Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
“Oregon’s nice because it doesn’t get too hot. It doesn’t get too cold. It’s a nice place to kick some footballs.”
EUGENE — Toward the end of Oregon’s media day a few weeks ago, I realized I had nothing for Camden Lewis.
Oregon’s senior kicker has been here quite some time, long enough that I really couldn’t come at him with the “redemption” story angle. That played out long ago. Lewis, who struggled his first year with the Ducks, has been a good kicker for Oregon far longer now than he wasn’t.
Lewis enters the year with the fourth most field goals in program history, will likely end the season as Oregon’s all-time leading scorer, and is one of the smallest question marks on the roster other than Nix, Bo.
Still, it wouldn’t be fall camp without checking in with the specialists. And as always, I’m glad I did.
These are Camden Lewis’ tales:
You’ve done this a few times. How’s it feel?
I feel old. I feel very old. It’s weird going year to year and seeing all these new guys coming in and it’s like, man, it’s crazy they’re doing the same thing that I’ve been doing for four…I don’t want to say five, but it’s been five years now.
What’s the offseason like for you?
It’s a great time for me to work on my mechanics. As far as kicking goes, there’s a lot of different tweaks and things I can do. I talk about golf a lot — it’s a lot like a golf swing. There’s a lot of different changes you can make to make yourself better and make yourself more consistent. And really, it’s just working on those kinds of things — and also playing a lot of golf — is what I do in the offseason. I’m not scratch, but I’m close.
Who are the other good golfers?
Bailey Jaramillo is the best golfer on the team. He’s a stud. It’s crazy, he’s a really good golfer. He’s shooting in the high 60s and stuff. Now he’s a scratch golfer.
Do the good golfers on the team try to avoid playing with the bad golfers on the team?
I would say all the guys who play are pretty decent. The specialists play a lot together because we’re all just good friends. You play with your buddies, that’s how it goes. We don’t discriminate.
What’s it like being in college for five years?
For me it’s awesome because I got to pursue an MBA. I graduated last March, and without COVID I’d be done. So the opportunity for me to pursue an MBA is huge. For me, it’s an extra degree and I get to keep playing football. Academically, it’s been awesome to me.
What’s your takeaway after spending half a decade on this side of the country?
The weather is different. The people are different. I was home [in July] and I couldn’t get a breath because of the humidity. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’
It’s a whole different world out here, but I love it. One of the reasons I came here is because of how different it is from North Carolina, where I’m from. It’s just another opportunity to expand my mind.
Humidity change the way you kick a ball?
Yeah. I don’t know exactly how. I know it won’t travel as far and things like that. The warmer the better, but obviously if it’s 120 degrees out you’re probably going to be fatigued a little bit. But I love the weather here. It’s nice because it doesn’t get too hot. It doesn’t get too cold. It’s a nice place to kick some footballs.
Who coaches you?
A lot of it is coaching yourself. I have a swing coach back home. And then even Coach [Josh] Robinson, who we brought in this year, knows a lot about kicking. Coach Lorig has seen 100 different kickers. You have to find what works for you and everybody is going to be a little different. Honestly, at the end of the day you kind of are your own coach.
Do you lobby for the opportunity for a big field goal?
Honestly, nowadays yes. When I started playing football, and when I started playing here, no. But over time I’ve grown more confident and I want to go out there. I wouldn’t say I’m rooting for field goals, but I love kicking field goals. Touchdowns are great and all, but I want to go kick some field goals. Even the Washington game, before the half, we had a chance to kick a 54-yarder. And I knew it was going to be a tough kick because it was into the breeze and it was cold outside and I was sick that day, but when they asked if I could make it I said, ‘Heck yeah, I can.’
I didn’t.
But you need to be super confident about it and that’s something you develop over the years, is just the confidence in your ability and the desire to want to be out on the field.
You might be the one guy that’ll give an objective answer here: Who is the fastest guy on the team?
The fastest guy on the team? I have no idea! We wear these things when we run, Catapults, that track your speed. And they don’t even give me one. I’ve wanted one. We’ll do little awards for guys who were the fastest and stuff. You get a T-Shirt that’s got something on it, just to get some bragging rights. But when we give those out I’m like, ‘How do you know it wasn’t me? I didn’t have the Catapult on.’
You haven’t gotten the Iron Leg award or something like that?
I wish we did that. It’s not as cool, apparently, as running fast.
How has kicking changed over time?
You saw the guys kicking with the square-toed boot back in the day. I would say it’s constantly evolving. You see guys who come into the League, the NFL, that are successful with different styles. There’s a guy up in Seattle, Jason Myers, who people consider to have the perfect kicking swing. Not everybody’s body is able to do that, but if you can then you want to try and replicate that.
You ever get jealous that every other position constantly has a bunch of new people added to the roster and there’s a lot more opportunities to make friends? Like, you specialists are just kind of the same group.
Well, what if they bring in some bad dudes? We have a really good group. I don’t want to change it.
Who is the slowest guy on the team?
I don’t think I know that answer, either. But I’m closer to that.
What’s the hardest you’ve ever been hit in your career?
A couple times in practice when we put a new guy on the edge and they don’t know to slow down. That’s happened a couple of times. There are repeat offenders.
— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor
