Tez Johnson: “I Was an Oregon Duck Ever Since I Came Out of the Womb”

[jrw]

Probably behind a pay wall at the WaPo, so I'll copy and paste.

 

LOS ANGELES — A media day before a major college football game can double as a bulldozer shoveling clichés that threaten to demolish one’s soul even while those clichés remain forgivable for competitive purposes. It involves drifting around a hotel ballroom from player to player at dais to dais or at round table to round table, listening. It’s an odd turn of anthropology, all told. Still, it’s not quite atypical to wander across a player so listenable that you can’t seem to drift anywhere else for the rest of the hour-long session, maybe someone loaded with charisma and gratitude that flow from eyes uncommonly alive.

 

This is crazy,” 22-year-old Alabamian Tez Johnson said Monday morning. “The Rose Bowl.”

If you count growing up far from Oregon both geographically and culturally, then becoming an Oregon fan as a small child because of all the televised pizzazz, then residing with Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s family for the last two years of high school in Alabama on bunk beds with Nix’s younger brother Caleb, who now plays at Clemson, then playing three years at Troy in Alabama, then following Nix to Eugene in 2023 once Nix left Auburn for Oregon, then becoming the most valuable player in the Big Ten championship game with 11 catches for 181 whopping yards, then getting to this gaudy Rose Bowl set for Wednesday against Ohio State and having Nix tell him over the phone, “I’m so jealous,” then yes, that’s conceivably crazy.

 

If you add harsher details about Johnson’s father’s suicide during his infancy and mother Shamika Johnson’s fret for his well-being during his teen years in Birmingham, then Johnson going over to the home of Pinson Valley High Coach Patrick Nix for what all the Nixes and Johnsons figured would be a few nights, then becoming such a part of the family that he readily refers to Bo and Caleb as brothers, and Shamika Johnson telling Bill Oram of the Oregonian in a definitive story of 2023, “I think what I did for my child [by allowing him to go], is I saved his life,” and also snaring a 2018 prep state title with 10 receptions for 71 yards from brother Bo in a 26-17 win over Saraland, and then Bo’s mother, Krista Nix, telling Oram about the Oregon part, “It’s almost not true, it’s so storybook,” then, sure, here’s a path to a Rose Bowl that at least comes close to gobsmacking.

 

Here’s a player who never figured to be at Oregon yet who’s an apt spokesman for Oregon itself. “I was an Oregon Duck ever since I came out of the womb,” he said. “I’m one of those guys from Alabama, but I love Oregon, from one coach to the next, one corner to the next. That’s who I am. I’ve turned thousands of people to Oregon fans, from where I’m from. So my journey, I love. I don’t change it for the world. I live and learn, and every day I know that when I walk outside and I wear an ‘O’ on my chest, I’m representing not just Oregon but an entire organization. When I’m carrying that football, I’ve got the program in my hands, and I want to make it look the best that it’s ever been. So not just for the fan base, but [alumnus and benefactor and Nike founder] Phil Knight, Coach [Dan] Lanning, for people that pour so much into this organization, I don’t take that for granted, and I’m part of it. I’m just happy to be here, and I’m blessed. I’ll always come back to Oregon games, no matter what. You’ll always see me there, like, for real.”

 

He marvels right on down to the detail of the jerseys, because the jerseys do matter famously at Oregon, where players each week select the game jerseys, those same jerseys that fueled his fandom from afar.

 

“I never thought I was going to be picking a jersey for a Rose Bowl, like this, ever,” he said. “But like I said, I won’t take it for granted. It’s something I dream of, wearing the jerseys, but having to pick the jersey? It’s unbelievable. I can’t ask for anything more. Oregon is truly, like, what they’ve done is everything. Like, I can’t really explain everything. The love they show me, the fan base, they show me, it’s, I can’t ask for anything more. Like, I’m going to miss it, and it’s going to be something I never, ever experience again — from the uniform, the cleats, the everything. I don’t think any NFL team got more stuff than us. And honestly, I’ve never been so confused picking a jersey ever in my life … because you got so many combinations, like ‘Warp Speed,’ ‘Throwback,’ ‘Egg Shells,’ ‘Nightmare.’ Goodness, you don’t know what to choose! And then you come out, ‘Let’s wear this, but we’re going to hit ’em with the Kobe cleats, so . . .’”

