4/18/19 Emerald Media - Spring Gameday Edition

GAMEDAY

KAYVON THIBODEAUX WAS THE NATION’S NO. 1 RECRUIT. Finding a home in Eugene meant leaving a violent Los Angeles behind and rewriting his story.

‘THE CHOSEN ONE’ C A M M CCO R M I C K ’ S R E T U R N A F T E R I N J U RY

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Photograph by Maddie Knight

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GAMEDAY

PLAYERS TO WATCH BY: Kelly Kondo @kelly_kondo | PHOTOS: Ben Green

OFFENSE

JAYLON REDD

PENEI SEWELL - LT - #58 Sophomore Penei Sewell had a short but consistent freshman year with the Ducks last season. e left tackle protected Herbert’s blind side before his season was cut short by a high ankle injury suffered against Washington. Sewell returned just in time to start in the RedBox Bowl yet could not find his edge while allowing two sacks during Oregon’s win over Michigan State.

When Sewell was injured, offensive lineman Calvin rockmorton moved to left tackle to fill the void. Now, the Ducks will be missing rockmorton this weekend as he recovers from his own ankle injury suffered in the Redbox Bowl.

But with four other returning starters, Sewell and the offensive line should exhibit a familiar rhythm this weekend.

JAYLON REDD - WR - #30 With Justin Herbert’s go-to receiver Dillon Mitchell forgoing his senior season to declare for the NFL Draft, Herbert will need to rely on remaining wide outs, including returning starter Jaylon Redd. e sophomore completed the 2018 season with 38 receptions for 433 yards over 13 games. With five receiving touchdowns, Redd was among the highest-scoring receivers on the team, second to Mitchell. As the top returning receiver for the Ducks, Redd will be expected to help lead the Oregon offense. Under the direction of new wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight, the receiving team will test their chemistry with Herbert during the spring game.

DEFENSE KAYVON THIBODEAUX - DE - #5 Defensive end Kayvon ibodeaux, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2019 class, and highest-ranked recruit in Oregon football history, will make his debut with the Ducks during Saturday’s spring game. ibodeaux had 54 sacks over four years and was named the USA Today High School Defensive Player of the Year. e freshman will rely on support from returning defensive linemen Jordon Scott, Gus Cumberlander and Austin Faoliu. e defensive line has been working with new defensive coordinator Andy Avalos since the start of spring practice. ibodeaux’s performance this weekend may preview his future impact on the Pac-12.

LA’MAR WINSTON JR. - OLB - #32

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e loss of graduating senior outside linebackers Justin Hollins and Jalen Jelks positions La’Mar Winston Jr. to take on a more prominent role going into the 2019 season. e senior finished last season with a total of 40 tackles, 10 of which occurred during Oregon’s defenseheavy postseason win over Michigan State. Since the conclusion of the 2018 season, the Ducks have been working with new linebackers coach Ken Wilson. As one of the only regular starting linebackers returning, along with Troy Dye, Winston Jr. will continue to be a leader for the Oregon defense.

GAMEDAY

A COMEBACK,

WITH A MOTHER’S TOUCH BY: Gabriel Ornelas @gabe_ornelas | PHOTO: Maddie Knight

Sept. 1, 2018, was the third-most difficult day of Debra McCormick’s life. e first? When she found out she had melanoma in her early 30s. e second? When her son, Cam McCormick, tore his ACL his senior year of high school, sidelining him from playing any sport for the remainder of the school year. e third fell on opening day for Oregon football against Bowling Green, when Cam broke his fibula less than one quarter into the game.

Debra entered “action mode” following Cam’s injury to aid her son in getting him back into what he loves most: playing football. Cam, now eight months removed from rehab, is back on a mission to earn what he relinquished, his starting tight end position.

“It was grueling,” Cam said. “I basically tried to walk off the field.

I thought if I took a step my bone was going to come out of my leg.”

Debra’s vantage point was much different. She didn’t even MARIO CRISTOBAL see it happen.

Nestled right behind an entire wall of Oregon football players, Debra was prevented from seeing the gruesome injury. en at the end of the first quarter, a text rang out from her phone from Matt Noyer, director of football operations, saying that her son was injured.

Without any idea of the severity of her son’s injury, Debra walked through the tunnel Cam had just run out of and on through the Marcus Mariota center to reach an X-ray room. As she arrived, her son exited the room with tears falling down his face.

