Fullback positioned in lead of dream
story line
■ Oregon starter Josh Line
grabs scholarship after years
of dedication, ensuring his
future with the Ducks
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
For most of Oregon football’s
starting core, this past spring season
was a chance to dust off some cob
webs and keep in shape for the up
coming fall season.
For junior starting fullback Josh
Line, however, the spring was a
make-or-break type situation.
His Oregon football shelf life rest
ed solely on how well he would
perform in those precious few
weeks in April.
The Springfield native needed a
scholarship to stay in Eugene, and
to get one he needed to prove to
Oregon’s coaches that he truly de
served to receive one.
“I understood that the coaches
needed to see me perform and I
knew that this was my last chance, ”
said the 6-foot-2, 237-pound Line,
who was originally a walk-on. “Be
fore the spring, I said to myself and
my family that this was it. I was go
ing to give it one last shot, and if I
didn’t make it, no hard feelings, I’d
just go somewhere else.”
As luck would have it, there was
a shortage of Oregon tailbacks due
to injuries and Line was given his
golden opportunity to shine.
He worked on blocking. He
worked on running. He worked on
catching.
And after completing his suc
cessful spring season with two
rushing touchdowns in Oregon’s
annual Spring Game, Line worked
his way into the starting lineup —
and into a full scholarship.
“I had no idea if I was going to
stay here or not until I went into
coach [Mike] Bellotti’s office for our
annual individual spring meet
ings,” Line said. “He looked me
straight in the eye, and said, ‘You
earned it.’
“I was really happy obviously,
but more than anything, I was re
lieved.”
Bellotti recognized Line’s work
ethic and found it impossible not to
reward him for it.
“He worked hard to get that
scholarship,” Bellotti said. “He
went out there and automatically
earned the respect of his team
mates. I’m very pleased with where
he’s at right now, but I think his po
tential is even greater. ”
Line’s life happens to make for an
almost too-perfect storyline.
The hometown boy grows up fol
lowing the Ducks and dreams of
someday donning the yellow and
green uniforms — much like the
players that he used to get auto
graphs from as a kid.
He ages into a Midwestern
League all-conference prep quarter
back for Springfield High.
His talents let him start out play
ing collegiate ball for the College of
the Siskyous in Weed, Calif., before
getting a chance to walk-on to his
beloved Ducks.
He begins his time here on the
Oregon scout team and tries his
hand at being a fullback, a position
he had never played before.
Sure, he struggles at first, but
then begins to pick up on it.
Then that very next year at Ore
gon there are some injuries and he’s
able to get into six games.
Still, he’s not quite sure if he
wants to continue being a Duck.
There are possibilities to go some
where smaller and play more.
But then comes the spring of
2000, with more injuries in the
backfield, and the promotion to the
starting fullback position.
“It’s a dream come true, really,”
Line said. “I can’t complain. What
an amazing 12 months for me.”
Funny, though, how sometimes
moments in time don’t fit so nicely
into that perfect little story.
Because in your dream, you al
ways succeed. You always come
away satisfied.
So what in the world was that
Wisconsin game doing in Line’s
“dream life” as a starting fullback
for the Ducks?
There Line was on Sept. 9, play
ing in front of 78,000 raucous fans
at Camp Randall Stadium in Madi
son, Wis., — 27,000 more people
than the entire population of his
hometown.
It was only his second game as a
starter and he was psyched to the
max. He was blocking holes for
Oregon tailback Maurice Morris.
He was helping his quarterback,
Joey Harrington, preserve as much
time as possible before the incom
ing rush of defenders.
And then in the third quarter,
with the Ducks trailing the fifth
ranked Badgers 14-6 and in desper
ate need of a touchdown, Line
found himself racing downfield
with his head peering over his
shoulder at the incoming pass.
Line had emerged from the back
field as a potential receiver and
saw his clear path to the end zone.
He ran... the ball was thrown to
ward him... it spiraled downward...
he strode near the 25-yard line
with no defender near him... the
ball sailed closer... and closer... and
then...
Bounced off his hands and in
complete.
Doh!
Oh well, right? Just one dropped
pass. Nobody’s going to even no
tice it, um, gulp, right?
“Ha, yeah, I was hoping it would
just go away in those days that fol
lowed, but I would see that
dropped pass replayed on televi
sion over and over and get remind
ed of it through conversations,”
Line said. “It was hard, because I
put a lot of pressure on myself and
expect to make those types of
catches. Dropped balls like that
one weigh on me.”
That drop might have affected
his confidence a tad, but it sure
didn’t change the way his peers
and coaches viewed him. He was
picked up by his teammates
throughout the next week of prac
tice in preparation for the home
game against Idaho. His coaches
encouraged him that there would
be more opportunities like that in
the future, but Line found that hard
to believe. As a fullback in the Ore
gon offense, he knows that his
main priority is to block and that
passes downfield to him may be
few and far between.
But soon came the Idaho game,
later followed by redemption.
It was a first down on the Idaho
28-yard line at the start of the third
quarter. Harrington took the snap
and Line broke again from the
backfield and streaked down the
middle uncovered. Harrington
tossed the ball at him, and it must
have been impossible not to think
about the previous week’s mishap.
“I was just thinking, ‘catch the
ball, catch the ball,’” Line said.
And catch the ball he did, en
gulfing the football in his arms at
the 10-yard line and marching in
for the 28-yard score to insert the
nail in the coffin for Oregon’s 42-13
blowout win.
Line jumped immediately on top
of center Ryan Schmid, who was
the first person to greet him in the
end zone.
“Ryan was there for me right
away, and he just kept telling me, ‘I
knew you could do it. I knew you
could do it.’”
Turn to Line, page 16
Erin Swanson-Davis Emerald
Josh Line (left) considers it a dream come true to be the starting fullback for Oregon after growing up as a ‘big-time’ fan and stand-out
Springfield High School athlete, receiving honors in basketball as well as football.
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