As impressive as the feat may be, it's not unusual to see an athlete compete in two sports in Eugene.
Bryce Boettcher became a professional draft pick in baseball and football. Dakorien Moore is putting on his spikes for the track and field team this spring. Going back even further, Devon Allen starred at wide receiver on the Oregon Ducks' first College Football Playoff team and later became an Olympian on the track.
It's possible to do both, but the Ducks are now facing some difficult decisions and conversations with freshman tight end Kendre Harrison . The 6-foot-7 target from Reidsville, North Carolina, signed with the Ducks as a four-star recruit in both football and basketball. While he has been competing for a backup role on Oregon's offense in his first season, the potential for playing time as a freshman on the hardwood has opened up, with Dana Altman overseeing a bevy of changes to his roster.
For now, Dan Lanning wants Harrison to keep his focus where his feet are, on the football field.
"It's always been the plan when he got here to focus really on football first, and then we'll see what opportunities present themselves as that comes along," Lanning said after Saturday's spring game. "We saw a guy today get drafted who played baseball here, and now he's going to go play football for the Colts in Bryce. We have Dakorien right now doing two sports as well ... It's certainly something we can do."
Harrison didn't make any catches in the spring game, but he is in the thick of a three-way race for the spot on the depth chart behind Jamari Johnson , battling Penn State transfer Andrew Olesh and Clemson transfer Markus Dixon.
Harrison came to Oregon with big expectations after making 57 catches for 928 yards and 20 touchdowns during his senior season, winning the Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina. As tempting as it may be to see the big freshman throw down some dunks in Matthew Night Arena this fall, it sounds like he may be taking a step back to start his college career.
The path to playing both sports when the seasons overlap is a new challenge for the Ducks and Harrison to tackle. For the young tight end, he could look to his fellow pass-catcher, Moore, getting back on the track after spending his first season in Eugene entirely focused on football.
"I've been doing it my whole life, so I have a ton of love for it," Moore said about his track and field experience. "Being that I'm good at it, I was supposed to do it when I first got here. But after the football workouts, I said that wasn't happening. I took the year to focus on football, and now I feel like I'm ready."
While the idea of Harrison following a similar path and skipping basketball this season hasn't been confirmed, it could be a challenge for the freshman to ramp up in basketball practice if he has an important role on the football team on Saturdays.
"We just have to figure out what that's going to look like moving forward," Lanning said. "Right now, it's probably about putting football to bed this spring and seeing what growth he still has to have from that standpoint."
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon freshman TE Kendre Harrison focused on football over basketball
