DALLAS, Texas – It hasn’t been embroidered on a Nike t-shirt and you can’t find it painted on the walls of Autzen Stadium. But this season, Oregon’s calling card hasn’t been the usual “Win the Day” or “Fast, Hard, Finish” program staples.
Instead, the key phrase for the 2014 Oregon Ducks has been to “trust the process.” Catch an interview with any Oregon football player and you might hear the programmed phrase nonchalantly mixed in a response. It’s an encapsulating phrase used by players that possesses a myriad of different traits, but it boils down to one idea: Work hard at every step of the process.
Simply put, it might be the culture and the identity of an Oregon team that will face Ohio State in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night.
“I think this team, this year, has bought into it more than any team that we’ve had at Oregon,” Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost said.
“Don’t take any reps off”
Redshirt senior receiver Johnathan Loyd, a four-year basketball player at Oregon, had already decided that he would use his last year of eligibility to play football. He was working out with senior receiver Keanon Lowe and senior running back Kenny Bassett when he picked up on the initial inklings of a special culture with the Oregon football team.
While lifting, Loyd heard Lowe and Bassett yell at him.
“Every rep counts,” Lowe would say, according to Loyd. “Don’t take any reps off in the weight room,” Bassett would shout.
The trivial experience struck a chord with Loyd.
“Listening to these guys talk about this and how they approach it helped have my mind set from the get-go,” Loyd said.
So, when Loyd eventually joined the team, it was an easy transition for him. Getting acclimated to a team with a process that harps optimal performance in every drill and activity was something Lowe and Bassett had readied him for.
“They had a culture built around Oregon football and I came in and I learned that culture right away because I wasn’t going to be the one to try and mess it up or change things just because I came from somewhere else,” Loyd said.
Matt Lubick, Oregon’s wide receivers coach, views trusting the process similarly to Lowe and Bassett. He focuses on one day, one practice and one rep at a time.
“Today in practice, we weren’t focusing on the game,” Lubick said on Tuesday. “We were focusing on what we have to do today to make this practice successful. When I’m doing individual drills, (I tell the players) ‘Let’s do the best we can at this drill and nothing else matters.’ That’s what it means. The process is not looking ahead, and whatever you’re doing (at the time), do the best that you can do with that thing.”
“The fun part”
Freshman running back Tony James was confused. New to the program, James had constantly heard the mantra of “trusting the process” thrown around. However, he had no clue what it meant. What he did know was that he would redshirt his first season and be a scout team player.
He sought out junior receiver Byron Marshall, then Oregon redshirt junior quarterback Marcus Mariota and Lowe for advice. They told him all about the cultural staple of the team. As the year went on, James – who defensive backs coach John Neal called a “phenomenal” player after the Rose Bowl – accepted his role and became a main contributor in practice.
“Honestly, at first, I didn’t really understand what process they were talking about and then as the year has gone on, I see the process they were talking about,” James said.
This mentality transformation is one of Frost’s favorite things to see every year.
“The fun part is to watch the young guys walk in and not really understand our preparation and how we do things,” he said. “Then at the end of the season, seeing the younger kids doing the same things the older ones are doing. That’s really how we keep the culture going throughout the years.”
Learning to trust the process – a process many people involved with the program said began with former head coach Chip Kelly – happens quickly for new players. Redshirt senior linebacker Derrick Malone Jr. recalled being recruited and immediately meeting a group of seniors on the team. He said being thrown right into the nuts and bolts of the process helps players on the team gel faster – a key in keeping the process consistent over the years.
“They already have the culture ready so you’re already introduced in to it and you can keep that lineage going on throughout the years,” Malone said.
“We knew what we had to do”
The word “process” can be defined as a sequence of events that lead to a specific result. For Oregon, this year’s process had to be different from years past. In order for the Ducks to achieve their goals, they needed to get over the hump that was Stanford and Arizona from the previous two seasons.
The process began in the offseason, where many players highlighted the need to get bigger, faster and stronger in order to beat the only two adversaries they’d lost to in the previous two seasons.
“Guys were feeling like we weren’t getting to where we needed to be at the end of the season in previous years,” senior outside linebacker Tony Washington said. “So, we knew what we had to do and I think the mentality just changed this whole offseason. Guys were working harder, pushing each other more to get better.”
Aside from the increased effort to better themselves in the weight room, Malone believes that the team’s attention to detail in practice has been key. He said that the team practices on becoming the best at every little thing, including stretching, eating and team bonding.
“We’re hungry, we’re really humble, we know what we want to accomplish and that’s the gist of why we keep getting better as the year progresses,” Malone said. “Every time we step on the field we’re trying to get better.”
“Obviously it works”
It’s a trickle-down effect, this process for Oregon. It starts at the top with head coach Mark Helfrich. From there, it’s distributed to the assistant coaches, the team physicians, nutritionists, academic advisers and to the captains before culminating with the entire team.
But at the core of the team, trusting the process is based on one thing: winning. Oregon has accumulated seven consecutive 10 win seasons.
“When we do things the way that we do them and we have success, it’s easy for kids to buy in,” Frost said.
One of the basics of Helfrich’s teaching goes back to the idea of attempting to be a better person away from the gridiron, then on it.
“It’s more than just the game. If we are great people on and off the field, then we’re going to have success. It’s the little things with (Helfrich) that has really benefited us on and off the field,” Malone said.
The trust in the process is more meaningful as Oregon gears up to take on Ohio State on Monday. And the process should continue to reap benefits well into the offseason and beyond.
“If somebody tries to change something around here, then they’re crazy,” Loyd said. “You know, obviously it works. As long as these guys do trust the process, then they’re always going to be good.”
Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @JoeJHoyt