“He was just sobbing because he had worked so hard to earn a starting spot,” Debra said. “I had to put on a happy face, as all moms do. We all do that for our boys.”

e next day, Debra, exhausted from a chaotic 24 hours, went downstairs at the hospital to grab a cup of coffee following Cam’s surgery. She returned, in amazement, to a room filled with Oregon players and coaches to see Cam post-surgery.

“It was incredible. I cried,” Debra said. “As a mom, that just makes you feel incredible to know that your boy is cared about.” en the rehab process began.

Debra, originally planning to stay two days, ended up staying by her son’s side for two weeks. ose days were spent sleeping on a recliner next to Cam’s bed and waiting on his every need during all hours of the day.

“She was what I needed,” Cam said. “If I was by myself, I wouldn’t know how I would be able to get around.” e two weeks were only the beginning of an elongated eight-month rehab process, spending every practice strengthening his body and mind.

“I was out head coach here doing every type of rehab thing you could probably think of,” Cam said.

His rehab time was spent doing drills, core work and lifting to strengthen his body.

Now, he’s back. As of April 4, he dubbed himself “full-go,” following the conclusion of Oregon’s seventh spring game.

“He’s awesome,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “We know what a big part of the offense he is … Happy to have him back.”

Cam wants to be more than just back from injury. He wants to accomplish the mission that started eight months ago.

“I want to be that guy for the team now,” he said. “I’m on that mission to get back to the top.”

“WE KNOW WHAT A BIG PART OF THE OFFENSE HE IS … HAPPY TO HAVE HIM BACK.”

Ducks tight end Cam McCormick (84) was sidelined after breaking his fibula on last season’s opening day. Now, he is on a mission to earn his relinquished starting position.

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COVER

THE STRATEGY OF KAYVON THIBODEAUX BY: Gabriel Ornelas @gabe_ornelas | PHOTOS: Maddie Knight

In the game of chess, one move can decide the entire game.

In the game of life, certain decisions determine the path forward, either following a storyline dictated by family history, or moving on to greater achievement. Kayvon ibodeaux realized the power of taking actions into his own hands when he was told the game of chess “was a grown man’s game” from his uncle Jamal. He taught himself chess for a challenge, as well as to face his uncle. He even carried a chess board in the back of his car in case people wanted to challenge him.

“Not a lot of guys on the team play chess,” ibodeaux said. “I’m still playing chess.”

Now Oregon freshman defensive end Kayvon ibodeaux, the nation’s No. 1 recruit according to ESPN, is strategizing and forging his path in a new way. He is on a mission to make the last name across his back something for people to remember. “ ibodeaux means nothing,” he said. “I feel like this opportunity that I got and the talent I have … I can change the forefront of my future and my family’s future.” e first important principle of chess is king safety.

Sometimes that can be hard when living in South-Central Los Angeles. In the last six months alone, there have been 295 violent crimes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Outside of the violence, ibodeaux’s being 6-foot-2 at age 13 brought its own troubles, like when parents scoffed at him outmuscling kids at birthday parties for candy that fell from piñatas, or when his mother, Shawnta Loice, had to argue with other parents during sporting events when they challenged his age due to being larger than the others. “ ey would always pick on him because they thought he was older than what he really was,” Loice said. “He wouldn’t allow them to mess with him. But they would try.”

Loice, who has experienced senseless violence all her life, didn’t want that same

life for her son. She wanted to move him out of the gang-infested area of South-Central to challenge him. She realized that her son, much like herself when going to school in the inner city before moving to Orange County, wasn’t being challenged in the classroom.

“He had too much free time on his hands in LA for me,” Loice said. “His homework was done. His tests were done. It just wasn’t enough.”

So Loice and ibodeaux searched for schools with the best chance to challenge him. ey settled on Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village. While having to drive 80 miles per day in his ’95 Ford Mustang between home and school, he maintained well above a 3.0 GPA. e long trek became shorter when ibodeaux and his mom moved to Woodland Hills, now an all-around 40-mile drive that was done in a white Kia Soul.

“I wanted him to have a better education,” Loice said. “I don’t care how good he was. I didn’t care who needed him on the team. It just didn’t matter to me because I told him education comes first.”

Finding greener pastures relates to ibodeaux’s second-most important principle of chess: development. is allows you to create more firepower by finding the best squares for your pieces.

