It’s Monday morning and a swarm of reporters, cameras and recorders, placed at a distance, are camped at the Hatfield Dowlin Complex. Though what’s demanding the reporters’ attention at the moment is not Oregon’s preseason Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota or head coach Mark Helfrich. It’s redshirt freshman Devon Allen, whom as of Saturday’s spring game possesses a track record as a member of Oregon football that remains nonexistent.
Allen is not yielding questions about his football pedigree, though. Just days prior to the team’s first practice of the week on April 21, the four-star wide receiver recruit headlined the Oregon Relays by winning the 100 meters, 110- and 400-meter hurdles.
Transitioning from the track to the gridiron was a routine for Allen in the month of April. He admits that it became physically taxing, but never did he expect the type of attention he would garner or the media frenzy he would bring.
“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Allen said, referring to interview requests he constantly receives. “But you know, there’s only a few dual sport-athletes and some people just want to see what’s going on in my head. It’s kind of cool.”
Allen became such a staple point for media coverage throughout the month that his track coaches began to tease him by telling him that he needed to stop doing interviews. For the well-spoken Phoenix, Ariz. native, answering questions was put into his schedule as smoothly as his strenuous work week. Now, Allen enters Saturday’s spring game with the chance to prove his worth at a receiver position that lacks experience outside of Keanon Lowe.
“He’s always been that guy, you know, in track and field there might be a hurdle in the way but there’s not too much else to think about,” Helfrich said. “In football there’s a few more moving parts, so for him to cut it loose and play at his track speed is starting to happen more and more and as a result of that he’s making more and more plays.”
Rated as the 16th best wideout in the class of 2013, Allen maintains that football is his number one focus and highlighted that message by forgoing his typical mesh between football and track by preparing solely for his first live action in pads in front of the public this week.
“It’s a different passion and just being on the field with your teammates is a kind of a different feeling,” Allen said. “I enjoy it more.”
It’s not just Allen who was ditching cleats for spikes every other day. Joined by redshirt senior cornerback Dior Mathis, who finished third in the 100 meters and helped the 4X100 relay to a win at the Oregon Relays, the two have made the act of trading sports daily look effortless.
Now a senior with his sights set on taking Terrance Mitchell’s starting corner position left open, Mathis’ mindset is similar to Allen’s; however, he knew coming to Eugene in 2010 that a collegiate track and field career was available.
“That’s the one thing that I talked to the coaches about in the recruiting process and that’s what they told me I could do, so I’m glad that they gave me the opportunity,” Mathis said.
An obvious plus in the recruiting process for the Ducks, Helfrich echoed Mathis’ comment.
“When you talk to other prospective student-athletes, that is a real opportunity here,” Helfrich continued. “Guys have done it in baseball, basketball, track. If they can handle the academics, they can do anything.”
It’s a bittersweet time for Mathis, who will participate in his last spring game and final track and field season. The 5-foot-9 175-pound sprinter/defensive back is now just hoping to become a focal part of the defense in the fall and compete in the NCAA Track and Field Championships one last time.
For Allen, the road isn’t nearing its finish, rather just finding its pace. Since he was a kid he dreamed of competing in the Olympics and being drafted to the NFL.
The unexpected recipient of the limelight now will display what brought him to Oregon to begin with: to show off his speed, quickness off the line and great hands. Then, days later, he will find his way back onto the track and begin his preparation for the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships.