An Oregon Football Player Faked An Injury In The Fiesta Bowl So A Walk-On With $70,000 In Student Loans Could Play
Ebanez is 5'9" and 180 pounds. He doesn't have a scholarship, and he has taken out around $70,000 in student loans to pay his way through Oregon, according to John Canzano of the Oregonian.
Canzano wrote a fantastic profile of Ebanez before Oregon played Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl.
It turns out that Ebanez is a Rudy-esque figure — a walk-on who worked hard and found his way onto one of the best teams in the country.
He grew up in North Pole, Alaska, and he explained, "They have candy canes for light posts on the main street, and a giant Santa house."
He's graduating in the spring, meaning the Fiesta Bowl was his last game ever, and his coaches and teammates love him. So it should come as no surprise that one of his teammates pulled a clever trick to ensure that Ebanez would get on the field at the Fiesta Bowl.
From Canzano:
Apparently, his teammate, Keanon Lowe plotted to get Ebanez into the game. Lowe faked an injury as they broke the special teams huddle, prompting assistants to wave for Ebanez, his back-up on the kickoff team, to hurry onto the field.
It happened with 2:30 left in the game and Oregon up 35-17.
Lowe is a sophomore WR who had 22 catches and 3 TDs this year.
Pretty cool.