as a basketball player a lot like Ed Dickson. The thing that Christian did that was unusual for most (basketball players who go) to football, he actually knocked the snot out of people.”
Walk-ons Brian Teague and Dallen Voeller round out the tight ends corp.
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