Finding Oaks Christian was crucial for his education. Moving 30 miles away to Woodland Hills was the best square of land for survival. Later, choosing the University of Oregon gave him the opportunity to get away from the violence and find the best square to build a foundation.

“If I would’ve stayed, I probably would’ve died,” ibodeaux said. “I was a kid that walked and just tried to be by myself, but it

Choosing the University of Oregon gave Kayvon ibodeaux (5) the opportunity to get away from the violence in his hometown of Los Angeles.

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doesn’t matter. It finds you.”

Eugene isn’t only a city with a less violent crime rate, but a place where he felt comfortable. In the midst of a chaotic recruiting process, ibodeaux changed his mind every other day. He and Loice, without any idea of what being a No.1 recruit was like, were flooded with emails, mail, texts and calls from people all over the country.

“It was just too much,” Loice said. “I kept hearing stuff, so I had to just let people know that anything that goes on with my kid, you need to talk to me because I didn’t know who was for him and who was against him.”

Oregon wasn’t only the next “pit stop” for ibodeaux to chase his football dreams; for Loice, it was something much different that she wanted for her son. She felt that Oregon, out of all 27 schools that offered him, had coaches with solid foundations who could serve as role models and offer him guidance when she was over 800 miles away.

“He’s beyond his years,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “It’s not the five-star talent, it’s the five-star mentality, the five-star effort and the five-star approach. He has exceeded expectations.”

Despite trying to find the best pieces to build a foundation and develop as a man, hos past will always follow him, even if his pit stop is over 800 miles away. Los Angeles flows through ibodeaux’s veins and is part of his DNA. “You don’t get away where you come from,” he said. “You gotta find your own path, and I felt like my path brought me here.” e third and final important principle to chess: center control. Controlling the center means controlling most of the action. ibodeaux is not only trying to control his center of gravity when terrorizing offenses around the country, but he has his mind occupied with the violent and challenging streets of South-Central. He said he’s hopeful to see a change.

“If you go to the city right now, 50 percent of the people have never even touched a credit card or they have been a part of credit card fraud,” ibodeaux said.

“It’s things like that, that need to be implemented into the kids and everybody coming up.” ibodeaux references Nipsey Hussle, a Los Angeles rapper and activist who was trying to change his community’s landscape before he was murdered on March 31 in the environment he was trying to change. “[In] LA, it’s what you hear,” he said. “Just now, Nipsey died, and it was pretty sad. I felt it. It felt like a family member to me, and I’ve never met him.”

As of March 27, ibodeaux has dubbed himself the “Chosen 1.” at’s what’s inked across his left forearm.

“I got it because nobody in my family has really done anything,” ibodeaux said. “We don’t have anything to live for.”

Now, with ibodeaux’s foundation laid and protected at Oregon, he can focus on his center and what he needs to do. He’s focused on more then just changing a program, but he wants to change his family’s legacy. It’s one reason why he plays: “To change my family dynamic. To get us out of poverty. To get us out of everything,” he said.

Ducks defensive linemen Kayvon ibodeaux (5) and Gus Cumberlander (45) wrestle in a blocking drill during spring practice.

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GAMEDAY

OFFENSE BREAKDOWN:

LOADED WITH EXPERIENCE, JUST NEEDS CONSISTENCY BY: Jack Butler @Butler917 | PHOTO: Sarah Northrop Oregon’s 2018 offense struggled with consistency all season. One half would look like the days of old when the Ducks scored at will.

Fifteen minutes later, a first down was tough to get.

But the Ducks have 10 returning starters on offense; on paper, it’s one of the most daunting offenses in the country.

“I think there are some little tweaks that we’ve done that we like that we assessed from last year,” offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. “In some other cases, maybe some things we thought were OK didn’t work out, so let’s move forward with some other ideas. It’s been good. I think that’s what spring is for.”

Quarterback Oregon’s biggest win of 2018 was Justin Herbert’s decision to return for his senior season. e talented senior will have lots of preseason hype, and his name will appear on the biggest awards watch lists. e backup quarterbacks will be of interest in the spring game. Twoyear backup Braxton Burmeister transferred to Virginia Tech, so redshirt freshman Tyler Shough is the assumed No. 2. Freshman Cale Millen graduated high school early, so this will be his public introduction to Duck fans. Herbert will surely execute and play well in the spring game, but the keen eye will be watching the backups.

Running Back CJ Verdell and Travis Dye developed into a potent one-two punch toward the end of last year. e Ducks have 10 returning starters on offense, including running back CJ Verdell.

