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Droughns takes long route to Eugene
rirst recuitea by Oregon m
1996, Reuben Drougbns
takes the field this season
By Joel Hood
Oregon Daily Emerald
The punts blast off.
First there is one, then another,
and then another.
It has been three days since tail
back Reuben Droughns torched
Michigan State’s defense for an in
credible 202 yards on just 17 car
ries — marking the sixth highest
single-game total in school histo
ry, and undoubtedly, the single
most impressive debut by any
player ever associated with Ore
gon football.
Even so, Droughns is not wast
ing one minutia of strength during
this twilight practice to boast
about his accomplishments. In
stead, Droughns is standing with
a small group of players in a semi
circle, shagging punts and talking
game strategy with special teams
coach Tom Osborne.
The balls rocket into the sky,
then bend forming a soft arch, and
spiral back toward earth. They fall
like arrows: one after the other, af
ter the other.
It is now more than 30 minutes
after practice and Droughns is
alone catching punts against the
silver sky. Although his coaches
and teammates have already left
toward the locker room, and
mindful of the fact that he is keep
ing members of the media waiting,
Droughns continues because he is
still more comfortable fielding
punts in this fading light than he is
talking about his opening-day
heroics.
To people outside Droughns’
inner circle of friends, his success
has been both immediate and sud
den. The local media only began
reporting that Droughns had
earned the No. 1 tailback spot a
few weeks before the Sept. 5 date
with Michigan State.
But those on the inside know
that every on- and off-the-field
success Droughns has ever en
joyed has helped to get him to this
practice field at this time in his
life. And to them, it’s no wonder
that Droughns stays on this field
as long as he does.
“I’m just happy to finally be
here,” Droughns says.
Oregon is finally happy as well.
Originally recruited by the
Ducks in 1996, Droughns failed to
score high enough on the Scholas
tic Achievement Test to be admit
ted to Oregon as a freshman. He
then failed the final math class
during his senior year at Anaheim
High School which meant this
blue-chip California recruit was
LAURA GOSS/Emerald
Reuben Droughns ran for202yards in his Oregon debut on Sept. 5
forced to attend a small junior col
lege in Merced, Calif., to make up
some of the credits he missed.
Droughns admits that it was
painful for him to have to start out
at the junior-college level, but as
he looks back on it now, the time
he spent at Merced JC proved to be
more valuable then he ever could
have imagined.
“It would have been nice to
come up here right after high
school,” Droughns says, "but to
tell you the truth, I don’t think I
FOOTBALL
would have
been ready.”
What
Droughns
learned, and
what he still
takes with him
today, is the im
poriance oi education — tne im
portance to grow as a man both on
and off the football field. And that
is one lesson, Droughns admits,
that many from his old neighbor
hood in Southern California could
never fully understand.
Droughns grew up along one of
the “bad stretches” of Anaheim,
Calif., just a few miles from Los
Angeles’ turbulent inner city. His
mother, Crystal, bounced in and
out of work for most of his young
adult life, never fully able to pro
vide for Reuben or his three broth
ers. Reuben’s older brother, like
many of his friends, got caught up
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with gangs and violence at an ear
ly age.
Droughns admits that it would
have been real easy to get caught
up in that lifestyle himself.
“My family struggled for a long
time,” he says, “and they’re still
struggling. There have been tough
times for all of us. For a while at
the JC I couldn’t afford any rent,
and it wasn’t as if I could call up
my family and ask them for mon
ey.
“It was hard for me. There were
times when I felt like I should just
drop football and drop out of
school so I could get a job and help
them out.”
But football had always meant
much more to Reuben than he was
willing to admit. Having never re
ally known his father, Droughns
says he has always sought guid
ance from his coaches. And in
stead of turning further away from
his dream to play “big-time” col
lege football, Reuben was told to
hit the books.
Reuben never excelled in the
classroom at Merced, but with the
help of his coaches and some close
friends, he earned enough credits
to be eligible to transfer to Oregon.
“I have seen a lot of punks walk
ing down the street that have come
out of the same environment,”
said Tony Lewis, the head coach
at Merced who tutored Droughns
Turn to DROUGHNS, Page 22E
Oregon
daily
emerald
worldwide
you can read the
emerald from
anywhere
in the world.
WWW.
uoregon.edu/~ode