Ducks Digest

Oregon Ducks Football Players Surprised with Childhood Pictures: Evan Stewart Reacts

Watch as Oregon Ducks Football athletes are shocked when members of the Oregon staff asked them to sign their old childhood photos. The reactions of Brandon Johnson, Evan Stewart, Jeffrey Bassa, Traeshon Holden and others are heartwarming.

Ally Osborne

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart reacts to childhood photos
Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart reacts to childhood photos / Darby winter
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When it comes to creating content for a sports programs’ social media or media outlets, members of a teams’ content creation group can think out of the box. Whether media team members work with an athlete to prank their teammates, create unique visual elements about a team, producing memes, or asking odd questions; there’s a lot of creativity and some pretty wholesome moments that result from these efforts.

One of those moments was posted to the OregonGridiron social media account today. OregonGridiron is the home for Oregon Football recruiting updates, news, and more.

In the video, Oregon staff members presented multiple Oregon athletes with pictures of them from childhood to sign. Many of the Ducks that saw their old pictures had very earnest reactions, from sentimental shock to joking to a slight twinge of embarrassment.

Oregon Ducks defensive back Brandon Johnson intercepts a pass in the end zone intended for Idaho Vandals wide receiver Mark H
Oregon Ducks defensive back Brandon Johnson intercepts a pass in the end zone intended for Idaho Vandals wide receiver Mark Hamper as the Oregon Ducks host the Idaho Vandals Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

The video starts off with senior defensive back Brandon Johnson. Johnson had a season-high for tackles so far with eight against Boise State. Johnson is originally from Newton, North Carolina.

“Oh my goodness,” Johnson said when he saw the photo.

Johnson’s childhood photo appears to be from his early elementary school days. The young Duck is pictured kneeling for an athlete composite photo. Little Brandon is wearing a football uniform, with red pants, white and red jersey, and a black helmet by his knee. His jersey has a large red number three on the chest.

“You see I still got that three on though,” Johnson said, pointing to his current Oregon jersey that also has the number three.

Oregon inside linebacker Jeffrey Bassa works out during the Ducks’ fall camp Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, at the Hatfield-Dowlin
Oregon inside linebacker Jeffrey Bassa works out during the Ducks’ fall camp Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Next up to be surprised in the video was senior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa. Bassa’s photo was from a shorter time ago, with a seemingly high school aged Bassa posing for an “All America” event with a white Under Armour sweatshirt with the number fifty six across the center.

“That’s crazy. That’s a great picture. Just look how far we’ve come.” Bassa said.

Oregon's Evan Stewart, center, celebrates a second quarter touchdown at Autzen Stadium in Eugene Sept. 7, 2024.
Oregon's Evan Stewart, center, celebrates a second quarter touchdown at Autzen Stadium in Eugene Sept. 7, 2024. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

 Other notable reactions included senior wide receiver Traeshon Holden, who claimed the photo of his younger self was taken off Facebook, junior offensive lineman Dave Iuli, who laughed when he saw an old mirror selfie, and junior wide receiver Evan Stewart who immediately recognized his childhood picture from a Valentine’s Day dinner with his mom.

“It was just me and my momma. She did this for Valentine’s Day after the day at school,” Stewart said while signing the photo.

There was also one common reaction from athletes that we’re also asking ourselves: how did the Oregon staff get these photos? Facebook, parents, friends; who knows. 

Regardless of the source of these throwback pictures, it’s fun to see Oregon Ducks look back on their journey to being a college football athlete. Hopefully whoever is finding these blasts from the past can return with more creative ideas to hold fans over during the bye week.

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Ally Osborne

ALLY OSBORNE

A born and raised Oregonian, Ally was raised going up and down the steps of Autzen Stadium. Ally graduated from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communications in 2021. She currently works at KOIN 6 and Portland's CW in Portland, Oregon where she hosts the lifestyle program "Everyday Northwest" and reports for the KOIN Sports team. She's also a graphic designer in her free time, with several of her works created for Oregon athletes.

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