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ey impressed as freshmen last season, and now the backfield is theirs. Verdell is a human bowling ball, while Dye adds speed. Fellow sophomore Cyrus Habibi-Likio was limited to goal-line carries last season, so the spring game may give us a hint of whether he can expand his role and throw his name into the running back rotation come fall.

Offensive Line e running backs will have one of the most experienced offensive lines in front of them. e Ducks return all five starters, four of whom are seniors. e underclassman, sophomore left tackle Penei Sewell, is already a pillar on the O-line, and he succeeded in protecting Herbert’s blindside last season.

Ironically, there were times when the offense didn’t dominate the line of scrimmage last year, but this is by far the most experienced unit on the Ducks this season. One more year together could be the difference.

Receivers e biggest question of 2019 Oregon football: Whom will Herbert throw to? Oregon lost Dillon Mitchell, the Ducks’ record holder for yards in a season and Herbert’s safety blanket all last season. e Ducks knew they needed help at the position. ey got four wide receivers in the freshman class, but the immediate help will come from Penn State grad-transfer Juwan Johnson. At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, he can be the big target Herbert hasn’t had. As for the others, there are plenty of snaps still up for grabs next season.

GAMEDAY

NEXT MAN UP:

WITH A NEW LEADER ON HAND, OREGON’S NEW-LOOK DEFENSE HAS PLAYERS UP-AND-DOWN LOOKING TO STEP INTO LEADERSHIP ROLES. BY: Maverick Pallack @Mavpallack | PHOTO: Devin Roux e Ducks’ defense will have a different look in 2019, but a new scheme is nothing new for Oregon returners. e 2018 season was the first time juniors and seniors had the same defensive scheme for two seasons.

“I’m more optimistic this year because we have the same defense going into year two,” senior linebacker Troy Dye said prior to the 2018 season. “ is is the first time for me being in the same defense two years in a row since I think my first year of high school.” e defense showed its experience and knowledge numerous times last season, but Dye and his teammates will not have the same luxury this time around. Former defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt is gone, but every loss brings the opportunity to build something better.

Former Boise State defensive coordinator Andy Avalos leads the charge for the Ducks as they look to continue on their year-byyear rise in the defensive rankings with a brand new scheme.

Avalos already made the switch back from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. Former outside linebackers will spend more time with their hand in the ground attacking the quarterback as defensive ends, while other linebackers focus on tackling and running sideline to sideline.

“We’ve got a bunch of hungry guys that are willing to learn, adjust, adapt and move forward to what’s best for Oregon’s defense,” Avalos said. “ e guys are working really, really hard. ey’re excited in what’s going on and what we’re doing.”

Avalos has a different flare and players have taken notice of his “fire.”

“I really appreciate how he approaches us and his coaching,” sophomore safety Jevon Holland said. “ e biggest thing for him is everything is about effort. …

If you fail at 100 miles per hour, at least

you’re at 100 miles per hour.” e scheme isn’t the only thing that has changed. e Ducks lost several key seniors: outside linebacker Justin Hollins, inside linebacker Kaulana Apelu, defensive end Jalen Jelks and safety Ugochukwu Amadi.

Holland, freshman Kayvon ibodeaux and senior La’Mar Winston Jr. will take on big roles. e linebackers will face the biggest change. Dye, of course, will captain the defense for another year. Isaac SladeMatautia and Adrian Jackson will see upticks in snaps, while transfer DJ Johnson will see his first Autzen action this season.

Winston Jr. will continue to be a leader at outside linebacker.

Holland highlights a talented and experienced defensive backfield, with Nick Pickett figuring to retake a starting safety role. Two-year starting cornerbacks Deommodore Lenoir and omas Graham Jr. are expected to lock down their roles again. e defensive backs struggled at times last season, including a lackluster performance against Stanford, but really excelled in big matchups, such as against Arizona State, and at creating turnovers.

Despite the losses, the line remains a dominant force with the return of Jordon Scott and Austin Faoliu. ibodeaux, the nation’s No. 1 recruit according to ESPN, will find a way into the starting lineup.

No matter the personnel, Avalos will keep the opposing offense guessing.

“Instead of the defense always being the ones reacting to the offense, we want the offense to have to react to us,” Avalos said. “ ere might be some pre-snap movement, some post-snap movement, a combination of both, but we’re trying to make the offense react to us so we can play on the attack as well.”