 

He’s about to play the Rose Bowl, maybe the foremost last bastion of tradition in a sport gone wild, in a Rose Bowl stadium about to half-fill with a once-distant group over whom he gushes: Oregon fans.

 

“I knew when I committed to Oregon, I wanted to be the best that ever came to Oregon, receiver-wise,” Johnson said. “I wanted to be one of those guys, a receiver that everyone still talks about, what, 30, 40, 50 years from now. I wanted to be one of those guys. I wanted to be one of those, like, ‘Have you ever seen Tez Johnson play?’ Like, when I have grandkids, like that, ‘Granddad, have you ever played football?’ And just show them highlights. I want to be one of those. I’m very grateful for the opportunity I’ve got. I love the fans. The fans at Autzen [Stadium] are crazy. I can’t wait to see them in the Rose Bowl. I know they’re going to show out. It’s part of it. Oregon is a fan base of everyone. They love you, no matter who is the quarterback, no matter who is the receiver, I’ve never seen so many loving people in a stadium.

 

You don’t come across a stadium like that, ever. Normally if you’re doing bad in one stadium they’re going to bash you until you can’t get enough. Oregon is not like that. Oregon is one of those that, you have a bad game, the next game they’re going to be cheering you on like you just committed there. And I love them for that.”

Soon, the session time was up.

 

Sometimes, that’s a shame.

[30Duck]

Dillon Gabriel is the MVP. He's the one player the Ducks absolutely need to play every game. But, we saw what the offense was like without Tez, and then we see, in his first real appearance after his injury, him win the Offensive MVP in the B1G CCG against Penn State.

 

As wonderful as the story about Tez and Bo is, it would be great if the announcers spent more time talking about what a great game Tez is playing. He is definitely "Once a Duck always a Duck" the comments in the article were almost as fun to read as it is to watch him play. 

 

 

[Desert Duck]

On 1/1/2025 at 12:58 PM, jrw said:

Probably behind a pay wall at the WaPo, so I'll copy and paste.

 

LOS ANGELES — A media day before a major college football game can double as a bulldozer shoveling clichés that threaten to demolish one’s soul even while those clichés remain forgivable for competitive purposes. It involves drifting around a hotel ballroom from player to player at dais to dais or at round table to round table, listening. It’s an odd turn of anthropology, all told. Still, it’s not quite atypical to wander across a player so listenable that you can’t seem to drift anywhere else for the rest of the hour-long session, maybe someone loaded with charisma and gratitude that flow from eyes uncommonly alive.

 

This is crazy,” 22-year-old Alabamian Tez Johnson said Monday morning. “The Rose Bowl.”

If you count growing up far from Oregon both geographically and culturally, then becoming an Oregon fan as a small child because of all the televised pizzazz, then residing with Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s family for the last two years of high school in Alabama on bunk beds with Nix’s younger brother Caleb, who now plays at Clemson, then playing three years at Troy in Alabama, then following Nix to Eugene in 2023 once Nix left Auburn for Oregon, then becoming the most valuable player in the Big Ten championship game with 11 catches for 181 whopping yards, then getting to this gaudy Rose Bowl set for Wednesday against Ohio State and having Nix tell him over the phone, “I’m so jealous,” then yes, that’s conceivably crazy.

 

If you add harsher details about Johnson’s father’s suicide during his infancy and mother Shamika Johnson’s fret for his well-being during his teen years in Birmingham, then Johnson going over to the home of Pinson Valley High Coach Patrick Nix for what all the Nixes and Johnsons figured would be a few nights, then becoming such a part of the family that he readily refers to Bo and Caleb as brothers, and Shamika Johnson telling Bill Oram of the Oregonian in a definitive story of 2023, “I think what I did for my child [by allowing him to go], is I saved his life,” and also snaring a 2018 prep state title with 10 receptions for 71 yards from brother Bo in a 26-17 win over Saraland, and then Bo’s mother, Krista Nix, telling Oram about the Oregon part, “It’s almost not true, it’s so storybook,” then, sure, here’s a path to a Rose Bowl that at least comes close to gobsmacking.

