Autzen Stadium is usually filled with chants of “Choo
Choo” when Young takes the field, and he rarely
disappoints his fans. His stature — 5-6, 160 — is
something that Young feels helps him in returning a
kick. “In a way I think it’s an advantage being small
because a smaller man is usually quicker and more
elusive.”
Return of the Ducks
Brown, Young risk their necks every week as return men
By PAUL DANZER
Of ttw EnwM
The punt goes zooming high into the air above the
stadium Fifty yards downfield, a lone player waits for
the ball to come back to earth
As the rumbling of approaching opponents shakes
the ground he stands on, the receiver gathers the ball in
and heads up the field
To be a return man
on a football squad, it
takes a combination of
speed guts and intel
ligence It also takes a
little craziness
Oregon is blessed
to have two of the best
in the Pacific-10 Con
ference in this special
ty — Steve Brown and
Choo Choo Young
They spend their Sa
turdays getting their
kicks and taking their
licks at the receiving
end of kickoffs and
punts
Steve Brown
‘‘I don't think
about how crazy it is,"
r
says Young, whose specialty is punts, and averages 10
yards per return "But I do think it takes a certain
breed "
"It takes a lot of courage, knowing that when you re
carrying the ball there are 11 crazy men coming after
you,' says Brown who plays defensive back when he's
not returning kickoffs He has a 27 3 yard kickoff return
average after eight games
“I didn't think about it much at first but it takes a lot
of courage to go out there," says Young, who also
carries the ball from the tailback position
But being courageous doesn't mean they never
have second thoughts about returning kicks According
to Young, there was apprehension when he first started
returning kicks in college
"I was really scared in my first game against
Stanford last year, and the apprehension lasted through
about half the year ” he said "I wasn't so much scared
of getting hit as I was of making a big mistake."
Brown's second thoughts have come more recent
ly "At Arizona State I was wondering why I was doing it
I took a couple of the hardest hits I've ever felt ”
Injuries are all too common in this dangerous
vocation, but Brown and Young have been lucky on the
return end of things Brown has survived his bruising
hits, and the worst injury Choo Choo has received from
a return is a cut finger
But the risk of injury is always present And while
neither Young or Brown dwell on the subject, they do
Photos by David Coray
acknowledge the inherent risks of their job Young teels
there is a greater chance of injury when he is returning
kicks than there is on a standard running play, even
though his past history doesn't agree Brown too knows
he has more to lose returning kicks than he does
defending passes
How does a return man overcome the apprehen
sion before a kick? "When I line up my entire concen
tration is on the kicker,” explains Brown "I try to think
of the positive things that I can do on the return I've
never dealt on any negatives And just before the kick
my adrenalin really gets me going ”
Although there is a plan of attack when the special
teams take the field, things don't always work out as
they are designed to, and that can leave a kick returner
up a creek without the proverbial paddle
"You tend to have a feeling of where people around
you are as you're going forward.” says Brown, explain
ing the search for daylight in such situations He
describes the feeling as a sixth sense which can often
Continued on Pago 12
J~-V.
deFnsco^ &
PRESENT
Alberto Salazar
in
The 1981 New York Marathon
with a cast of thousands
to be shown ON A LARGE SCREEN T.V. AT
deFriscob
Thursday November 5th at 7:30 pm
Drawing for door prizes plus a chance to win a portrait of Alberto!
For more information call 484-2263 or 342-5155
10%
DISCOUNT
To U. of O. Students, Foculty and
Staff on Service ond Repairs
With current full-nme student or staff University I D cord
Service Deportment open Mon.-Fri.: 7:30-5:30 Sot.: 6:00-5:00
,1570 South A Springfield 746-6241
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