Player Spotlight: Josh Huff

As a former receiver myself, I always get excited when Oregon has a good one.  Now grant it, only in my dreams could I be as good as the receivers at the college level, but still, us receivers must stick together.  I'm always on the lookout.


In a program with a long line of excellent receivers:  Ahmad Rashad (then Bobby Moore), Cristin McLemore, Damon Griffin, Keenan Howry, Sammie Parker, Demetrius Williams - just to name a few - Josh Huff could potentially be the next one added to that list.


The coaching staff is also excited about his future, and for good reason.  Huff is the very definition of a all-purpose/dual threat athlete. 


Coming out of high school, the 5'11" - 207 pound speedster played QB, receiver, RB, and corner at Nimitz high school in Houston Texas.  In addition, he also ran track.  He put up ridiculous numbers and garnered attention from several top programs.  He was a four star recruit and ranked the number seven all-purpose RB in the nation.  Noted for his speed and the thickness to bounce of tacklers, he's also a versatile weapon, given his ability to play multiple positions (which fits in well in Chip Kelly's offense).


He enjoyed an auspicious debut in Eugene in 2010.  He played in all 13 games, was second on the team with 1,086 all-purpose yards, and tied for fifth in scoring with five total touchdowns.  He also returned kicks, ranking sixth in the Pac 10 with 24.7 yards per return.


In his sophomore season in 2011, he started 10 out of 12 games and was third on the team in receptions, and fourth in yards, despite playing through injuries that caused him to miss two games.  However, he had many memorable moments in 2011.  Among those included his role in the win over rival Washington (8th in a row dog fans), with 4 receptions for 60 yards and 38 yards on 2 kick returns - again displaying his multi-threat  capabilities - and led the team in receiving yards in a HUGE win at top 5 Stanford, including a career-best 59 yard touchdown catch.

Josh Huff symbolizes the workman like mentality of the Oregon offense.  Not ONE player is bigger than the other.  Each has their own role.  He could've gone elsewhere coming out of high school, putting up big numbers as a number one receiver.  But he chose to take his talents to Eugene (a reference to the self anointed one in South Beach), even though it might have meant taking a lesser role.  Some games he might not get as many catches as he would like.  He might only get two, or three, and asked to do more blocking.  But he does it, and he does it well.  The talent and potential is there for him to be a special player.  That's why I hope he does have his best year yet in 2012, and I think he can - no matter the role.