Despite the loss of several key seniors, the Oregon defensive remains a dominant force with the return of starters, including safety Jevon Holland (8).

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GAMEDAY

REPLACING UGO BY: Shane Hoffmann | PHOTO: Ben Green Ducks cornerback omas Graham Jr. (4) will be among the upperclassmen to step up and lead the secondary following the loss of defensive back Ugochukwu Amadi.

Several Ducks are off to the NFL after impressive years in 2018. While they mostly consist of seniors, such as edge defenders Jalen Jelks and Justin Hollins, Oregon’s leading wide out Dillon Mitchell is departing a year early as well. e most devastating loss, however, may prove to be defensive back Ugochukwu Amadi.

Amadi had a breakout season last year, as he was not only Oregon’s most versatile defensive piece — a Swiss Army knife in the secondary who also returned punts — but a valuable teammate. In 2018, he won the Lombardi Award for outstanding performance, leadership, character and resilience, and he became the first FBS player with two pick-6s and a punt return in the same season since Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2015.

Despite his recent success, Amadi wasn’t always in the spotlight.

A three-star cornerback from Tennessee, he struggled to grab consistent snaps through much of his first three seasons.

“Everything that Ugo’s been through, soaking in and being a

sponge of all the teaching and everything people were pouring into him, that development and that perseverance and continuing to just work and doing what the coaches ask you to do,” co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Keith Hayward said.

Amadi’s capacity to play not just safety but cornerback and slot cornerback helped the Ducks tremendously. His ability to organize the defense and make calls is what may be missed most in 2019 as the Oregon defense begins the transition to a new scheme under recently hired coordinator Andy Avalos.

“What he does on the field matches who he is off the field, and I think the guys that have stepped in at nickel and are getting reps there have gotten off to a fast start because they have had a great leader and had a good vision of what that is supposed to look like both on and off the field,” Andy Avalos said of his brief but impactful impressions of Amadi.

One of those such players who seems to have benefited is redshirt freshman Verone McKinley III, who has been praised for much

of spring practice by teammates as well as coaches.

“Verone is looking amazing,” junior cornerback omas Graham Jr. said. “He’s at nickel; I feel that’s his natural position, that’s where he fits at. Coach Avalos coming allowed him to blossom into the player that we all believed he is.”

While players like McKinley III, as well as other young defensive backs such as Steve Stephens, Brady Breeze, Billy Gibson and Daewood Davis, have all received plenty of hype, the question still remains of who will step up to replace the leadership lost with Amadi’s departure.

When asked of his thoughts on who could step up as a leader, Amadi made it clear that it will be no single player. “ is team is going to demand stuff out of themselves now,” Amadi said “ ey will rely on each other to step up. ey are going to want to play hard for each other.”

Oregon’s upperclassmen in the secondary seem to hold a similar belief. “ at was a big loss to us. He

was our leader of the secondary.

He helped because he was older and knew the defense just as well as anyone,” Graham said. “I feel me, Jevon [Holland], Deommodore [Lenoir], and Nick [Pickett] are all stepping up as a group. We put it all on each other. Where we want to go this year, we have to do that.”

While much is still up in the air and will be until the start of the regular season, Graham and Lenoir seem to have a steady hand on the two starting cornerback spots.

In addition, it is expected that sophomore standout safety Holland will retain his starting job, along with free safety Pickett. McKinley III has a grasp on the nickel spot as of now, but as quick as his rise has been, he could be out of the deep, talented cornerback rotation even quicker come fall.

“Being young and not knowing the defense fully, I think that’s one of our weaknesses,” Holland said.

“Everybody is coming together closer as a unit though. We all have a positive mentality. We all have bought into the culture and are learning to play as one team.”

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Our look and name have changed, but we still have the same great providers and quality medical care.

Most locations open 7 days a week, 12 hours a day.

NovaHealth.com G A RDEN S

EMERALD

VALLEY

GA RDE NS

• 420 DEALS • 1553 OAK ST

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541-345-8904

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www.keepeugenegreen.org

A RDEN S

$50 oz

Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out of the reach of children,

Mix and Match

$2 gram starting at

Geek Farms & Dog House

$10 gram

White Label Extracts

1553 OAK ST | 541.345.8904 | KEEPEUGENEGREEN.ORG Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out of the reach of children.

T H U R S D AY, A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 9

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E M E R A L D G A M E D AY

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