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In the weeks and months following the end of the Oregon Ducks 2021 football season, some questions regarding the whereabouts of wide receiver Jaylon Redd started to arise.
Though his final year of eligibility was cut short due to a season-ending injury in November, Redd was not around for Oregon’s bowl game vs. Oklahoma, and he was notably absent from the pre-draft process that was taking place in Eugene, with the Pro Day leading up to the big event in April.
On Tuesday, Redd finally opened up about what has been going on in his life over the past few months.
“There’s so many questions going on right now, and I just feel like I would like to tell my story,” Redd said in a YouTube video titled ‘The Jaylon Redd Story.’
According to Redd, a 5-year player for the Ducks, he was diagnosed with a cancerous neuroendocrine tumor on his pancreas back in December and had surgery to remove the tumor at the end of January.
“In December, that’s kind of when I had my first mishaps,” Redd said in the video. “I remember just eating a lot of food one night and thinking it was a regular stomach hurting from being full, or I might have food poisoning.”
The process started a couple of days after the Pac-12 Championship game against the Utah Utes, which took place on December 3. Redd describes a pain that he felt in his stomach that he initially thought was due to over-eating, or maybe food poisoning. After going to the hospital to receive fluids, the doctors wanted to run some additional tests.
On Friday, December 21, Redd was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“I just had to overcome it and control what I could control at the end of the day.”
Things happened rather quickly over the next month, with Redd undergoing surgery to remove the tumor on January 31st.
“It was a real simple procedure. None of the cancer spread throughout my blood or anything like that. It was just a head-on procedure, cut it out and we’re good.”
Of course, in the times of COVID-19, things weren’t as simple as that. Redd’s parents, Fred and Alicia, describe how difficult it was for them to not be able to visit Jaylon in the hospital for seven days after the procedure due to visitation mandates. However, the surgery was successful, and Redd is well on his way to a full recovery — cancer-free.
“He’s eating everything in my house,” Alicia said.
Up next, Redd eyes a potential return to football.
“Not everything is over, and it’s just my time to look forward with my career and what I want to do right now,” Redd said. “I am hungry, I am getting that feeling back of staying on my toes and not being able to relax because that’s the best feeling when it comes to football. Just knowing that somebody may be taking your spot, or a coach may be watching you. You always have to be on your toes on the football field, it’s a different type of mentality to bring on. And that’s just something that I miss these last three or four months because of these circumstances. So the fact that I’m getting back in that mindset, it kind of helps me when I work out.”
Though the last few months have been a setback for Redd, it’s impossible to ignore the talent and production he brings on the field. In his 5 seasons with Oregon, he had over 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns. There’s a hope that he can play at the next level once he gets back into game shape and completes his recovery.
“I’m excited to see what my future holds just because I’ve been working so hard and I feel like there’s a lot that I’ve earned when it comes to what I’ve been working on and being patient. I know now that I can face anything coming at me.”
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