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LOS ANGELES — Tez Johnson can’t help but gush. Being the leading wide receiver for the unanimous No. 1 team in the country isn’t necessarily the reason why, it’s simply that this charming human spigot does not turn off.
The words come tumbling out of Johnson like rain drops. The assertions drop like those audio greeting cards.
You’re not offended, you’re beguiled.
“We think we are the keystone species,” Johnson said ahead of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. “We’re the top of the food chain.”
If there is a face of this Oregon team in this monumental season — and there are several candidates — it is this one-time 128-pound high school receiver.
Not Phil Knight.
Not Dillon Gabriel.
Not even Dan Lanning.
They are posers, aliens from another college football planet. Gabriel has spent six years at three schools. Lanning is a product of western Missouri who made his bones in the SEC.
Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, Johnson recalls seeing the Ducks on TV at the age of, maybe, 5. Like scores of fans, recruits and players, he was dazzled by the uniforms.
Most 5-year-olds grow out of childhood obsessions. Johnson took a long and winding road to feed his. In preparation for the Rose Bowl, he can’t wait to tell the world about it.
“Every day when I walk outside and wear an ‘O’ on my chest, I’m representing not just Oregon but an entire organization,” Johnson said. “When I carry that football, I’ve got the program in my hands.”
Sounds hokey, but it’s not. In this age when everything, every day distracts from the game and steals from its innocence, Johnson has retained a part of his.
In a good way. In an inspiring way. If not, the 22-year-old senior wouldn’t be on a podium here in…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/we-are-the-keystone-species-oregons-tez-johnson-exudes-swagger-ahead-of-rose-bowl-rematch-vs-ohio-state/
Author : Dennis Dodd
Publish date : 2024-12-31 19:10:00
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