Dan Weaver and Joey Forster - Unsung Heros
It’s no coincidence that Oregon has led the Pac-10 in fewest sacks allowed for three consecutive years, and has finished second in the conference in rushing in 2001 and 2002, respectively, behind a duo of back-to-back 1,000-yard rushers.
These feats have surfaced under the leadership of two of the best offensive linemen to wear the green and yellow in recent memory ? seniors Dan Weaver and Joey Forster.
Weaver, a three-year starter, and Forster, a three-year starter himself before missing the 2003 season due to injury, have established themselves as two respected linemen on the West Coast. These Oregon natives have often both been honored for their play in the trenches of Pac-10 battle. Weaver was a second-team All Pac-10 selection a year ago, and is a two-time Rimington Trophy nominee, an award given to the nation’s top center, while Forster was a Sporting News first team freshman All-American in his first year of play, and has garnered honorable mention All-Pac-10 accolades the last two years.
In addition, in the Oregon family, Weaver has been recognized as the team’s top offensive lineman, receiving the Ed Moshofsky award in 2002, and Forster, who was awarded the Bob Officer Award for outstanding play despite physical adversity.
Weaver, a native of Redmond, is a humble, well-grounded individual who stresses the influence that his family has had on who he is today, as a football player, a student, and a person.
Weaver has two brothers ? Scott, 30, and Jed, 27 ? and the latter played at tight end for Oregon from 1996-1998 and is starting for the San Francisco 49ers in his fifth NFL season.
“My biggest influence and inspiration is my parents (Tom and Rhonda),” Weaver said. “My mom is always the caring and nurturing type, and my dad always pounded in the work ethic, how to be humble, and how to do a lot in your life, and have fun doing it. Jed has paved the way for everything I’ve done. The support and nurturing of my girlfriend has been amazing too.”
Growing up with two older brothers brewed a competitive atmosphere that contributed to Weaver’s athletic success. Although they never played on the same team, the three brothers were always striving to match or top the others in some way or another.
“There was enough age difference between us that there wasn’t direct competition,” Weaver said. “But there was a competition to always outdo what the older brothers had done.”
Nevertheless, it was ultimately Jed’s Oregon football career that influenced Dan’s arrival in Eugene. Dan and his family went to every one of Jed’s home games at Autzen Stadium, and Dan was quickly hooked.
“The atmosphere is intoxicating,” Dan said. “Once you watch a game here, it’s just mind-boggling ? the electricity that flows through the stadium. Ever since I watched a game here, I always wanted to play here.”
Previous to his arrival, Weaver was a stellar three-sport athlete at Redmond High School. He was an all-conference selection as a center and linebacker his senior season, and garnered first-team all-conference acclaim in baseball, leading the Panthers to two league championships. It was on the basketball court, however, that he developed the speed and agility that has carried over to his college football career, and contributed to his success as a decorated Pac-10 lineman, despite his smaller size.
“I think basketball helped me a lot with developing my speed,” Weaver said. “As a sophomore, I was slow as dirt. I couldn’t finish one ?Sweet 16’ in the allotted time. But, as a junior, I didn’t miss one. So, basketball really helped me out with my quickness.”
Outside of sports, in addition to relaxing at home in his massage chair with his girlfriend and dog, one of Weaver’s biggest interests is motorcycles. He has always been interested in the two-wheeled speed machine back to the days he watched his dad build them from scratch, and restore wrecked motorcycles. Not surprisingly, Weaver’s favorite show on TV is “American Chopper,” a reality series based on a father and son in Orange County, N.Y., who build motorcycles from scratch as a profession. Because of commitments to football, Weaver had been unable to pursue his interest as much as he’d like. But recently, this love was revitalized with the purchase of a motorcycle from his graduation money.
Graduation already? Weaver walked in the graduation ceremonies last spring, but is finishing up one more class this term. As an accounting major, he has compiled an impressive academic r?sum?. He is a two-time first-team Pac-10 all academic selection, as well as a 2002 first-team all-district choice.
“School is real important to me,” Weaver said. “It was the main reason I came to college. I was always told by my dad that football is only going to last for a while, but your job is going to last you forever. I’ve carried my work ethic on the football field into the academic field, and it’s seemed to work. You’re going to have a job a lot longer than you’re going to play football.”
Following his Oregon career, Weaver has lofty aspirations. His academic persistence has resulted in opportunities to pursue an accounting career, but first, he hopes to extend his football career for as long as possible.
“I’m going to put my best food forward for football in the future, and I think there is an opportunity there,” he said. “That will be my first goal coming out of college, to make it in the NFL. And if that doesn’t work, I plan on getting my CPA license, and becoming a public certified accountant.”
In looking back on his storied years at Oregon, Weaver feels extremely fortunate for the experiences and memories he’s been a part of, and is proud of the accomplishments he has achieved.
“This is hands down the greatest accomplishment in my life,” Weaver said. “I always hoped for success, but I never expected to have that much success that early in my career. To have the potential to be first-team all league this year is really just shocking. I don’t think it will all set in until I’m done playing football, and I can realize truly what I did.”
Weaver has been a part of one of the most successful eras in Oregon football history. This era includes arguably the best season in school history in 2001, culminated by a 38-16 Fiesta Bowl victory over Colorado, and a season-ending national ranking of No. 2. Not surprisingly, Weaver’s involvement in this monumental feat is his most memorable experience in his time with the Ducks.
“One thing I’ll always remember is winning the Fiesta Bowl, and taking every snap,” Weaver said. “Nobody gave us a chance to do it. Everyone picked us to get rolled by Colorado. Coming in and dominating them on the offensive line and in all aspects will be something I’ll always remember.”
