Brown, Allen Complete Comebacks With Touchdowns
09/11/16 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
Pharaoh Brown and Devon Allen reached the end zone Saturday against Virginia, milestones in their returns to the football field.
EUGENE, Ore. – For a playmaker, there's nothing like hitting paydirt.
A week ago in Oregon's opener, Pharaoh Brown and Devon Allen made remarkable returns to the field, Brown following a devastating knee injury and Allen after running in the Summer Olympics just weeks earlier. But it wasn't until Saturday night against Virginia that they felt all the way back as contributors for the Ducks.
Both Brown and Allen caught touchdown passes Saturday in Oregon's 44-26 victory over the Cavaliers. Brown led the Ducks with five receptions, for 55 yards, and Allen led the team with 141 receiving yards.
Brown's touchdown was his first since November 2014 at Utah – the same night he suffered an injury that nearly cost him his leg.
"It's been a long journey," Brown said. "So to be able to get back in the end zone, it was like I'm back now, for real."
Allen experienced a similar sensation. He too suffered a knee injury late in the 2014 season, though Allen was able to return and catch nine passes in 2015. That was before winning NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles in the hurdles this past spring, then representing the U.S. at the Rio Olympics in the 110-meter hurdles.
Allen joined the UO football team less than two weeks before the 2016 opener against UC Davis. He averaged 35.3 yards on his four receptions Saturday, helping the Ducks convert a third-and-36 in the second quarter with a 55-yard reception, then scoring on a 77-yard bomb from Dakota Prukop in the third quarter.
"Timing is everything, especially with a new quarterback that I haven't really worked with," Allen said. "We're really trying to get some rhythm, get a connection. I think we're starting to click a little bit."
Allen finished off his touchdown play with a flourish. Running lengthwise across the end zone after scoring, he mimicked jumping over two hurdles in a nod to his other sport.
"I thought it would be a good sendoff," Allen said, noting that NFL receiver Odell Beckham had previously celebrated a touchdown by hurdling. "I'm the hurdler, so I thought it would be funny."
Allen entered the starting lineup Saturday, in place of Dwayne Stanford, who also had a touchdown reception. In Oregon's crowded receiving corps, Allen's ability to earn himself reps less than a month after running in the Olympics in nothing short of remarkable.
"You talk about shape, and obviously I was in great track shape, but football's a little different," Allen said. "It's a lot more start-stop, start-stop. My legs are getting used to it, but I'm starting to feel good."
Brown was leaned upon heavily Saturday, with Johnny Mundt not in uniform and Evan Baylis having yet to take the field through two games. With no experienced depth behind him, Brown stepped up.
"I was happy I was able to get through all those reps," he said. "Second game back, I'm already back to playing 75 snaps. I wasn't in this kind of shape even two weeks ago, so it was a good test for me."
That Brown found the end zone meant he passed the test with flying colors.
"It was great to see him score," said Stanford, one of Brown's closest friends on the team. "Last week it was great to see him out there, but to get in the end zone, that's the next step. It was really good to see him finally get in there."
