Jeremiah McClellan’s return gave Oregon a familiar face back in the lineup, but his road back started with a painful moment in warmups before the Ducks’ Week 3 game against Portland State.
On Tuesday, in his first media appearance since the injury, the Oregon receiver walked through exactly how it happened. He said he was going through a normal release when he pushed off too hard and felt the pop. Because he had broken the same foot in high school, he knew immediately what had happened.
“So basically, what happened was I was just warming up, and I just basically did a normal just release,” McClellan said on Tuesday in his first media appearance since the injury. “And as I released, I pushed off too hard, and I just kind of felt the pop. And I already broke my foot in high school before, so I knew the feeling of it and like, kind of what it was.”
He tried to keep going anyway, even putting a metal plate in his shoe in an effort to tough it out. That didn’t last long. An X-ray confirmed the break.
“And I tried to put a metal plate in my shoe and tried to go back out there and tough it out and play, but I couldn't do it,” he added. “So, I got an X-ray. It was broken”
The injury cost him six games, but it did not end his season. McClellan eventually returned on the road against No. 12 Ohio State, and he said the time away from the field was spent trying to help however he could from the sideline.
“And I just knew I just had to be the biggest cheerleader for my teammates, coach up the youngest, the younger guys like Jalen Lott, Messiah Hampton, coach up them guys, give them as many tips, help them see what I can see on the sideline and on the iPads and things like that,” he said about his time on the sidelines.
That role was a different kind of work, but he made clear how much it meant to get back into the action.
“But just getting back out there with my guys, it feels amazing, man,” McClellan continued. “Just to get back out there on the field and actually be back out there with them.”
McClellan also described how difficult it was to watch Oregon go through its ups and downs while he was sidelined. His answer kept coming back to the same theme: helping younger players see the game from the sideline and doing what he could to keep them moving in the right direction.
“I would say it was kind of tough, but just I would say the biggest thing for me was just kind of seeing like what I see and trying to coach up the younger guys like Jalen Lott, tell them like, ‘Hey, you can do this a little better, or hey, you can run this like this, or the DBs playing you like this. This release will work,’ things like that. So just trying to help as much as I can on the sideline.”
He also talked about finally sharing the field with quarterback Dylan Raiola. McClellan said the two had known each other since high school, tracing that connection back to a camp in Atlanta.
“So, me and Dylan, we kind of had a connection going all the way back to high school. We had, it was a camp in Atlanta, so we had a connection all the way since high school.
So, just actually being out there on the field with Dylan is amazing. He's a great quarterback, gutsy quarterback.
He's a ball player, so just being out there with him is amazing.”
As for Oregon’s offense, McClellan said the message inside the program has been about discipline and doing each job the right way rather than trying to do too much.
“I would just say everybody's doing their job. That's the biggest thing.
Everybody's just honing in on doing their job, not being superheroes like Coach Lanning talked about, and everybody just being an assassin and doing their 1/11. And how can I do my job the best and trusting our brothers?
So, I'll say that.”
He said he has not been paying attention to the rankings, choosing instead to focus on the next game and the chance to go 1-0.
“Me personally, I haven't really been looking at the rankings. I've just been focusing on just how we can go out here and win, go 1-0 this week, and just win this week. So, I've just been focusing on that.”
McClellan also addressed injuries to teammates, including Teitum, calling him a major leader and saying the team had been praying for him.
“Crazy. Teitum's a huge leader on this team, and you wouldn't expect a guy like that to go down. But we've all been praying for him and things like that.”
He praised Dakorien for stepping in and doing his job when called upon.
“He's a dog. He came in there and stepped up when his number was called.
Came in there, did his job in the run game, did his job in the pass game. Head tapped a couple people.
He's a dog, so he's gonna be gonna be really good for us.”
And McClellan said what the rest of the team saw from Dakorien in games was nothing new.
“With (Dakorien), he do that. He do that all the time in practice and things like that.
So, whenever I just see him doing it in the game, it's just like, not the world gets to see it. So, it's just like it's a great feeling just to see him have his shine in his moment and things like that, and he doesn't practice all the time, so it's like it's normal to us.”
In Other News...
Oregon Left Its Biggest Win With Serious Questions Before Michigan
Oregon walked out of its win over Ohio State with the kind of result that can reshape a season, but the film also left plenty for Dan Lannings staff to sort through before Michigan arrives. The Ducks took the headline victory, yet they also had to absorb a hit to edge rusher Teitum Tuioti, whose status is still unclear, while a few other issues surfaced in a game that was supposed to answer some questions and instead created new ones.
Koi Perichs rough night became part of the conversation, and the rushing game never fully found its footing outside of one touchdown run, averaging under two yards per carry. For a team trying to build on a signature win, those are not small concerns, especially with a physical Michigan matchup next on the schedule and Oregon knowing it cannot lean only on the emotion of beating Ohio State to carry it forward. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Just Landed Another Nike Drop Ducks Fans Will Want
The Ducks of a Feather brand is teaming up with Nike SB Dunk for another Oregon-centric release, this time with two limited-edition colorways built around the programs culture and history. Shout! and The Zoo are set to hit Flight Club locations and the GOAT app in late November and early December, giving Ducks fans another chance to buy into the schools style as much as its sports identity.
There is also a bigger purpose behind the drop, since proceeds from the sneaker sales will go to University of Oregon student-athletes. For a fan base long accustomed to seeing Oregon and Nike overlap in eye-catching ways, this one fits neatly into that tradition while adding a direct connection back to the athletes who wear the schools colors. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lannings Ohio State Statement Just Changed Oregons Week
Oregons football surge has put the Ducks back in the AP Top 25 at No. 18, and the ripple effect from that win over Ohio State is still being felt around the program. Dan Lannings strategic calls in that game helped shape a result that carried real weight nationally, giving Oregon a fresh burst of momentum as the season moves into a stretch where every week seems to carry more meaning.
The good news for the Ducks has not been limited to the football field, either. Both the mens and womens basketball teams opened 2-0, Kelly Graves added a major recruiting win with the commitment of 5-star prospect DeAndra Minor, and the only real setback has come with Tyrone Riley IVs hand injury, which is expected to be re-evaluated in four weeks. For a program trying to keep its footing across multiple sports, the timing of all that activity has made this a particularly busy week in Eugene. [Read more 🡒]