This humble and selfless individual epitomizes the character that is desired of an offensive lineman, a position that rarely receives the recognition deserved. Weaver emphasizes the goals and drive behind being an offensive lineman.
“Our enjoyment of football comes from team success,” Weaver said. “A lot of guys have a lot of individual success and recognition. But, that’s not how lineman work, we’re just blue-collar workers, and when the team does well, we’re happy.”
This understanding of his role, and the experience has made him Weaver a leader among the lineman corps. The senior strives to have the same impact that a former Duck lineman had on him.
“I had a great leader in Ryan Schmid (1998-01),” Weaver said. “And I do the best I can to try to give that same type of leadership and help to the younger players whenever they need it. I try to lead by example to show how you’re supposed to practice and how you’re supposed to act around here.”
One of the most unique aspects of Weaver is an interesting artistic aspiration. Despite his small-town USA origins and his humble character, he shares an eccentric side. With already four tattoos, the senior strives for more.
“My plan is that by the time I turn 50, I want to have basically my whole life tattooed on my back, with all the major influences and accomplishments of my life shown.”
Weaver’s teammate of four years, Forster has only been playing organized football since his junior year in high school, but has quickly become one of the premier linemen in Oregon history. Forster, a Salem native, was quickly inserted into the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman. He capitalized on the opportunity, being honored twice as All-Pac-10. He has done this in spite of six knee surgeries, and many times where he has played injured, including the 2002 season, in which he started 13 contests with a torn ACL. Clearly, Forster has epitomized the character of excellence amidst adversity. While at Oregon, he has confronted many obstacles ? and while conquering them, has flourished as a football player and as a man.
“This has definitely been a milestone in my life,” Forster said. “I feel I have grown into a man here. My whole livelihood has changed, and I’ve become a better person because of it. I’ve really grown up, and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.”
Before venturing south to Eugene, Forster spent the entirety of his childhood in Salem, raised by his father, Greg, and his mother, Kathy Fabos. Joey also grew up with an older sister, Jacinda, 24, who currently teaching in Chile.
Forster competed in track and field as a shot putter and discus thrower before being persuaded to join the football program as a junior at South Salem High School.
“I was a big guy,” Forster said. “So some of the coaches were on me to go out for football. Some of my friends were on the team also, and they knew I had the potential to be a pretty good player, so they got me to give it a try.”
Forster didn’t just give it a try. He excelled. The self-prescribed perfectionist emerged as a first-team Valley League selection on both sides of the ball, and was selected as the team’s MVP in his only his second season on the gridiron. While at Oregon, Forster has continued to meet every challenge thrown his way, including being a student-athlete, which he stresses is very important to having the opportunity to play the game he loves.
“I think something people don’t understand is how much time football players put into academics.” Forster said. “Academics always come first, and without academics, there is no football. You have to prioritize so academics becomes most important, and you realize that football is something you get to do.”
In addition to being a student-athlete, Forster happily embraced another challenge three years ago: parenthood. In September 2000, Forster and his fianc?, Brooke Bassett, who plan on tying the knot this February, welcomed a baby girl, Isabel, into their lives. Becoming a father drastically changed Forster’s life in a positive way.
“It made me grow up real fast,” he said. “Priorities in your life change. My daughter became my number one priority. But, football and academics were still a big priority. And the challenge for me was to try to be excellent in all three of those aspects of my life, without any of them falling off. It made me a better person. It’s really opened my eyes up to the challenges in life, and how strong-willed you have to be to get through those.”
In the weeks leading up to the pregnancy, Bassett was in Portland with family, and Forster made the two-hour drive back and forth each day to be with her, and the soon-to-be-arriving baby. At the time, he was living with Weaver, and the teammate and close friend recalls his admiration of Forster’s commitment.
“To see first hand how he reacted to that situation was just phenomenal,” Weaver recalled. “I remember he drove up every night after practice, slept in the hospital on a chair, and drove back to Eugene for classes and practice the next day. And then he’d do it all over again. It was amazing.”
Again, Forster confronted the challenge with remarkable persistence.
“I didn’t want to look back and say I missed the pregnancy because I was in football,” Forster said. “I wanted to be there, and I wanted to show Brooke I was there for her no matter what. I wanted to prove everybody wrong, and show that I could do both.”
Outside of football, Forster is an avid angler. He enjoys to trout fish, usually on the McKenzie River, and loves to camp when he has the opportunity. After a long day of athletic, academic, and parenthood responsibilities, the knee-surgery veteran said he loves to “go home, relax, and get off my knees.”
As Forster prepares to venture into the next phase of his life, the sociology major and communications minor faces a difficult decision: to pursue football or not?
“Football will always be in my blood,” he said. “It’s something I will always love, and it won’t be easy to let it go. So, it’s a daunting task, to see what’s best for me in the long run. I’ve had six knee surgeries, and I wonder if it would be best to focus on my career, so I can hopefully walk when I’m 40, and play with my kids.”
Regardless of what he decides, with the character he has exemplified, he’s sure to meet success. Forster credits much of his maturation in his time as a Duck to the influence his positions coach, offensive line mentor Neal Zoumboukos, has had on him.
“Zoom has been such a strong influence in my life, that I can’t even put it into words,” Forster said. “I always have this instinct that I want to do well at everything, and I owe that to him, who has always said if there is something worth doing, it’s worth doing it well. He made me set such high standards for myself that I have always wanted to put forth the best effort possible. He’s a been a major cornerstone of my life.”
Although Forster has been unable to compete this season because of an injury sustained in the week leading up to opening night versus Mississippi State, this three-year starter has surely established his self as one of the most accomplished linemen to play at Oregon.
Dan Weaver and Joey Forster will be remembered for a long time to come, and will forever be associated with one of the most successful and exciting eras in Duck football.
