Eric Dungy’s former teammate Colt Lyerla was arrested Wednesday night. Dungy, a junior wide receiver for the Ducks, talked about his reaction to the news and Lyerla’s future after Thursday’s practice. Dungy also shared his thoughts on Oregon’s upcoming game against UCLA, ESPN College GameDay and ice baths.
Reaction when he saw the news about Lyerla:
“It was very sad, disappointing,” Dungy said. “Not even from a football level, you would just hate to see that happen to any one of your friends getting into that serious of a situation. So, obviously difficult and unfortunate. I just pray that things work out for him. Maybe this will be some sort of wake-up call for him or something like that where he can see what’s happening.”
First thought that popped into his head when he saw the Lyerla news:
“I was just like, ‘Damn, that’s not good,’” Dungy said. “I was with some friends and one of my friends pulled up Twitter on her phone. I didn’t really get a whole lot of time to think about it. She just showed me real quick, but I was like, ‘Damn, that’s not a good look. That’s tough.’”
Concerns about Lyerla’s future:
“I’m pretty concerned,” Dungy said. “That sounds like a pretty serious situation. That’s not just a little minor thing. Like I said, hopefully that can become a wake-up call. Sometimes you’ve got to hit the bottom before you can make your way going back up to the top.”
If UCLA is Oregon’s toughest matchup so far:
“I’m not sure about all that,” Dungy said, “but it’s just the next game, so that’s what we’re looking forward to. They’re obviously a very good team and it will be a fun game with GameDay and I think it will be nationally televised. So, it will be pretty fun. Autzen should be pretty loud with the students and the fans, so it should be a good atmosphere.”
Thoughts on College GameDay:
“I usually don’t even wake up in time to watch it,” Dungy said. “If I do, I might just get to see him (Lee Corso) put on the mascot head at the very end. That’s the funnest part. Other than that, I don’t really watch it too much. I know all the fans and the students wake up at like five in the morning or whatever it is and get out there, so it’s fun for them.”
On the ice baths the Ducks take after practice
“It’s tough,” Dungy said. “You’ve kind of got to take a few minutes to get mentally ready. Bralon (Addison), who was walking with me, he just got out. He probably had to take 10 minutes just to get his mind right for the ice. You have to just embrace it. You have to lie to yourself and tell yourself it feels good, but it’s tough. Some people just dive all the way in, headfirst. Personally, I don’t do that.”