Fifty-two days have passed since Oregon tight end Spencer Webb fell tragically and died near Triangle Lake. His teammates will take the field for a game for the first time since when the Ducks face Georgia this afternoon in Atlanta.
“I think we want to honor his memory by being great at the way that we approach our work and we ask ourselves is that reflective of what this unit should look like on film,” tight ends coach Drew Mehringer said. “Don’t miss on the opportunities that you have, they’re not here for forever; right, wrong or indifferent. We talk about it. I think guys like Cam (McCormick) have done a really, really good job of keeping that in its rightful place. This has been a growing thing for us as we’ve gone through it, but I think our unit together, we’ve all supported each other.”
Webb’s chair in the tight end meeting room has remained empty ever since July 13, when he fell while climbing a cliff near Triangle Lake.
Sophomore tight end Moliki Matavao used to sit next to Webb in meetings.
“It’s an empty space … through time we’ll get through it,” Matavao said. “But it’s different.”
The Ducks are wearing helmet decals with Webb’s new No. 4 in the center of a spider web, Spencer’s nickname.
McCormick, the only one of Oregon’s tight ends to play with Webb during his entire career, is hoping to honor him by changing his jersey number for a game.
“He was like my little brother and I’m hoping I can get the opportunity to wear that No. 18 for him,” McCormick said. “I know a lot of people now know he was switching to (No.) 4 for this season but my entire career here I’ve known Spence as 18. So I would love to honor Spence and wear 18 with his name on the back for the first game being back for myself and for him too.”
Webb’s old number is available and doesn’t appear to have any conflict should McCormick wear it, other than if he and outside linebacker Mase Funa were on the field at the same time for special teams. Wearing a jersey with someone else’s name would require a waiver though.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning said the potential change hadn’t been decided upon as of Monday.
Beyond symbolic gestures the Ducks, especially the tight ends, are trying to uphold Webb’s outlook on life.
“I think the biggest thing is he told me to be grateful and look at the ‘O,’ like we’re really out here playing at Oregon,” tight end Terrance Ferguson said. “Coming from a little kid who dreamed of playing here, take that moment and be grateful for where I am.”
Mehringer, who also lost a teammate in college, has guided the position group over the last month and said UO’s tight ends have been been his support as well.
“Nobody deals with any of these things very well,” Mehringer said. “You want to be steady and consistent for your players so that their emotional highs and lows are not as high or as low. They’re kids at the end of the day — I know Cam has been here for a long time — they need something that’s going to stay consistent in their lives, that’s going to remind them of the opportunities that they have and how to utilize those things and how to keep certain things in the right perspective. I try to do that and they’ve been there for me too.”