 

Here’s a player who never figured to be at Oregon yet who’s an apt spokesman for Oregon itself. “I was an Oregon Duck ever since I came out of the womb,” he said. “I’m one of those guys from Alabama, but I love Oregon, from one coach to the next, one corner to the next. That’s who I am. I’ve turned thousands of people to Oregon fans, from where I’m from. So my journey, I love. I don’t change it for the world. I live and learn, and every day I know that when I walk outside and I wear an ‘O’ on my chest, I’m representing not just Oregon but an entire organization. When I’m carrying that football, I’ve got the program in my hands, and I want to make it look the best that it’s ever been. So not just for the fan base, but [alumnus and benefactor and Nike founder] Phil Knight, Coach [Dan] Lanning, for people that pour so much into this organization, I don’t take that for granted, and I’m part of it. I’m just happy to be here, and I’m blessed. I’ll always come back to Oregon games, no matter what. You’ll always see me there, like, for real.”

 

He marvels right on down to the detail of the jerseys, because the jerseys do matter famously at Oregon, where players each week select the game jerseys, those same jerseys that fueled his fandom from afar.

 

“I never thought I was going to be picking a jersey for a Rose Bowl, like this, ever,” he said. “But like I said, I won’t take it for granted. It’s something I dream of, wearing the jerseys, but having to pick the jersey? It’s unbelievable. I can’t ask for anything more. Oregon is truly, like, what they’ve done is everything. Like, I can’t really explain everything. The love they show me, the fan base, they show me, it’s, I can’t ask for anything more. Like, I’m going to miss it, and it’s going to be something I never, ever experience again — from the uniform, the cleats, the everything. I don’t think any NFL team got more stuff than us. And honestly, I’ve never been so confused picking a jersey ever in my life … because you got so many combinations, like ‘Warp Speed,’ ‘Throwback,’ ‘Egg Shells,’ ‘Nightmare.’ Goodness, you don’t know what to choose! And then you come out, ‘Let’s wear this, but we’re going to hit ’em with the Kobe cleats, so . . .’”

 

He’s about to play the Rose Bowl, maybe the foremost last bastion of tradition in a sport gone wild, in a Rose Bowl stadium about to half-fill with a once-distant group over whom he gushes: Oregon fans.

 

“I knew when I committed to Oregon, I wanted to be the best that ever came to Oregon, receiver-wise,” Johnson said. “I wanted to be one of those guys, a receiver that everyone still talks about, what, 30, 40, 50 years from now. I wanted to be one of those guys. I wanted to be one of those, like, ‘Have you ever seen Tez Johnson play?’ Like, when I have grandkids, like that, ‘Granddad, have you ever played football?’ And just show them highlights. I want to be one of those. I’m very grateful for the opportunity I’ve got. I love the fans. The fans at Autzen [Stadium] are crazy. I can’t wait to see them in the Rose Bowl. I know they’re going to show out. It’s part of it. Oregon is a fan base of everyone. They love you, no matter who is the quarterback, no matter who is the receiver, I’ve never seen so many loving people in a stadium.

 

You don’t come across a stadium like that, ever. Normally if you’re doing bad in one stadium they’re going to bash you until you can’t get enough. Oregon is not like that. Oregon is one of those that, you have a bad game, the next game they’re going to be cheering you on like you just committed there. And I love them for that.”

Soon, the session time was up.

 

Sometimes, that’s a shame.

Great article. Thanks for sharing. 

[woundedknees]

Never regret the chance to see Tez in action.

 

Thanks, Tez!

 

You will be missed!

Edited January 2 by woundedknees