Tim Bobosky | Photo editor
Rover Patrick Chung brings down Washington’s Robert Lewis during the Ducks’ 45-21 win
over the Huskies on Saturday. Chung, a redshirt freshman, is Oregon's leading tackier
this season with 51.
UNSUNG
HERO
Through seven games, Patrick Chung is the Ducks'
leading tackier as an 18-year-old redshirt freshman
BY LUKE ANDREWS
SPORTS REPORTER
Redshirt freshman Patrick Chung
has quietly established himself as
one of the Oregon defense’s stand
out performers.
After his team-high 11 tackle, one
interception performance against the
Huskies, don’t expect Chung’s silent
demeanor and under-the-radar style
to last too long.
“I continue to be very impressed
and pleased with the play of Patrick
Chung,” OregorL^ead coach Mike
Bellotti said. “He SRitinues to get bet
ter and better.” *
Chung has been a force for the
Ducks from his rover position, com
piling a team-high 51 total tackles this
season. In addition to being the lead
ing tackier against the Huskies,
Chung led the team in solo tackles
against USC with nine and was sec
ond with 10 total tackles in Oregon’s
31-17 win against Arizona State.
He has also displayed his ability to
defend the pass, ranking among the
team leaders with three pass
breakups. The 5-foot-ll, 197-pound
Chung intercepted his first pass last
weekend, picking off Washington’s
Isaiah Stanback on the first play of
the second half. He returned it 26
yards to set up an Oregon score.
And, at age 18, he’s accomplishing
all this as one of the youngest mem
bers on Oregon’s roster.
tor a youngster, ne is playing at
a level comparable with the seniors
on our defense,” Bellotti said. “That
position is a playmaker by design
and he’s done a great job of filling
that bill.”
In his first collegiate action against
Houston, Chung was fourth in tack
les with four unassisted and two as
sisted tackles. Chung has since solidi
fied himself as a presence on an
Oregon defense that has allowed an
average of only 352.4 yards per game.
However, the Rancho Cucamonga,
Calif., native attributes his success to
his teammates.
“Everybody else doing their job al
lows me to do mine,” Chung said. “I
feel like if everybody is making plays,
I need to make plays, too.”
For Chung, it was a long and un
usual journey to Oregon. Before set
tling in the San Gabriel Mountains
and Rancho Cucamonga, Chung was
born in Kingston, Jamaica, where he
lived until the age of nine. He then
moved to Florida before his family re
located to Southern California when
he was 10.
Chung attended Rancho Cuca
monga High School, where he was
a two-time first-team all-Baseline
League pick and was rated one of
the top 90 prospects in California by
SuperPrep Magazine.
He helped the Cougars to a 7-4
record his senior season as a wide
receiver and free safety, ranking as
the team’s second-leading tackier
with 74 and second-leading receiv
er with nine receptions for 209
yards and two touchdowns.
Following his successful high
school career, Chung knew from an
early age that playing in the green
and yellow was what he wanted.
“I’ve always liked Oregon, even the
jerseys when I was a little kid,” Chung
said. “It’s an all-around good school.”
Chung, who arrived at Oregon af
ter celebrating his 17th birthday,
redshirted his first season and gar
nered scout team defensive player
of-the-week accolades for his prepa
ration for the Oklahoma game. He
also received an award for special
teams preparations the week prior
to games against Arizona and UCLA
last season.
Judging by his current play, Chung
has reaped the rewards of having an
extra year to gain experience.
“Just learning the defense, hang
ing out with these starters, so I can
get a feel of how the games are sup
posed to go and how practice is sup
posed to go,” Chung said of the
benefits. “Just getting used to the
whole football thing.”
His progress was obvious tor Ore
gon’s coaching staff as well.
“He’s making more plays, getting
more comfortable and cognizant of
the defense,” Bellotti said. “He’s be
come a more consistent tackier. He’s
a ferocious, courageous tackier, and
he probably has the athleticism to
play corner(back). So he’s a perfect
find in terms of that rover position. ”
Along with his instincts, Chung
also possesses the natural tools for
the position. He topped all of last
year’s newcomers in the secondary
with a 297-pound bench press and
clocked in as the team’s second fast
ed player with a 4.56 second 40
yard dash.
His physical abilities have not only
been displayed on the defensive end
but on special teams as well. Chung
returned two kicks against Fresno
State for a 17-yard average and re
mains a key to the special team’s vast
improvement this season.
“He has an unrivaled enthusiasm,
which you love to see as a football
coach, and it shows up on special
teams as well as defense,” Bellotti
said. “You like to see players who en
joy the game. We were going to let
him off the special teams later in the
game (against Washington), and he
said ‘no way,’ and that’s something
CHUNG, page 5B
IN BRIEF
Patriot linebacker returns
after minor stroke
New England linebacker Tedy Br
uschi practiced with the Patriots eight
months after he had a minor stroke.
Head coach Bill Belichick will de
cide when to use him in a game, but
Bruschi said he has no doubt it will
be this season. The Patriots have a
bye this weekend and their next game
is at home against Buffalo on Oct. 30.
Seattle Seahawks safety Ken
Hamlin, severely beaten outside a
Seattle nightclub, was moved out of
intensive care and into a private
room, the player’s representative
told The Herald Everett.
The representative, Joel Ander
son of Capital Sports and Enter
tainment, wrote in an e-mail that
the player had been moved, but he
didn’t know whether doctors had
upgraded the safety’s condition
from serious but stable, the de
scription provided since Hamlin
suffered a fractured skull and a
blood clot near the left side of his
brain in the assault early
Monday morning.
Tampa Bay quarterback Brian
Griese will miss the rest of the sea
son after tearing ligaments in his
left knee.
Griese was injured during the
second quarter of Sunday’s 27-13
victory over Miami, and just before
'Riesday’s NFL trade deadline the
Bucs acquired Tim Rattay as a
backup for Chris Simms and
Luke McCown.
— The Associated Press
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