Wide Receiver Chase Cota Continuing Family Legacy As an Oregon Duck
For the first time in 27 years, a Cota will be wearing the green and yellow at Autzen Stadium.
Chase Cota is following in the footsteps of his father, Chad, who played at Oregon from 1991 to 1994 and was the MVP of the 1994 Rose Bowl team. Coming out of South Medford High School, Chase originally decided not to play for the team he grew up rooting for as a child, choosing instead to play his college football at UCLA.
Cota played in Westwood for four years and enjoyed a successful tenure, but opted to enter the transfer portal and spend his final year of eligibility somewhere else.
He eventually committed to Oregon, a decision he said on Tuesday was "still a tough decision" despite his family's history with the program.
"As much as it'd be great to come back home, which I ended up doing and playing for the Ducks as I grew up a Duck fan," Cota said, "it was also just like the best spot for my last year of college football, just kind of where I thought I could fit in the best and have an impact and set myself up for success."
Oregon WR Chase Cota Spring Practice
Scott Boldt/Ducks Digest
Cota's father wasn't the only relative to suit up for the UO. His cousin, Brady Breeze, played for the Ducks from 2016-19 and took home the 2020 Rose Bowl Defensive MVP honor--15 years after his uncle led the "Gang Green" defense to the Rose Bowl.
But it wasn't just about picking up where Cota's family left off. He was still hungry to compete and pass along his wisdom from four years at UCLA.
"It's not like I came here because there's no receivers. There's a bunch of really good receivers," Cota said. "So just to be in a really good room and (I) think that I can enhance it is the experience I wanted to be in."
Cota was also intrigued by Kenny Dillingham and Junior Adams' vision for the new Oregon offense — one that should give wide receivers more reasons to be excited than the previous system.
"I really liked Coach [Junior] Adams and Coach [Kenny] Dillingham," Cota said on why Oregon was the best fit for him. "I thought my communication with them and hearing what they had to say about the offense and the opportunity just sounded really good."
Oregon WR Chase Cota Spring Practice
© Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
Being a four-year veteran in a new place and learning a new system is an interesting balance for Cota, but he's picked up the offense rather easily. With the playbook etched into his mind, he's stepping into a leadership role as an older guy, but also learning from the rest of the room as well.
"The first couple of practices, I was still learning. I was a little behind all the younger guys even," he said. "But now that I'm up to speed and I know everything, I'm leaning on them and they're leaning on me too. I definitely think that I'm helping the guys out a little bit whenever they have a question or maybe they're down or if they're tired."
Cota brings a wealth of experience and proven production to a young receiver squad. He appeared in all 43 possible games at UCLA, racking up 67 catches for 883 yards and six touchdowns for the Bruins.
UCLA WR Chase Cota vs. Oregon
© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Ducks will need Cota to make some big plays at Autzen Stadium, a place that means so much to him. He got to play against Oregon in Eugene twice as a Bruin, but now he'll line up on the opposite side and have fans cheering for him rather than against him.
"The first time was super cool. The whole family was here, and I was actually going against Brady on the punt team," Cota said of his first game at Autzen in 2018. "He was lined up over me, and we got some one-on-ones together, which was fun."
Having played against the Ducks three times, including in Westwood last season, Cota was familiar with several players, including fellow 2018 signee Isaah Crocker. Having a foundation for camaraderie helped him settle into his new home.
"I'm just definitely glad to be up here," Cota said. "Playing against them and also getting recruited with some of the same guys, because of that they all know me and I know all of them. So I came into a locker room where I feel like I have a really good camaraderie connection with everyone already."
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